Glenshea Street, Putaruru
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea is located in the South Waikato township of Putaruru. It is licensed for 40 children over the age of two years. The roll of 57 includes 18 Māori children.
Through the philosophy kaiako aim to promote children's independence and self confidence to learn through self discovery ā tōna wā (in their own time). The philosophy references the importance of supporting success for Māori, noticing what all children bring to their learning and respect for all cultures.
Since the 2015 ERO review the licence has been increased in response to community demand. This has resulted in the appointment of a fourth registered and qualified early childhood teacher. The 2015 ERO report identified next steps about assessment, planning and evaluation, and curriculum development.
The centre operates under the governance and management of the Central North Island Kindergarten Trust, a community not-for-profit organisation. The overarching philosophy of the organisations is to provide kindergartens where children learn through play and are supported to reach their potential.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 kindergarten reviews in the Central North Island Kindergarten Trust.
Reciprocal and genuine relationships have built a high level of trust among families, children and staff. The primary caregiver approach supports initial secure attachment and trusting relationships to develop. Well-considered transitions into and beyond the service foster a strong sense of belonging and success for children and families. Teachers work as a collaborative and child-focused team. They take time to know children and their families, paying careful attention to providing appropriate and individualised responses.
Highly-inclusive practices support children with additional learning needs. Teachers’ professional knowledge and insights enable them to work effectively with a diverse range of learning needs. They are strong advocates for children and their whānau. Teachers are well-supported by the trust to ensure equitable opportunities for all children at Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea.
Kaupapa Māori concepts are becoming integral to curriculum decision making. The bicultural curriculum and treaty-based practices have been strengthened to include local history, stories, karakia and waiata that link to Raukawa. The deeper involvement of, and engagement with, whānau Māori has greatly assisted this development. Teachers are also increasing their knowledge and skills to use te reo Māori as a functional language with support from whānau and iwi.
Ā tōna wā drives the curriculum. Children lead their own learning at their own pace and this fosters independence, self confidence and decision making. Spacious learning environments represent all areas of play and enables children to independently access resources. Priority is given to building children’s social competence and problem-solving skills. Rich and varied learning opportunities for children to play, explore and learn in the kindergarten and wider community develop their view of themselves as capable learners across all curriculum areas.
Teachers are knowledgeable about each child as a unique learner. They are developing assessment for learning practices. Assessment acknowledges what each child brings to their learning and includes perspectives of the child and their whānau. Individual planning is designed to recognise and build on identified learning dispositions and show continuity of learning over time. Teachers value each child’s whakapapa by using this as the starting point to build on who they are, what they bring and to enhance children's inherent capability.
Internal evaluation is ongoing and leads to improved practices and outcomes for children and their whānau. Long-term self review provides opportunities for teachers to examine their own knowledge and practice, determining what is working well and what can be changed to consistently promote positive learning outcomes for all children.
Governance and management provide comprehensive, well-established systems and practices to monitor, evaluate and plan for improvement for the trust's early learning services. Clear guidelines and expectations for centre practice and curriculum are fostered by the leadership team and trust. The vision and values support positive outcomes for children’s learning, wellbeing and that of their whānau.
There is a need to strengthen appraisal practice by giving priority to:
meeting requirements of the New Zealand Education Council
aligning to the Trust’s recently reviewed appraisal policy and procedures
ensuring that attestation of Standards for the Teaching Profession (Our Standards) is based on sufficient evidence.
Leaders and teachers acknowledge the need to continue to develop and evolve assessment for learning. Enhancing the use of the bicultural assessment framework should build stronger identity for Māori children, reflect Māori perspectives of these children, their world and place in it.
Before the review, the staff and management of Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to Health and Safety. To meet agreed requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
earthquake safety- ensure equipment that could topple or fall is secured
emergency drills - adults need to be familiar with all emergency drills, and carry these out with children on a 3 monthly basis.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS6, HS8.
