Little Climbers Early Learning Centre - Dannemora

Education institution number:
10243
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
27
Telephone:
Address:

1 Willowbank Close, Dannemora, Auckland

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Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora - 10/07/2020

1 Evaluation of Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora

How well placed is Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora is a privately-owned service providing education and care for children from birth to school age. There are three indoor areas for children of different ages. Older children in two rooms have access to a shared outdoor area. Infants and toddlers have a separate outdoor area.

Two experienced leaders oversee centre operations and administration. There are five qualified teachers, including the centre manager and head teacher, and four other staff. The staff team reflects the culturally diverse community of children and families enrolled at the service.

The centre’s philosophy is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and has an emphasis on valuing and respecting the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The 2016 ERO report noted the welcoming and inclusive environment, and the opportunities for children to play together and develop social skills. These aspects remain features of the service. Areas for development included annual and strategic planning. These areas continue to be a focus for improvement.

The Review Findings

Children experience a caring, welcoming environment that values their diverse cultural heritages. They are confident and independent. Children make decisions about their learning and initiate conversations with each other to share their thinking and ideas. They engage well with the range of activities teachers provide.

Teachers' unhurried and calm interactions allow time for children to explore their environment. Inclusive teaching practices affirm children's choices and acknowledge children's strengths and interests. Teachers communicate with children and whānau in their home languages. This has strengthened parent relationships and supports children's sense of belonging at the centre.

Teachers incorporate waiata, te reo Māori and sign language during large group times. Children respond to these positively and some children reply using te reo Māori or sign language. Older children enjoy story time, especially when teachers read the books made by children.

Leaders work well together and are focused on improving the curriculum provided for children. An internal evaluation process has been developed. This could be strengthened by focusing on purposeful data gathering and thorough analysis of information. A priority for centre leaders is to build shared teacher understandings of how to improve learning outcomes for children. A new process of teacher appraisal is being implemented.

Key Next Steps

Leaders identified relevant next steps that include:

  • increasing teachers' knowledge and use of te reo Māori in everyday conversations with children

  • evaluating the effectiveness of the curriculum in promoting children's individual learning pathways

  • including and responding to parent aspirations for their child's learning in assessment and planning records.

A key next step for leaders is to monitor centre-specific annual and long-term plans to evaluate how well the service's improvement goals are being met.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora 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.

Since the on-site review, service leaders have improved areas of practice relating to children's health and safety, including the evaluation of emergency plans, excursion processes and the administration of medicine.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)

Northern Region - Te Tai Raki

10 July 2020

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

Dannemora, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

10243

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 years

Service roll

40

Gender composition

Girls 22 Boys 18

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Asian
Indian
Pacific
African
other ethnic groups

2
4
17
5
4
4
4

Percentage of qualified teachers

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

March 2020

Date of this report

10 July 2020

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

August 2016

Education Review

June 2013

Education Review

May 2010

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

The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

  • Very well placed

  • Well placed

  • Requires further development

  • Not well placed

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.

Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora - 25/08/2016

1 Evaluation of Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora

How well placed is Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora 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

Just Kidz Educare provides all day education and care for a maximum of 50 children, including up to 12 children under two years of age. Children are catered for in three age-related areas with opportunities throughout the day for all children to interact with other age groups. Meals are provided for children.

The centre's roll reflects its multicultural community, and this diversity is highly valued. Many children are from Chinese families. Teaching staff are carefully selected to reflect this cultural identity. Some staff are multilingual and this provides children with opportunities to converse in their home languages. The centre has some long-serving staff and well established associations with many families.

Teaching practices and education are guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The toddler and preschool rooms are also influenced by the Emilia Reggio philosophy. The centre philosophy has been recently reviewed. It focuses on the most important thing in the world being people, and embraces cultural diversity.

This centre is one of three privately owned services and is part of the Just Kidz Educare Trust. The centre has six registered teachers.

The 2013 ERO report noted how well the centre catered for children's cultural diversity. It also commended the quality of relationships and interactions between children and staff. These aspects are still strengths in the centre. The areas for development noted in the report included improving programme planning and assessment of children's learning, teacher performance appraisal and aligning self review with the centre's guiding documents. Good progress has been made in some of these areas.

The Review Findings

Children and families benefit from a centre environment that is welcoming and inclusive.Teachers value the information that parents share about their aspirations and children’s home experiences. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging.

The children are happy and engaged in their learning. They have good opportunities to mix together and develop their social skills. They have access to all areas of play and are free to choose activities based on their interests and preferences. Both inside and outside learning areas are well designed and offer challenges and resources for children to explore.

The children experience close and trusting relationships with teachers. Teachers are respectful and aware of children’s learning needs and strengths. They work alongside children, supporting them in their play and exploration, and helping children to develop oral language. Attractive and well-presented wall displays reflect programme activities and what the children are learning.

Children up to the age of two years benefit from having a primary carer assigned to them. Teachers promote a calm and peaceful environment. Care routines are appropriately individualised. Toddlers and preschool learning areas are flexibly used. Children receive good quality care and appropriate learning opportunities. The preschool teachers continue to develop links with the neighbouring school, supporting children’s transition from the centre into school.

Catering for children with special learning needs and for those for whom English is an additional language is a significant feature of the centre. Teachers work with external agencies to provide specialist support for children.

Teachers include te reo Māori through greetings, waiata, stories and numeracy learning. They are deliberately working to increase the use of te reo Māori at group times and in their conversations with children.

Parents who spoke to ERO during the review appreciate the frequent opportunities that teachers provide for conversations about children’s progress and development. They value the interactive electronic portfolios showing their child’s learning journey. Hard copy of the portfolios are being reintroduced to enable children to access these during the day. Centre managers have identified the need to refine children's individual assessment and follow up each child's next steps for learning to more clearly show the progress that children make over time.

The centre manager values a collaborative working approach. Staff meet regularly to plan activities and resources that reflect children’s current interests. Teachers now need to deepen their evaluative thinking as they review their teaching and the learning outcomes for children.

The owners and centre managers review policies and procedures regularly. They should now prioritise the review of procedures to ensure they reflect current practice and legal requirements. To support teacher growth, managers recognise that they should review teacher appraisal processes, establish a process for supporting newly graduated teachers, and align leadership roles and responsibilities with job descriptions. Strategic and annual plans should be aligned and improved to provide a clearer guide for ongoing centre development.

Key Next Steps

The owners and the centre mangers agree the key next steps for improvement are to:

  • align the long-term strategic and annual plans to guide the future direction of the centre, in consultation with staff and whānau
  • develop and use indicators to evaluate how well the strategic goals are met
  • ensure that processes for teacher appraisal and the endorsement of teachers' practising certificates meet the requirements of the New Zealand Education Council.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora 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 Just Kidz Educare - Dannemora will be in three years. 

Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

25 August 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

Dannemora, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

10243

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Service roll

55

Gender composition

Boys      30
Girls       25

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Chinese
Indian
Samoan
Tongan
other

  1
  7
23
11
  1
  3
  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

1:9

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

June 2016

Date of this report

25 August 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

June 2013

Education Review

May 2010

Education Review

December 2007

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.