6 Ngaio Road, Kelburn, Wellington
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Kelburn Preschool and Nursery is owned, governed, and managed by a qualified centre manager. Children are catered for in two adjacent buildings. Children attending include a small number of Māori, and children of Pacific heritage. This is the first ERO review under new management.
Children’s developing social competence is supported by teachers. Steps are taken to acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children. Teachers seek information and guidance, when necessary, from agencies to enable them to work effectively with children and their parents.
The design and layout of the premises support the provision of areas for physically active play. There is space for a range of individual and group learning experiences appropriate to the number, ages, and abilities of children attending. Consistent implementation of health and safety practices is required to meet all aspects of regulatory compliance.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
consistently recording the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time
ensuring that all children are seated and supervised while eating.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services, 2008, HS9, HS22.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it had addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).
Having a written emergency plan that includes a list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the service, and details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency, details of the roles and responsibilities that will apply during an emergency situation, evidence of the plan on at least an annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required (HS7).
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring that records of serious illnesses that occur at the service include evidence that the parents have been notified/informed (HS27).
Ensuring the written child protection policy meets the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014 and contains provisions for the reporting of child abuse and neglect (HS31).
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
17 October 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Kelburn Preschool and Nursery |
| Profile Number | 60066 |
| Location | Kelburn, Wellington |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
53 children, including up to 16 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
44 |
|
Review team on site |
August 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
17 October 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as Kelburn Little School: Education Review July 2018; Education Review May 2015. |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
suitable staffing (including qualification levels; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kelburn Little School is a privately owned early learning service located in Wellington. It is one of a number of services under the Little Schools' umbrella. It provides education and care for up to 57 children including up to eight under the age of two years. Enrolled families represent a diverse range of cultures.
The philosophy places importance on developing foundations for lifelong learning and enabling a smooth transition to primary school.
Little Schools' management team comprises three qualified and experienced early childhood and primary school teachers. The owner has a clear vision for the organisation and is responsible for setting overall strategic and policy direction. Mentor teachers monitor the quality of teaching and learning and support teachers’ ongoing professional learning and growth. At this centre, two head teachers have day-to-day responsibility for the teaching team.
The April 2015 ERO report identified that the Kelburn Little School team should continue to improve understanding of review and appraisal. Progress is ongoing.
This review is one of three reviews of centres in the Little Schools' organisation.
Teachers and leaders are highly committed to the Little Schools' philosophy and vision. Strong values underpin the preschool and its culture. Leaders acknowledge that it is timely to review the philosophy in consultation with the school community. ERO affirms this decision.
Children confidently engage in a range of teacher designed activities. Literacy, oral language, mathematics and science are strongly promoted. Teachers make connections to children's cultures, languages and identities through the environment, activities and celebrations.
Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are evident in the programme. Children have opportunities to become familiar with te ao Māori. Teachers are increasing their use of te reo Māori within the programme. Leaders and ERO agree that this should continue to be an area for development.
Teachers have positive, responsive relationships with children. Developing learners' thinking, independence and social competence is a focus. A range of strategies to extend children's learning through their self-chosen play is evident.
The programme for infants and toddlers fosters unhurried play and follows their natural rhythms. A range of natural and exploratory resources is easily accessible for them. Teachers are responsive to children's verbal and non-verbal language cues. Routines and care times are used as opportunities for learning.
Learning partnerships with families are in place. Many parents are actively involved in aspects of the programme. Good communication keeps them informed of children's participation and development. Their aspirations are sought and used as a basis for children's goals.
Group planning aligns well with Little Schools' philosophy and is linked to individuals' goals and interests. Teachers identify intentional teaching strategies to progress these learning goals. Evaluation of the programme is beginning to be more clearly focused on outcomes for children. Assessment for individual children identifies emerging friendships and aspects of communication. Teachers should continue to strengthen in learning records:
Review is well understood. Teachers are developing their use of internal evaluation within a wellstructured framework. An increased focus on the use of research and best practice to strengthen decision making is a key next step.
The head teachers work collaboratively to promote a positive team culture. They identify and provide opportunities for teachers to lead aspects of the programme.
