139-141 Roydvale Avenue, Burnside, Christchurch
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
First Steps Roydvale is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
First Steps Roydvale operates under the BestStart Educare Ltd management structure. BestStart is a national organisation that owns early childhood education centres across New Zealand.
The service provides full-day education and care for up to 62 children aged from birth to school age in three separate learning areas. Indoor and outdoor spaces are designed to promote interactions between the different areas in a home-like environment. Most staff are qualified and registered early childhood teachers. An on-site cook provides meals and snacks to meet children's dietary needs.
The experienced centre manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations. She is supported by two head teachers with responsibility for the separate learning areas. A BestStart business manager and professional services manager visit regularly and provide effective support for the service.
The service has continued to progress in addressing the recommendations in the 2013 ERO report, including strengthening bicultural practices and reflecting on outcomes for children.
This review was part of a cluster of seven centre reviews in the BestStart Group in Canterbury.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into an inclusive environment. Teachers know children well and promote positive and respectful relationships with and between children. They effectively support children to settle quickly into the centre.
Teachers are responsive to children’s interests, strengths and capabilities. They actively promote children's independence and self-managing skills. Teachers have a shared understanding of learning through play and promote this concept within the daily programme. A range of teaching strategies are used to engage and extend children's learning.
Children appear confident within the environment and play well together for extended periods. Good use is made of spaces to engage children in a variety of interesting and creative activities. Children have easy access to a variety of resources and equipment.
Nursery children enjoy caring and respectful interactions with consistent, nurturing teachers. Routines are flexible and unhurried, and focus on children's sense of belonging and wellbeing.
Children's home cultures and languages are valued, recognised and celebrated. Teachers have a shared philosophy of inclusive education. They have an increased understanding of, and regularly use te reo Māori within daily interactions with children.
Teachers regularly communicate with parents in a range of different ways about their child’s wellbeing and participation in the programme. They value parents' involvement in the life of the centre.
Children's transitions into, within and beyond the centre are flexible and responsive to the needs of the individual child and their family. Teachers have made good links with the local primary school, which support smooth transitions to school. They have identified that they would like to continue to develop an understanding of the school's curriculum to ensure children are well prepared when they start school.
Teachers have a well-considered approach to planning to meet children's interests and learning needs. They have made good links with the local community to enhance learning experiences and opportunities for children.
The centre manager and leaders encourage a reflective and collaborative team culture. They recognise and make good use of the strengths and experience of teachers and provide opportunities to build leadership capacity. Teachers have benefitted from regular and targeted professional learning.
Leaders and managers have a very clear focus on accountability and continuous improvement at all levels of the service. There is alignment of the centre's philosophy with key documentation. Leaders and managers are appropriately focused on identifying and strengthening areas for further development.
The centre benefits from a supportive management structure and processes. BestStart provides high quality support and expertise through thorough systems and personnel. There are well-developed systems for empowering teachers and building leaders' capability and personal professional growth.
Centre managers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for the service are to continue to focus on:
greater inclusion of local bicultural contexts within the programme
strengthening internal evaluation practices, including focusing on and evaluating the effectiveness of outcomes for children
using best practice to promote greater centre-wide consistency in planning and assessment.
Before the review, the staff and management of First Steps Roydvale 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of First Steps Roydvale will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu
29 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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70564 |
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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 |
62 children, including up to 16 aged under two |
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Service roll |
79 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 47; Girls 32 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Asian Other ethnicities |
11 35 3 18 12 |
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2017 |
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Date of this report |
29 March 2017 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
September 2013 |
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Education Review |
October 2010 |
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Education Review |
May 2007 |
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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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Roydvale Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Roydvale Preschool is owned and administered by Kidicorp Education and Care Centres. The centre provides education and care for children from birth to school age in three separate rooms. The preschool and toddlers rooms share an outdoor space. The nursery has its own adjoining outdoor play area. The learning areas are well resourced and presented. Teachers place emphasis on children of all ages having regular opportunities for outdoor play. The centre maintains close links with its local community and the nearby primary school.
Nearly all staff are qualified and registered early childhood teachers or teachers in training. Staffing is now stable after a number of changes in the Prep School.
Managers and teachers have made good use of the December 2010 ERO report. They have made significant improvements in the quality of the programme and interactions, child assessment and self review.
Babies, toddlers and older children are confident, happy and highly engaged in their learning. Teachers are experienced and knowledgeable about Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum. They make good use of this information to provide a well-designed programme for all children, including children with additional learning needs.
Children in all classrooms actively participate in decisions about their learning and wellbeing. Teachers respect children’s choices, promote their independence and value the skills and knowledge that children bring to the programme.
Children enjoy high quality learning and teaching experiences that are consistent across the three classrooms. Teachers use a wide range of successful approaches to help children solve problems, and develop and share their ideas with others. This teaching builds upon the strong, caring and supportive relationships that are evident between children and their teachers.
Children are well supported as they transition into, and within the centre, and on to school. Transition to school is well managed and focuses on children developing independence and self-help skills. Literacy and numeracy learning is well integrated into the programme in the three classrooms.
Programme planning provides good guidance for teaching and learning. It is closely linked to what teachers know about individual children. It successfully caters for a wide range of children’s interests, skills and abilities.
Managers and teachers have established strong partnerships with families and whanaū. They regularly seek and respond to parent comments through assessment, planning and self review. They respect families’ home cultures, and bring aspects of their culture into the programme in meaningful ways. Wall displays provide parents with useful information about the programme and children’s learning.
Kidicorp managers and the centre leaders are providing effective leadership. They successfully involve the teaching team in decision making and future planning for the centre. Teachers work well as a team. Their high expectations for learning and teaching are clearly stated in the centre philosophy and well reflected in the programme.
The Kidicorp management framework provides clear direction for centre operations. It is well used by the centre managers and teachers to identify where improvements should occur. There are clear links between future planning, organisational and centre self review, staff appraisal and professional development.
Kidicorp and centre managers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Roydvale Preschool 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 Roydvale Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
13 September 2013
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 |
Burnside, Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70564 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
62 children, including up to 16 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
99 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 52 Boys 47 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Asian Other ethnicities |
9 77 4 9 |
|
|
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 |
August 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 September 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
December 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2004 |
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.