4 View Road, Papakura
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Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Edukids Papakura was built in 2015, and licensed to provide education and care for 62 children, including up to 19 children under two years of age. This is the first ERO report for the centre.
The centre is part of the national BestStart Education and Care Centres organisation, which provides an overarching governance and management framework as well as personnel to support individual centres.
Most children enrolled are from the local area. While many children are Pākehā or Māori, the growing roll is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse. The majority of children attend for full days, but some attend for morning or afternoon sessions.
Children are catered for in three age groups. Each group has its own indoor area and good access to well designed outdoor areas. The centre was designed as a community kindergarten with the intention of providing a service for pre-schoolers. Some building modifications have been made to cater for the wider age group that the centre is now licensed for.
A centre manager is responsible for the day-to-day running of the centre and at the time of this review, was ending a period of extended leave. The centre employs five qualified teachers and two teachers in training. BestStart managers are in the process of recruiting a head teacher.
The centre's philosophy is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and reflects BestStart's commitment to honouring the Treaty of Waitangi. It values partnership with parents/whānau, and the role of children's play in their learning. The philosophy expects that teachers will empower children, allowing them to follow their interests within the educational programme.
This review was part of a cluster of four early childhood reviews in the BestStart Education and Care Centres organisation.
Children benefit from supportive interactions with teachers. Teachers have developed positive relationships with parents/whānau, and work in partnership with them to support children's learning and development. Teachers show respect for children in their interactions, during play and care activities.
Children are confident when engaging with adults and display a strong sense of belonging at the centre. They are respectful of other children, and the centre's environment and resources.
Children under two are well cared for. Teachers have developed individual care plans for each child and these are regularly reviewed. Teachers could now consider how they will document how they plan to support the learning of each child.
Teachers in the toddler and preschool rooms have effective ways of identifying current areas of focus in children's learning. They are exploring different ways of recording their planning and assessing learning.
Children of all ages have opportunities to develop their oral language. Teachers invite children to contribute to decision making and listen to children's responses. They build on children's interests, introducing new vocabulary during discussions. Teachers extend children's thinking by commenting on their play and asking questions.
Teachers have made good progress towards evaluating and strengthening their bicultural knowledge and practices. They have developed a plan to improve their support for Māori children as learners and to support all children to learn about tikanga and te reo Māori.
The centre is developing ways to support children's transition to school from the centre. The programme in the preschool room is influenced by BestStart's Be School Ready initiative, which recognises the importance of growing children's independence and social skills. Teachers are establishing relationships with local school to support children's transitions to school.
The centre's building is spacious and well resourced and can be adapted in response to the ages and requirements of the children enrolled. Children have easy access between indoor and outdoor areas. Equipment and resources are readily accessed. Teachers could review the purpose of displays and ensure that displays that are for children are presented at their height.
The centre has been managed well through a time of development and change. The professional services manager and the business manager have provided support for the relieving centre manager. Changes are now being made to provide well for the wider age range.
Teachers are participating in relevant and sustained professional development. They are encouraged to reflect on their practice with the aim of improving teaching and learning. Improvements to appraisal processes support this aim.
BestStart supports teachers’ professional growth well. The organisation has reviewed its appraisal system and provides targeted professional learning and development.
BestStart has useful internal evaluation systems for monitoring service operations. These include regular management meetings and an internal audit process (QEC). Centre staff also use internal evaluation to review aspects of centre operations and would benefit from further support to strengthen their evaluation practices.
The centre’s strategic plan is linked to the BestStart vision and strategic plan. Strategic planning would be strengthened by ensuring that goals are clearly stated, action plans are developed to achieve the goals and that progress towards the goals is monitored.
Managers agree that key next steps for the centre include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids Papakura 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 centre managers should ensure that temperature and air flow in the sleep room is appropriate for its purpose.
The next ERO review of Edukids Papakura will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
22 March 2017
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.
| Location | Papakura, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46662 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 62 children, including up to 19 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 61 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 31 Girls 30 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Indian other ethnicities | 13 36 7 5 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | January 2017 | ||
| Date of this report | 22 March 2017 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| No previous ERO reports | ||
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.
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.