BestStart Elles Road

Education institution number:
45957
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
89
Telephone:
Address:

200 Elles Road, Invercargill

View on map

BestStart Elles Road

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

BestStart Elles Road is governed by the BestStart organisation. The center manager and a team leader are supported by an area manager. A quarter of children attending the center are Māori. A small number of children are of Pacific heritage. This service has recently returned to a full license.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Infants and toddlers experience an environment that is calm. Children have choices in their learning and make decisions about their involvement in the programme. Their learning goals are set with whānau and learning over time is documented in assessment records.

Premises and facilities are sufficiently resourced to support the provision of suitable activities and learning experiences for the age and abilities of children attending the service. An annual plan, philosophy and suitable, policies and procedures guide the services operation. Health and safety require a stronger focus to ensure that the service continues to meet all licensing requirements.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • seek and integrate throughout the curriculum, the views of children, parents and whānau to respond to their cultures, languages, and identities  

  • continue to build teachers capability to meaningfully integrate te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into day-to-day practice. 

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

  • children being supervised and seated while eating.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS22].

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Acting, Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

21 February 2023 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

BestStart Elles Road

Profile Number

45957

Location

Invercargill

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

75 children, including up to 25 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

99

Review team on site

December 2022

Date of this report

21 February 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, June 2017; Education Review, January 2014

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a license to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing 

    organization
  • previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’

  • that has moved from a provisional to a full 

    license
  • that have been re-licensed due to a change of ownership

  • where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

  • discussions with those involved in the service

  • consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems

  • observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.

Edukids Elles Rd - 12/06/2017

1 Evaluation of Edukids Elles Road

How well placed is Edukids Elles 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

Edukids Elles Road is owned and operated by the BestStart group. It provides full-day education and care for up to 75 children in a purpose-built facility in South Invercargill. Children play and learn in three separate age-based areas known as the nursery, preschool, and the prep room. There is a separate outdoor area for infants and toddlers. Older toddlers and young children share an adjoining playground.

A centre manager, and a lead head teacher and two head teachers form the leadership team. A BestStart Business Manager and BestStart Professional Services Manager (PSM) visit regularly to support the service.

Since the 2014 review, there have been some staff changes. This includes a new centre manager who had been a head teacher within the service. The centre is staffed by a combination of qualified early childhood teachers and caregivers. BestStart has secured funding for an extra staff member to help provide additional support for children who need it.

This review was part of a cluster of four reviews in the BestStart Group in Southland.

The Review Findings

The service leaders have taken a planned approach to addressing the recommendations in the 2014 report. They have made considerable improvements in all the key areas. These improvements and the high expectations leaders have for teaching and learning are contributing to positive outcomes for children.

The service philosophy clearly outlines the shared values and beliefs and is used to guide practice and decision making. The philosophy would be further strengthened by including the service's desired outcomes for children and stating its commitment to the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Developing reciprocal and responsive relationships with whānau and valuing each child's culture and identity are central within the philosophy. Leaders and teachers think carefully about and adopt different ways to:

  • involve whānau in their child's learning

  • recognise the diverse cultures

  • support whānau in their parenting role.

Records of learning could more consistently show how close relationships with whānau, whānau aspirations and valuing cultural diversity contribute to planning to support children's learning.

Children's learning is increasingly well supported by a deliberate programme focus in all rooms on developing their sense of belonging, wellbeing and skills for relating to each other in positive ways. Teachers provide a range of appropriate experiences relevant to the ages and interests of the children they are responsible for. Infants in particular benefit from a relaxed, unhurried pace and many opportunities for close one-to-one interactions with their primary caregivers.

Other aspects of the programme that support children's learning include:

  • more opportunities for early literacy learning as a result of teacher professional development

  • a greater focus and inclusion of children's language culture and identity in the programme and environment

  • well-planned strategies and experiences that are enabling children with diverse needs to have greater success in their learning

  • greater consideration of how to support children's wellbeing during transitions into, within and out of the service

  • opportunities for choice, challenge and physical development.

Leaders and staff have developed useful planning to improve the bicultural curriculum and to improve the way they respond to Māori families. This work is in the early stages and continues to be a self-identified focus for ongoing development.

Service leaders, with the ongoing support of the PSM, have had a sustained focus on improving the quality of individual and group planning and intentional teaching. The next step is to consolidate, embed and grow consistency of practice in this area across the centre. Leaders should continue to ensure that records of learning and interactions keep a strong focus on the intended learning.

There are useful systems to support all teachers to have a better understanding of effective internal evaluation. The PSM and centre leaders agree that growing all teachers' capability in internal evaluation is work in progress. The schedule for internal evaluation has a focus on areas of practice that are likely to have a positive impact on children's learning, for example the quality of teacher interactions. Internal evaluation will be strengthened by developing clearer indicators of best practice relevant to the evaluation focus and using these indicators at all stages of the evaluation.

The centre leaders are effectively coaching and mentoring teachers with regular specific feedback and feed forward to improve the quality of teaching practice. They are building a collaborative team with clear improvement-focussed expectations.

The centre is very well supported by BestStart Educare. Support includes regular visits from managers who provide constructive advice and guidance. The organisation has a useful policy and procedure framework, provides targeted professional learning for leaders and teachers, and has very effective regional quality assurance and strategic planning practices.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders have identified and ERO agrees the key next steps to improve outcomes for children are to continue to strengthen:

  • all teachers' understanding and use of effective internal evaluation

  • consolidate and embed planning, assessment and evaluation, and ensure teachers show how they respond to whānau aspirations and value children's cultural backgrounds

  • the philosophy, by including desired outcomes for children and more clearly identifying commitment to the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids Elles 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.

To strengthen current practice service leaders should show in risk management plans for excursions how they will respond to an identified risk should it occur. 

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Edukids Elles Road will be in three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)

12 June 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

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

45957

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

75 children, including up to 25 aged under 2

Service roll

84

Gender composition

Boys: 49

Girls: 35

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Pacific

Other

13

55

3

13

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

April 2017

Date of this report

12 June 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

January 2014

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.

The Child – the Heart of the Matter