The next ERO review of Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea will be in three years.
Adrienne Fowler
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
1 February 2019
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.
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Location |
Putaruru, South Waikato |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5174 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, aged over 2 |
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Service roll |
57 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 26 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
18 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2018 |
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Date of this report |
1 February 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
December 2012 |
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Education Review |
December 2009 |
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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.
Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea is located in Putaruru. It is licensed to provide education and care for 30 children over the age of two years. At the time of this ERO review there were 47 children on the roll and 11 of these children identify as Māori. The service operates Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 2.45pm.
The kindergarten operates under the auspices of the Central North Island Kindergarten Trust. The trust provides robust policies and guidelines to support the operation of the kindergarten. It sets an overall strategic plan to guide kindergarten development. A professional leader, employed by the trust, supports practice in the kindergarten through regular visits. They work collaboratively with the head teacher to build leadership capacity, provide targeted support, coach and mentor teaching staff, ensure the trust policies and guidelines are followed and that the philosophy is enacted. The trust is currently reviewing teacher appraisal in order to move away from a system that encourages teachers to meet minimum standards, to one where they are encouraged to undertake deeper inquiries that will lead to improvements in their practice.
Since the previous ERO review there have been no changes to the composition of the teaching team. All teachers, including the head teacher, are fully qualified early childhood teachers.
All members of the teaching team have participated in professional development about childhood brain development and positive guidance strategies.
The kindergarten has a strong reporting history with ERO. As recommended in the previous ERO report, teachers have extensively reviewed the kindergarten philosophy. The new philosophy now emphasises the development of children’s independence, confidence and enthusiasm for learning within an environment where children lead their own learning.
This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Central North Island Kindergarten Trust cluster.
Children are well supported to become capable and competent learners. Children lead their own learning through play and independently access the resources they need to support it. They set their own goals and rules, problem-solve, and assist others to achieve their goals. They confidently communicate their needs, talk about their learning and experiences, and negotiate skilfully with teachers and peers. Children benefit from opportunities to be involved in sustained, cooperative and imaginative play, and are supported to be self-managing in all aspects of the daily programme.
Children enjoy sensitive, caring relationships with teachers, whose interactions with children are consistently respectful, warm and calm. Children are given meaningful choices and are consulted about decisions that affect them. Teachers follow the child’s lead and act as a resource person, facilitator and play mate in order to empower, challenge and extend their learning.
The kindergarten environment is well resourced and thoughtfully presented. It contains many open-ended resources that children can use creatively in many different ways and locations.
Teachers provide high quality support for oral language development. Effective strategies observed by ERO include modelling, providing rich and varied opportunities to speak and discuss, and open-ended questioning.
Teachers have made good use of professional development about how the brain works to improve the quality of their interactions with children. Changes to practice include:
Participation in the 'Incredible Years' programme has enhanced the range and consistency of effective positive guidance strategies used by teachers.
Positive features of the kindergarten curriculum include:
Opportunities and experiences that develop skills in the creative and performing arts is a strength of the kindergarten.
The head teacher is developing a shared and collaborative approach to leadership and decision making. Ongoing individual and peer observation and reflection is well-embedded and leads to improvements in teacher practice.
There is an effective process for self-review that is focussed on improving outcomes for children. It is planned, systematic and responsive to identified priorities.
Teachers know children and their families well. Parents and whānau are encouraged to take an active part in the daily programme. They are kept well-informed about their children’s learning through informal conversations, learning profiles both written and on-line, and a daily communication notebook for each child. Parents spoken to by ERO appreciate how approachable teachers are to answer questions and respond to needs.
ERO and kindergarten leaders agree that the next steps for the teaching team are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea 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 Central Kids Kindergartens - Glenshea will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
|
Location |
Putaruru |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5174 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
47 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 24 Boys 23 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
11 33 3 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
18 November 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2006 |
||
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.