56 Waterfront Road, Pukenui
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Blessings for Life are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whāngai Establishing |
Blessings for Life is a privately owned centre that offers all day education and care. It is one of two privately owned services, and the second service is situated in Kaitaia. The centre philosophy is underpinned by Christian values. More than half of the children attending are identified as Māori.
Children have space and time to lead their play and to form nurturing relationships with their peers and younger children. This is enabled by teachers’ responsive practices with children. Intentional teaching practices ensure infants and toddlers enjoy positive outcomes by supporting them to confidently integrate and engage in the mixed-aged setting.
Teachers intentionally provide an environment that is inclusive and accepting for children and their families. Teachers have identified children who need additional support, and they work sensitively with their parents and external agencies to encourage and support them to improve their outcomes.
Leaders’ and teachers’ commitment to, and respect of, bicultural practice is consistently evident. Tikanga practices and te reo Māori are woven naturally throughout routines and the programme. Teachers’ extensive and meaningful use of te reo and tikanga Māori promotes a strong sense of cultural identity for children. Learning is often connected to the history of the area and the local whenua.
Children have access to a variety of activities and resources. The curriculum provides opportunities for children to:
learn early literacy, numeracy and science skills
be creative and imaginative
physically challenge themselves in the outdoor environment.
Teachers continue to develop their planning and assessment processes, and there is not yet a shared understanding of assessment for learning practices. Current practices do not yet reliably:
consider how well the programme is supporting children to lead their own learning
promote challenges for older children through more complex play
align with the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the service’s learning priorities.
A process that supports teachers to review and make improvements to practice is in place and is well used to identify changes they want to make. Teachers are in the early stages of building their capability to undertake internal evaluation. More rigorous evaluation would enable them to effectively identify how well, or which curriculum and teaching practices, support improved learning outcomes for children.
Implementation of the professional growth cycle for building teachers’ capability through ongoing professional development is at an early stage.
Blessings for Life will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Improve, extend, and embed curriculum evaluation, planning and assessment for learning processes. These practices should make clear teachers’ responses and roles in adding complexity to children’s learning and recording children’s progress over time.
Continue to build teachers’ capability to do, use and embed evaluation for improvement to promote valued learning outcomes for all children.
Embed the professional growth cycle with a focus on strengthening the capability of teachers.
Before the review, the staff and management of Blessings for Life 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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
17 November 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Blessings for Life |
|
Profile Number |
45804 |
|
Location |
Pukenui, Northland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
37 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
17 November 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, July 2017 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Blessings for Life provides full-day education and care for 25 children, including a maximum of 5 children up to two years of age. The centre operates from the manager's home in the Far North, overlooking the Houhora harbour. The centre serves a mainly bicultural Māori and Pākehā community.
Babies and toddlers have a separate indoor space for more quiet play, and are well supported by their teachers to join older children for meals and mixed-age play. The outside space caters very well for children of all ages.
The philosophy is based on strong Christian values and promotes a curriculum that is led by a good balance of child and adult led learning programmes.
Most teachers, including the manager, are experienced and well qualified. The manager and several staff are family members, an aspect that promotes the whānau-focused approaches and ethos at the centre. In 2016 the owner opened a new Blessings for Life centre in Kaitaia.
The manager and head teacher oversee the daily programme and operations. A full-time cook provides nutritious and healthy meals, and good adult-to-child ratios give children opportunities for individualised care and attention.
The 2013 ERO report noted many positive features about learning programmes and centre operations. It identified next steps to further improve programme planning, success for Māori children and self review. Good progress has been made in all these areas.
Children at Blessings for Life are settled, happy and engaged in their play and learning. Teachers and staff promote a calm, peaceful environment and support children to play in areas of their choice. Older children have good opportunities to play collaboratively, or independently as they prefer. They are friendly and caring towards each other. Older children are especially supportive and kind to their younger friends.
Whānau and children are well known by staff, and they make parents comfortable in the centre. Quiet, comfortable spaces are thoughtfully furnished to provide warmth and security. Teachers increasingly work in partnership with whānau, and respond to the aspirations parents have for their children. These good practices promote children's strong sense of ownership and security in the centre.
Teachers are respectful and positive with children and each other. They work with and alongside children and encourage an unhurried pace to the day. Staff give appropriate space and time for children to explore and expand on their ideas. In line with the centre philosophy, teachers promote a child-centred curriculum and play-based approaches alongside deliberate acts of teaching. Teachers value children's strengths, knowledge and individual characteristics.
The spacious centre environment is thoughtfully organised to provide a range of attractive spaces that encourage exploration and fun physical challenges. Children have very good opportunities for creative and imaginative play. Literacy, numeracy and science learning is promoted throughout the daily programme and in the context of play. Science learning is often connected to te ao Māori, to the history of the area and whenua.
