Ako Tokamu'a Falemasiva Preschool

Education institution number:
10088
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Tongan ECE service
Total roll:
17
Telephone:
Address:

28 Cardrona Place, Mangere, Auckland

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Akoteu Falemasiva

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Akoteu Falemasiva are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whakatō Emerging

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whakatō Emerging

Whakatō Emerging

2 Context of the Service

Akoteu Falemasiva is an immersion Tongan language service that operates through the Free Church of Tonga. An executive board and management team have responsibility for the governance of the service. A newly appointed centre manager oversees daily operations and leads a team of four qualified kau faiako (teachers) and one support staff. Most staff have been employed at the service since ERO’s 2017 review. All of the children enrolled are Tongan.

3 Summary of findings

Fānau (children) have good opportunities to articulate and express their ideas through speaking lea fakatonga (the Tongan language). Their learning is supported through positive talanoa (conversations) and meaningful interactions with their peers and adults. Fānau are well engaged in the learning opportunities available. Infants and toddlers confidently participate in curriculum experiences alongside older children.

Positive vā (relationships) between kau faiako, fānau and families support connections between home and the centre. Fānau are encouraged to show care and faka’apa’apa (respect) for others and the environment. Kau faiako incorporate aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori world) meaningfully into the curriculum.

Kau faiako and leaders have engaged in regular professional learning and development. They are building shared understandings of ways to provide a curriculum that supports children’s learning. Priority areas for improvement are to:

  • increase opportunities for fānau to experience a child-led, localised curriculum

  • support fānau to take responsibility for their wellbeing and learning

  • provide experiences that challenge children’s thinking.

Leaders and kau faiako are beginning to implement a process for undertaking internal evaluation. Documenting how improvements made have helped realise the vision, values, strategic direction, goals, and priorities for children’s learning is a key focus.

Leaders’ commitment and trusting relationships between leaders and kau faiako contribute to implementing systems and processes that promote ongoing improvement. Leaders are in the process of developing and implementing a professional growth cycle to appraise staff.

4 Improvement actions

Akoteu Falemasiva will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • To implement a localised curriculum that is responsive to children’s learning interests and priorities. 

  • To embed internal evaluation processes for improvement and to guide strategic direction.

  • To re-establish a regular professional growth cycle for the appraisal of staff and leaders.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Akoteu Falemasiva 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.

6 Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

  • Ensuring that whenever children leave the premises on an excursion, permission and approval is given by parents for regular excursions and for the adult:child ratio, and that a risk assessment is undertaken and implemented when children visit the church complex (HS17).

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

16 August 2022 

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Akoteu Falemasiva

Profile Number

10088

Location

Mangere, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

27

Review team on site

May 2022

Date of this report

16 August 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, November 2017; Education Review, November 2014

 

 

 

Akoteu Falemasiva - 24/11/2017

1 Evaluation of Akoteu Falemasiva

How well placed is Akoteu Falemasiva to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Akoteu Falemasiva is licensed to provide education and care for 30 children, including up to five aged under two years. A separate indoor play space is provided for the youngest children. Children attend sessions similar to school hours. All of the children attending have Tongan heritage.

The centre is owned by an Incorporated Society and situated in the grounds of the Free Church of Tonga. It has strong connections with the local Tongan community. A management committee, made up of parents, centre and church personnel provides governance and support for the centre.

The philosophy of the centre is to deliver educational programmes based on children's interests, and using the Tongan language and culture as the foundation for teaching and learning. Christian values underpin the programme and centre operations.

Centre leaders include a qualified teacher who is responsible for the quality of the teaching programme. She works closely with the centre licensee, and leads a team of three fulltime staff, including two other qualified and fully registered teachers.

The 2014 ERO report noted many areas of good practice including the centre's bicultural curriculum, partnerships with parents, and how well teachers were assessing children's learning. Development areas included developing long-term planning, researching the quality of children's learning in the transition to school programme, and improvements to learning environments. There has been some progress in these areas.

The Review Findings

Children play happily together. They settle quickly into centre routines in small groups or on their own, well supported by adults. Children confidently access resources for their play, having developed a sense of ownership and belonging in the centre environment.

Teachers have positive and sensitive relationships with children, and they support children's developing knowledge of the Tongan culture and language. Infants benefit from teachers' specialised care. All children benefit from experiencing numerous languages, particularly during whole group times.

The team's commitment to including and respecting the bicultural nature of Aotearoa is clearly evident in the use of te reo Māori, particularly in waiata during group sessions, welcomes, and in centre displays.

Through surveys and parent-teacher meetings, parents express high levels of satisfaction with the service and the learning of their children. Many family members choose to stay during sessions to support the teaching team.

Teachers plan a programme that is responsive to their observations of children's interests and dispositions. Planning is clearly documented, and linked to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers record learning outcomes for individuals and groups of children, and evaluate progress towards these goals.

Teaching practice is strongly focussed on children being fully equipped with the skills and competencies needed for school. Teachers could now provide more meaningful learning contexts for children to develop print awareness, alphabet and mathematical knowledge. This could include providing more opportunities for children to be creative in visual arts and storytelling.

The centre is well managed. Succession planning could be included in the centre's long-term goals in order to build capacity amongst the teaching team. The inclusion of high quality feedback to teachers, and support from mentors around goal setting, would strengthen the teacher appraisal process.

The centre philosophy is well established. The centre's routines, programmes and environment reflect managers' and teachers' commitment to the Tongan language and culture. It would be timely to develop a shared vision that informs the strategic direction of the centre, particularly with regards to improvements to property and resources, and to teaching practice.

Key Next Steps

ERO recommends that centre leaders:

  • evaluate teaching practice and the environment to encourage children's creativity and critical thinking

  • review resourcing to provide more physical challenges for older children

  • strengthen teacher appraisal processes

  • support children to be involved in planning and leading their own learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Akoteu Falemasiva 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.

In order to improve current practice, centre leaders and teachers should implement processes for reviewing and evaluating the service's operation, including the effectiveness of learning and teaching practices.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Akoteu Falemasiva will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

24 November 2017

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Mangere, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

10088

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2

Service roll

30

Gender composition

Girls 17 Boys 13

Ethnic composition

Tongan

30

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

October 2017

Date of this report

24 November 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

November 2014

Education Review

July 2011

Education Review

July 2007

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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:

  • Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
  • Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
  • Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
  • Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.