BestStart Powells Road Kindy

Education institution number:
46585
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
31
Telephone:
Address:

48 Powells Road, Fairview Downs, Hamilton

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Community Kindy Powells Road - 11/10/2016

1 Evaluation of Community Kindy Powells Road

How well placed is Community Kindy Powells Road 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 Powells Road provides all-day education and care for children from two years old to school age from the Fairview Downs area of Hamilton. The centre is located in a new, purpose-built building where children of mixed ages learn together. At the time of this ERO review 53 children were enrolled, including 25 Māori children and others from a variety of nationalities.

The centre is privately owned by the umbrella organisation Best Start Educare Ltd who provide effective governance, leadership and management support underpinned by a clear vision and values. BestStart is committed to providing equitable opportunities for local families to increase their access to early childhood education. They provide a participatory van service for transport and work in close partnership with Ministry of Education services.

The centre was opened in October 2014 and fully licensed in 2015. Since opening, the centre has had many changes of leadership and teaching staff. The centre manager leads a qualified team comprised of a head teacher and four teachers.

The centre philosophy aims to provide a home away from home for children and their families where cultural heritage is acknowledged and respected. Teachers have documented a vision to establish a community of learners founded on shared leadership.

The Review Findings

Children participate in a lively and interesting curriculum that responds well to their individual strengths and interests. They are confident to explore and manage their own learning with responsive support from an enthusiastic teaching team. The wide range of high quality materials and equipment encourages children to experiment, ask questions and build their understanding about the world around them. Particular strengths of the curriculum are:

  • vibrant musical experiences provided by a teacher with musical skills and expertise

  • the integration of natural science into real-life contexts

  • literacy, mathematics and a love of books integrated into all learning experiences

  • opportunities for Māori, Pacific and other children to engage in rich bicultural and multicultural experiences in the centre and the wider community

  • encouragement for children to express themselves through the creative arts and conversations with interested adults.

Children benefit from being able to engage for sustained periods of time in group or individual activities of their choosing. A feature of the centre is the plentiful variety of healthy food provided for children to choose from and the extended periods of time they have for socialising and sharing kai with their friends and teachers. This routine contributes to a strong sense of wellbeing and belonging. Transitions into the centre are managed at children's own pace. Teachers are skilled at quickly engaging children in meaningful play. Transition to school is supported by a deliberate approach by integrating school-readiness skills into the context of children's play.

Teachers plan and prepare the environment and programme to be responsive to the aspirations and needs of children, families and whānau. Teachers enthusiastically participate in professional learning, reflect on their practice, and share their strengths and talents to enrich the curriculum. Trusting and positive relationships have been established with whānau, families and the wider community. Teachers from other cultures bring their cultural perspectives to deepen the collective understanding of culturally responsive practices. They consistently make use of a range of high quality teaching practices such as:

  • positive guidance and support

  • open questioning and learning conversations that add complexity to children's learning

  • intentional teaching strategies to extend children's interests

  • making links with children's prior learning experiences

  • fostering children's curiosity and wonder.

Assessment of children's learning and development is well understood and implemented. Displays are informative and reflect children's interests and progress. The introduction of digital portfolios of learning has increased parent voice and access to their children's learning. Individual portfolios are readily available for children to revisit and celebrate their learning.

The centre manager is an experienced leader who demonstrates courage and determination to establish the centre as a learning community. She is a strong advocate for children and families, and has been proactive in accessing and working professionally alongside specialist agencies to benefit children with identified needs. In spite of many changes to teaching personnel, she has established a collegial, multicultural team who bring a valuable range of abilities and experience to complement and benefit the service. The BestStart business and professional services managers provide effective and professional support for quality assurance. They offer informed advice and mentoring to the service when required. Effective self-review systems and processes at centre and governance levels contribute to ongoing and sustainable centre development and improvement.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps for ongoing improvement are to continue to:

  • increase children's independent access to equipment and materials for play and learning, particularly in the outdoor environment

  • further plan for the engagement of physically active learners and boys linked to their strengths and interests

  • develop shared and agreed criteria, expectations and responsibilities for presenting and reviewing the environment and curriculum

  • build the confidence and practices of the new teaching team.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Community Kindy Powells Road 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 Powells Road will be in three years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

11 October 2016

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

Hamilton

Ministry of Education profile number

46585

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

50 children, aged over 2

Service roll

53

Gender composition

Boys 29 Girls 24

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

African

Indian

Other Asian

Chinese

Other

Samoan

Tongan

25

18

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

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

July 2016

Date of this report

11 October 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

No previous ERO reports

 

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.