19 Peddie Street, Taradale, Napier
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Edukids Taradale is a private early childhood learning service, owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd. BestStart, previously known as Kidicorp Ltd, is a large national organisation that owns early childhood learning services throughout New Zealand. A centre manager has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the centre. She is supported by an assistant manager, a head teacher and a business and professional services manager.
Edukids Taradale is licensed for 65 children, including 25 up to the age of two years. The current roll of 79 children, includes 13 who identify as Māori. The service caters for a diverse community ranging from Taradale through to the wider Napier area.
The centre has two learning areas that comprise one room for children up to two years old and the other for those over two years.
The long-established staff has sustained the high quality of the service reported in the March 2014 ERO report. This report recommended that, to strengthen self review, leaders and staff needed to identify the outcomes they wanted and evaluate how effectively these were achieved. This recommendation has been met.
This review was part of a cluster of four in BestStart Educare Ltd.
The teaching and learning practices in this centre promote positive outcomes for all children. Warm, reciprocal interactions between teachers and children contribute to a positive, settled learning environment. Children appear happy, active and engaged. A strong sense of belonging is evident.
Teachers' respectful and collaborative practices result in a calm, nurturing atmosphere where children, parents and families feel welcome and valued. Children’s learning is effectively extended through their participation in discussions, activities and problem-solving tasks. Literacy, mathematics and science are strongly promoted.
Children play cooperatively and also have opportunities for quiet, independent play. The environment for children up to the age of two is peaceful and teachers have a calm, unhurried approach.
Teachers are reflective practitioners. They have sound curriculum knowledge and their practice reflects the centre philosophy.
Prompts, artefacts, murals and natural resources in the centre reflect an Aotearoa New Zealand environment. Teachers' and leaders' commitment to implementing a bicultural curriculum is evident in practice. They have a clear understanding of strategies and approaches to promote educational success for Māori children.
The centre's curriculum is effectively designed to respond to the strengths, interests and needs of all children. Teachers have a collaborative and visual approach to planning for learning that is inclusive of parents' contributions. Outcomes are documented in children's e-portfolios. These are attractively presented with photographs that show the wide range of activities in which children participate. There is evidence in the portfolios of continuity of learning, as well as extension of children's emerging interests and strengths. Teachers have rightly identified the need for, and have introduced, hard copies of portfolios to enable children to revisit their learning.
Children's transitions within and from the centre are well considered and made in collaboration with parents and whānau. The centre's transition programme supports children to move smoothly from the centre to school.
Leadership is a strength in this centre. Leaders effectively build capability within the service to promote positive outcomes for children. There is a strong improvement culture and a well-established internal evaluation process. Teachers deliberately inquire into their own practice, using current research as a guide. Purposeful plans are put in place with a strong focus on improving outcomes for children.
The service is very well placed to promote and sustain quality improvement. Teachers are effectively supported by BestStart Ltd. Appraisal is robust and consistent with the New Zealand Education Council expectations. The professional services manager and business manager regularly review and report on professional, financial and compliance matters. This support enables the centre manager and teachers to focus on delivering the curriculum and sustaining and improving centre operation.
Leaders and management have identified that the next steps are:
Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids Taradale 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.
The next ERO review of Edukids Taradale will be in four years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
17 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.
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Location |
Napier |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
55475 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
65 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
79 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 42, Girls 37 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Other ethnic groups |
13 54 4 8 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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|
Review team on site |
January 2017 |
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Date of this report |
17 March 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
March 2014 |
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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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Edukids Taradale offers all day sessions for a maximum of 65 children, including 25 aged up to two years old. Since their respective 2011 ERO reports, two centres on the one site have merged into one licence. This transition has sustained good care and education, and offered flexibility for children, their families and whānau.
The centre’s philosophy of ‘respectful relationships and child self-directed play' is evident in the programme. Increased engagement with parents and whānau involves regular face-to-face conversations and the use of e-portfolios.
Since the previous ERO reports, combined ownership of the two centres by Kidicorp Ltd has involved the implementation of new policies, procedures and systems. The centre’s management plan has clear links with the Kidicorp regional strategic goals and priorities to guide its development.
This is the centre’s first ERO report under its merged licence. The two centres that are now Edukids Taradale had positive reporting histories with ERO.
Respectful and caring relationships are evident amongst children, teachers and parents. Children are independent learners and comfortable exploring the environment. Teachers model expectations and language through conversations. Often they are participants in children’s creative play. Older children engage with others in collaborative play for long periods of time. Routines are flexible and responsive to children’s needs and prompting. Infants’ and toddlers’ care responds to their need for secure attachments. Conversation between teachers and parents are respectfully incorporated in these children’s routines.
The programmes for infants, toddlers and young children are responsive to their range of interests and age and stage of learning. Planning identifies links with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Parents increasingly contribute to the curriculum by linking centre learning with children’s experiences in the family and wider community. Children’s languages, cultures and identities are valued and included in the programme. Bi-cultural partnerships with whānau support the integration of te ao Māori. Māori children are encouraged to be successful learners and contributors.
Review of planning processes by teachers has helped develop better alignment between children’s observed interests and planning, assessment and evaluation. Staff meetings are based on what teachers notice and recognise in children’s play and learning. Teachers identify ways they will respond to and extend group and individual interests. Managers have identified this as an ongoing area for development as they become more familiar with the principles of Ka Hikitia: Accelerating Success 2013-2017 and Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners.
E-portfolios provide an effective portal for families, whānau and teachers to share stories about children’s learning and interests at home and the centre. Children revisit their learning on digital photo frames and laptops in the centre and at home with their parents. ERO discussed, with teachers, the need to incorporate children’s voices in the review of the e-portfolios.
Learning stories effectively capture children’s development, learning and cultural perspectives. They include their participation in authentic learning experiences. Older children’s stories include connections with literacy and numeracy skills. In assessment meetings, teachers identify themes in learning stories and track teaching strategies that have effectively worked with children.
Transitions within and beyond the centre are well-considered and responsive to children, their family and whānau preferences and needs. A centre ‘Be School Ready’ certificate is given to each child. It is based on children’s social competence and linked to the New Zealand Curriculum key competencies. Teachers work hard to establish relationships with local schools to arrange transition visits.
Centre staff are very well supported by a Kidicorp management team. A Quality Education and Care plan and Annual Plan identify education and care priorities that will contribute to improving outcomes for children, their families and teachers. The centre manager and head teachers’ meetings focus on leadership practices and staff development across the centre. Teachers and leaders develop and improve their professional practices through a needs based learning and development programme. Staff set goals that support centre and regional aims. Teachers in training are provided with a well planned, targeted professional guidance programme.
Self review is evidence and research based. It is used to inform decisions that will continue to improve outcomes for children and their families. Parents are valued as contributors to reviews.
To strengthen self review leaders and teachers should identify the outcomes they want from children’s use of resources and evaluate how effectively these are achieved.
Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids Taradale 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 Edukids Taradale will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services Central Region (Acting)
26 March 2014
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 |
Taradale |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55475 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
65 children, including 25 aged up to 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
84 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 42, Girls 42 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese Other |
9 66 6 3 |
|
|
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 |
February 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
26 March 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
This is the first report for this centre under a merged licence. |
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.