Carterton Preschool

1 Evaluation of Carterton Preschool

How well placed is Carterton Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Carterton Preschool is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Carterton Preschool is one of two privately owned and operated centres. It caters for children aged from three to five years with its sister centre catering for children under two years of age.

The philosophy emphasises the importance of commitment to children and the centre's values, the development of children's dispositions and a commitment to the natural environment. There is a focus on literacy, numeracy, bicultural curriculum and transition to primary school. A separate programme is offered in the school holiday periods.

There was a change to one of the two owners at the beginning of 2019. Some restructuring of centre operations has been made to accommodate this change. The owners have clearly defined management roles and some staffing changes have resulted from teachers gaining promotion.

The service’s February 2016 ERO report found the programme to be of high quality. Management and staff have continued to strengthen their knowledge and capacity for internal review and bicultural practice. Strong links have been maintained with local iwi representatives. Any areas identified for development in the previous report have been suitably addressed.

The Review Findings

Children are very well supported to become self-directed learners. They are highly engaged in sustained learning activities and empowered to lead their own learning. They engage well with their peers and learning opportunities provided. They co-construct learning opportunities with teachers and other children.

A commitment to supporting the achievement of Māori children and the adoption of bicultural practices is highly evident. There is an authentic approach to acknowledging and integrating te ao Māori. Artefacts are authentically incorporated into the environment and the curriculum. The centre, in partnership with local iwi, continues to have an active involvement in the Mangatarere Stream restoration project. This supports aspects of Māori tikanga to be adopted and children to learn how to be kaitiaki of the local environment.

Teachers are very responsive to and inclusive of children's diverse cultures, languages, and diverse learning needs. Leaders provide a high-quality environment for learning.

The centre's philosophical values and other aspects of the philosophy are strongly promoted. Teachers are highly skilled in engaging with children and supporting their play. They initiate carefully considered conversations to support and extend learning. Support for children's wellbeing is an ongoing focus. Behaviour is channelled in positive ways and children are supported to be inclusive of others. Resources are invitingly presented and promote investigation and exploration.

Carefully planned induction and transition processes support children and their families into and through the centre. A family group teacher in responsible for maintaining an ongoing relationship with and a flow of information to and from parents. Full reports capture and share detailed information about children at these transition points.

Assessment and planning for learning are highly developed and well implemented. This is strongly based on children’s interests, local events and matters of importance to whānau, families and children. Regular learning stories capture children's progress and shows how teachers effectively are supporting this. The team leader has identified a need to continue to support teachers with their evaluation of how well their actions support positive outcomes for children.

Appraisal processes are strong and have been further strengthened through the inclusion of a robust teacher inquiry process. This process is research informed, regularly undertaken and findings are shared among other staff. Strategic and annual planning practices seek to move the service forward in targeted areas of its operations.

Strong, professional leadership is evident. Leaders are improvement focused and seek to sustain improvements in operations and to bring about improved outcomes for all children. They have established a strong and positive teaching team culture where consistent, high quality practice is supported and promoted. They seek opportunities to involve local iwi and community members and value them as expert partners in staff learning and centre activities.

Internal evaluation is effectively used to inform decision making and to understand the impact of changes on learners and their learning. Leaders continue to work to ensure the sustainability of this approach in extending understanding amongst staff.

Key Next Steps

Leaders and teachers should continue to use their internal evaluation processes for ongoing improvement to outcomes for children.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Carterton Preschool 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

5 June 2020

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

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

The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

• Very well placed

• Well placed

• Requires further development

• Not well placed

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.