Good support is available for leaders and teachers to develop their practice. Professional learning is valued and suited to their needs and ongoing development. The head teachers seek ways to build teacher knowledge and practice. However, appraisal requires strengthening. The process should be revised so all aspects of the Education Council's expectations are implemented, and to ensure the process better supports teachers' and leaders' development.
A strong policy framework guides centre operation. Managers are currently working to document and align systems and processes to promote consistency across the Little School organisation. Better monitoring of the quality of their implementation should also support this aim. While the strategic plan identifies business priorities, further consideration should be given to creating strategic goals that are linked to positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO, managers and leaders agree that priorities at centre level are to continue to strengthen:
At governance level, priorities are to develop:
Before the review, teachers and management of Kelburn Little School completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
In order to improve practice, and ensure endorsement of teachers' practising certificates meets a reliable and consistent standard, the service provider must ensure that all teachers are formally appraised annually, and all Education Council requirements are met.
The next ERO review of Kelburn Little School will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
10 July 2018
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
|
Location |
Wellington |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
60066 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
57 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
70 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 37, Girls 33 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
42 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
10 July 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
January 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2008 |
||
ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kelburn Little School is a privately owned centre located in Kelburn, Wellington. It is one of three services under the Little School umbrella management and provides education and care for up to 57 children.
The centre is arranged into two areas to cater for younger and older children. The two groups are housed in adjacent buildings and share an outdoor space. There are two supervisors, an assistant supervisor and five qualified teachers.
The service’s management team comprises the owner-manager and two mentor teachers. The owner-manager has a clear vision for the service and is responsible for setting overall strategic and policy direction. Mentor teachers monitor the quality of teaching and learning and support teachers’ ongoing professional learning and growth.
The January 2012 ERO report identified a number of areas for development and review. Management sought professional development with an external facilitator to develop understanding of review for improvement.
During times of child-initiated, play-based learning, children are engaged and motivated by spontaneous and planned experiences. Their mathematical learning is enhanced through meaningful and interesting opportunities to use mathematics in everyday life. This learning programme, aligned to Te Whāriki, is relevant and responsive to children’s interests and adult-initiated ideas.
Children learn and play within a well-considered and well-resourced environment. Teachers plan and prepare spaces that:
Teachers know children well and demonstrate nurturing, respectful and responsive relationships. They plan group and mat times that reflect the priorities of the Little School programme for learning and development. During the sessions that ERO observed, children were engaged happily in group activities.
Assessment practices are focused on how well children are developing and learning in relation to the adult-initiated Little School curriculum. Teachers put much time into assessing and recording children’s skills and knowledge. Children’s participation and involvement in the programme is increasingly celebrated and shared between teachers and parents. The introduction of e-Portfolios, since the previous ERO review, has the potential to contribute to the strengthening of assessment and planning processes. Service mentors have identified that continued support and guidance is required to build teachers' capability in assessment.
Further support and guidance from mentors, to build teachers' assessment capability in line with current early childhood best practice, is required.
ERO observed some use of te reo Māori. Teachers have expressed that strengthening the bicultural programme, and building on and giving significance to Māori learners’ culture, language and identity, is a priority. ERO agrees with this direction. A next step for teachers is to make use ofKa Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017 and Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori learners to strengthen responsiveness to Māori.
Teachers are reflective and focus on maintaining a safe emotional and physical learning environment. A newly introduced online appraisal process encourages teacher reflection and informs professional learning opportunities for staff. Self review continues to be an area to strengthen further. The owner, mentors and teachers need to distinguish between reviewing for accountability and evaluating for improvement. Developing robust ways of knowing the impact of teaching practices on children’s learning and development should lead to improved outcomes for children.
The owner, mentors and teachers should continue to improve and develop their understanding of and practices in:
self review, to more clearly show the impact of teachers’ practices on learning outcomes for children
appraisal processes, that promote professional accountability and consistent, formal critique of teaching practice and feedback to improve teaching and learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kelburn Little School completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Kelburn Little School will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services Central Region
1 May 2015
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
|
Location |
Kelburn, Wellington |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
60066 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
57 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
71 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 36, Girls 35 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
2 60 9 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
1 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2008 |
ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.