BestStart Marne Road Kindy

Education institution number:
10032
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
24
Telephone:
Address:

35 Marne Road, Papakura

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Community Kindy Marne Rd - 11/10/2017

1 Evaluation of Community Kindy Marne Rd

How well placed is Community Kindy Marne Rd 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

Community Kindy Marne Road is licensed to provide education and care for up to 30 children over two years of age. Children play together in the centre's generous indoor and outdoor spaces.

The centre is part of the BestStart organisation, which provides a strong management framework. It also provides a range of support services and personnel, including a professional services manager (PSM) and a business manager (BM) to support the smooth operation of the centre.

The qualified teachers have become an established and collaborative team. The manager and teachers are currently focusing on the review of their centre's philosophy with the goal of making it easier for parents to understand.

The 2014 ERO report noted several areas of good practice that supported children to be confident and capable learners. The report identified development priorities, including strengthening the assessment of children's learning and reflecting the Treaty of Waitangi in the centre's philosophy. Progress has been made in these areas.

This review was part of a cluster of seven reviews in the BestStart organisation.

The Review Findings

Children are capable and competent learners. They confidently engage with their teachers and each other. Children are inclusive and readily invite others to join in their play. They are caring and considerate of each other.

Children have a strong sense of belonging in the centre. Indoor and outdoor environments are attractive and well organised. Children access all areas freely. They interact well, direct their own play and sustain their interest and involvement in activities over time. Daily routines provide a flexible and responsive structure that works effectively for children. As a result, children are confident in the learning environment.

Centre managers work well together to reflect on operations and to promote positive outcomes for children. They have high expectations of teachers' practice. Managers' respectful and caring approach influences relationships and the general tone of the centre. Teachers notice and respond to children's immediate care and wellbeing needs. They are particularly responsive to a small group of children with special learning needs. Teachers also have a good overview of children's long term development.

Teachers provide a programme that builds children's social competence and encourages them to be thinkers. They identify children's common interests and find ways to stimulate their learning and extend their knowledge. Wall displays encourage children to revisit their learning.

Local walks offer 'real life' opportunities for children within the local area. Teachers find innovative ways for children and the centre to connect with the community during these outings. Other excursions provide children with good opportunities for learning experiences.

Teachers take a genuine interest in children's play. They gently affirm and support children's ideas and opinions as they develop their working theories. Teachers are developing their capacity to use te reo Māori within the programme. Children confidently experiment with waiata and poi.

Managers and teachers build strong, supportive relationships with parents. They are responsive and respectful in providing support for whānau. Parents who spoke to ERO reported that their initial visits to the centre gave them confidence that the service would meet their children's needs.

Teachers provide parents with good information to explain how learning through play supports children to be ready for school. Parents contribute learning stories from home that often build on or relate to events or experiences their children have had at the centre.

BestStart continues to provide good support for centres through professional development opportunities, management documentation and a range of quality assurance processes. PSMs and BMs maintain positive relationships with centre personnel and have high expectations for centre performance.

The challenge for PSMs is to use their current focus on teaching as inquiry and newly developed mentoring processes to help centre managers and teachers achieve the high quality practices that BestStart values. Community Kindy Marne Road provides a good model for other centres that are establishing these practices. Recent work to establish goal-focused strategic plans in each centre should also help to facilitate meaningful improvements in teaching and learning.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that key next steps for centre improvement include:

  • teachers continuing to find ways to respond to individual children's 'passions' and interests to extend their learning
  • continuing to incorporate whānau aspirations into planning, and recording children's progress toward achieving these goals
  • extending the range and use of outdoor resources so that children's exploration and imaginative play are promoted.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Community Kindy Marne Rd 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Community Kindy Marne Rd will be in four years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

11 October 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

Papakura, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

10032

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, over 2 years of age

Service roll

32

Gender composition

Girls 17 Boys 15

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Fijian
Tongan
Filipino
other

15
5
4
2
2
4

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

August 2017

Date of this report

11 October 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2014

Education Review

April 2011

Education Review

February 2008

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.

Community Kindy Marne Rd - 03/06/2014

1 Evaluation of Marne Rd Community Kindy

How well placed is Marne Rd Community Kindy 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

Marne Road Community Kindy provides good quality education and care for children over two years of age. Although most children are either Māori or Pākehā/NZ European, centre staff cater well for an increasingly diverse community. The centre runs from an attractively renovated villa in a suburban street in Papakura.

Since the 2011 ERO report, there is a new teaching team that includes a centre manager and head teacher. The manager looks after the centre’s daily operations and administration, and the head teacher leads curriculum development.

Most teachers are fully registered and qualified. The centre continues to be governed by the Kidicorp Organisation. This organisation continues to provide good professional support for teachers and leaders.

Teachers continually improve learning programmes for children. They have also reviewed the centre’s philosophy. The centre’s philosophy promotes opportunities for children to lead their own learning and explore their interests. It also highlights the importance of oral language, including the use of children’s first or home languages.

The 2011 ERO report identified many strengths, including skilful teaching and learning practices, and teachers respecting children as capable, competent learners. It noted that teachers valued biculturalism and promoted meaningful partnerships with whānau. The report suggested that managers and teachers continue to promote and extend children’s play, and increasingly evaluate the quality of the programme.

The Review Findings

Teachers at Marne Rd Community Kindy provide learning programmes that value children’s identity, culture and language and their emerging interests. As a result, children engage in meaningful play. They are confident, articulate and sustain their play for periods of time. High levels of social interaction and cooperative play are evident between children. They also work well together in small groups. They engage in interesting and imaginative conversations. They share equipment, take turns and show respect for each other when playing or working in groups.

Teachers create stimulating mat times for children. These group times are well paced and encourage children to contribute. Teachers introduce a variety of activities to acknowledge and address the specific interests and cultural backgrounds of children.

Teachers interact well with all children and challenge them to think, solve problems and negotiate with each other. Learning activities are well supported to help children achieve success. Teachers are strengthening the bicultural content of the curriculum and are trialling a project approach to stimulate children’s learning.

The centre’s programme makes clear links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum and continues to provide good quality learning opportunities for children. Children develop early literacy and numeracy skills in the context of play.

Managers provide good support for the new team and have systems in place for children and staff wellbeing. Self review is used to evaluate the effectiveness of centre practices and is gradually bringing about improved learning outcomes for children. Leaders are considering how they can raise the quality of self review so that it is more meaningful and includes multiple voices.

Positive parent and whānau relationships are evident in the programme. Parents are encouraged to contribute and participate in the learning programme. The centre team are developing strategies to strengthen relationships with the increasingly ethnically diverse group of parents.

Key Next Steps

ERO and centre managers identify some next steps that include further:

  • strengthening planning, assessment and the evaluation of children’s learning
  • extending children's learning in the programme
  • reviewing the centre philosophy so that it reflects ‘The Treaty of Waitangi’
  • implementing self-review and strategic and annual planning systems that are inclusive of teachers and families and promote ongoing improvement.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Marne Rd Community Kindy 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.

ERO identified area of non-compliance relating to centre management. To meet requirements the service needs to ensure that there is a space for adults working at the service to use for breaks, meet parents and colleagues in private.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF9].

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Marne Rd Community Kindy will be in three years.

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services Northern Region

3 June 2014

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

Papakura, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

10032

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2

Service roll

46

Gender composition

Girls 25 Boys 21

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

Tongan

Indian

Middle Eastern

Samoan

Other

16

16

6

2

2

1

3

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

March 2014

Date of this report

3 June 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

April 2011

 

Education Review

February 2008

 

Education Review

March 2005

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.