Teachers are becoming increasingly skilled in their use of te reo Māori, and tikanga is practised throughout the centre. The ongoing strengthening of bicultural practice shows the commitment that teachers have for promoting the language, culture and identity of Māori children and bicultural Aotearoa New Zealand.
Teachers are affectionate and nurturing, especially with infants and toddlers. They follow younger children's rhythms and cues, and work in partnership with parents to meet children's care needs. All teachers are currently involved in professional learning to strengthen the programme for the younger age group. Centre leaders are growing professional connections with local primary schools, easing transition for older children.
Children's portfolios provide a very good record of how the service works alongside whānau to support children's holistic needs. Leaders are now refining their learning stories so that children's next learning steps are clear in teachers' planning.
The manager leads the centre effectively and nurtures staff. Leadership approaches support teachers to grow as leaders and learners, and model and affirm very good teaching and learning practices. The manager promotes collaboration and shared decision making with staff and whānau. Leaders skilfully plan, resource and review learning programmes and centre operations. Ongoing improvement-focused approaches include good feedback and support for teachers about their practice.
The service's guiding documents are very well enacted on a daily basis within a wider vision of serving and supporting whānau in the local community. Leaders, staff and whānau are looking forward to moving to a new, purpose built centre early in 2018.
Centre leaders now plan to strengthen their internal evaluation of programmes and systems. This useful next step would support leaders as they prepare to align the centre's strategic planning with teachers' appraisal goals and professional learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Blessings for Life 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:
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 Blessings for Life will be in four years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
26 July 2017
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 |
Pukenui |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45804 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
25 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 12, Girls 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
15 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2.5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3.5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
26 July 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
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.
Blessings for Life is a new service providing full day care and education in a home-like environment for up to 20 children. The centre largely provides for children over two years old but also caters for a small group of infants and toddlers. The owner opened the centre in November 2011 with staff who are close family members and share Christian beliefs. As a result strong features of the service are the family atmosphere, a low key approach to routines and programmes underpinned by Christian values.
Staff have engaged in first aid training but have not yet established professional development programmes. Most of the staff are registered early childhood teachers who have a strong interest in the community and in establishing learning partnerships with families. Almost half the centre roll is Māori and teachers are committed to supporting these children to succeed as Māori.
This is the first ERO review of Blessings for Life.
The centre is a warm and welcoming environment for children and their families. Children settle happily, quickly make choices about play and activities of interest and interact confidently with adults. They are relaxed and engage enthusiastically with their friends. Children participate well in mat-time activities and planned project work. Infants and toddlers explore independently and receive affectionate care within the whole group.
Māori children are specifically supported through the use of waiata, karakia and some Māori-themed resources. They are also learning to recite their mihi. Teachers are developing their integration of te reo Māori in the programme.
Teachers support children's involvement in the programme well. They consistently work alongside children engaging them in conversations that encourage children to share their own ideas. Teachers expect children to develop as independent learners with respect for the environment and each other. Positive guidance, trusting relationships and affirming interactions characterise teachers’ work with children.
Teachers plan programmes in response to the interests of individual children and the group. They plan associated activities and resources to provide a variety of learning experiences. Teachers incorporate science learning well and make very good use of the outdoor environment and community resources. They thoughtfully evaluate the effects of their programmes and record children's learning in attractive assessment portfolios.
Teachers are keen to support children's transition to school and provide some specific early literacy and numeracy tasks as part of this commitment. It is important that the emphasis is on children learning literacy and numeracy in more playful contexts rather than in formal literacy activities. As they continue to develop the centre curriculum, teachers could increase their focus on children up to two years old. While these children are warmly nurtured, they would benefit from a deliberate emphasis on toddlers’ play and development in the programme plan.
Parents and families are welcomed partners in the centre. They are well informed about activities, invited to share information about their children and encouraged to be involved in their child’s learning. The owner and teachers respect and value the diversity of their community and are responsive to different family needs. They are developing strategies to further involve families in planning and self-review processes.
The owner has made good progress in establishing centre management and administration systems. The family nature of the business has resulted in suitable low key practices that are supported by an appropriate range of policies and procedures. The owner has developed a long-term strategic plan that informs her annual planning. She recognises she could now strengthen this framework to align better with early childhood regulations. The establishment of professional development programmes for all staff would enhance these strategies for improvement. In keeping with the early stage of the centre’s development, documentation of self review is just beginning.
The centre owner and ERO agree that the next steps for centre development should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Blessings for Life 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:
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 practices the owner should review practices related to centre excursions to clarify strategies for risk management and to improve adult to child ratios for beach trips.
The next ERO review of Blessings for Life will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
27 September 2013
|
Location |
Pukenui, Northland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45804 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
20 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
32 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 18 Boys 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Australian North American Indian CookIsland Māori |
13 14 2 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
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 |
July 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
27 September 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
No previous ERO reports |
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.