128 Archers Road, Glenfield, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Little People are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
|
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
Little People is a privately owned service. The service owner and manager work closely together and are experienced, qualified early childhood teachers. The staff includes five qualified teachers, four support staff and a business manager. The service operates over two floors, with infants and toddlers upstairs and older children downstairs.
Children receive very good care and education. Adults’ positive interactions and reciprocal relationships support children’s independence, learning and development. Learning environments are thoughtfully arranged to foster inclusion, creativity and development.
Leaders and teachers respond meaningfully to children’s interests and their inquiries. Children’s thinking and problem solving is enabled through their engagement in periods of sustained play. The curriculum is strongly informed by children’s views and the aspirations of their parents and whānau. Children’s working theories and dispositions inform assessment of their individual learning. Positive learning outcomes and goals for children are evident in children’s learning records and centre documents.
Teachers are highly responsive, and they integrate the languages and cultures of Māori and Pacific children through the curriculum. They show respect and respond to the cultural heritages, identities and languages of all children, their whānau and families.
Leaders and teachers use internal evaluation processes to inform ongoing change and improvement. As a result, leaders and kaiako have deepened their understandings of assessment, planning and evaluation approaches. A robust teacher appraisal system and professional learning opportunities enable the professional growth of teachers and leaders.
Ongoing collaboration between the service, families/whānau and relevant agencies supports educational outcomes for all children. Policies and procedures ensure that the premises are hygienic and safe for children and adults. A positive team culture contributes to an effective teaching team and high-quality adult-child relationships.
Little People will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little People 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
19 March 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Little People |
| Profile Number | 20521 |
| Location | Glenfield, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
38 children, including up to 13 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
47 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 4 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
19 March 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2016 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little People in Archers Road, Glenfield, is licensed to provide all day education and care for up to 38 children, including 13 children under the age of two years.
The well established service is privately owned and caters for an increasingly culturally diverse community. The centre owner works alongside a manager to oversee the running of the service. Both are experienced, qualified teachers. They lead a team of six teachers, five of whom are qualified early childhood teachers.
The centre philosophy is strongly focused on responding to children as unique individuals. It includes a commitment to developing children's knowledge and understanding of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Establishing partnerships with parents, acknowledged as a child's first teachers, is important to the team. The aim of the service is to implement an inclusive, play-based curriculum underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The 2013 ERO report noted the individualised care for children under two. Relationships were described as respectful and supportive of children's learning. The centre's organisational structure, programme, and bicultural development were noted as strengths. The centre has continued to build on these good practices.
The teacher appraisal process, strategic planning and aspects of the curriculum were identified as areas for further development in the 2013 report. The team has responded very positively to these suggested areas for review and development.
The centre's philosophy is very evident in practice. Children are busily engaged in an environment that includes numerous opportunities to explore and make discoveries. They play well together in small groups or choose to play alone. Teachers actively promote interactions amongst children to support their developing social competence.
Children and whānau are warmly welcomed into the centre. Children happily part from their caregivers to settle into play or conversation, with friends or teachers. Teachers listen well to children and are skilled at responding to their questions, encouraging problem solving and more complex thinking. Children have fun and enjoy positive, reciprocal relationships with teachers.
Infants and toddlers occupy the upstairs of the building. They spend some of their outdoor play time in a defined area downstairs and also access the outdoor play space of the older children from time to time. Infants and toddlers benefit from warm, responsive caregiving, which supports their need for secure attachments. The calm pace of their programme provides them with space and time to lead their own learning.
Teachers are aware of the level of communication and the language style of each child. Positive relationships between teachers, children and their whānau promote the development of each child's positive sense of self identity.
Bicultural development is a feature of the professional learning of the teaching team. Teachers use te reo Māori in ways that recognise it as a living language indigenous to Aotearoa. Children are accustomed to hearing te reo on a regular basis and respond spontaneously. There is a commitment to strengthening how a te ao Māori perspective is represented in the programme and the centre philosophy.
The indoor environment is light and spacious. Displays provide children with many opportunities to revisit their learning and see themselves as confident learners. Children's creativity is valued and their work prominently and carefully displayed. Physical activity is a strong focus at group times and children regularly walk to a local park. Science, literacy and mathematics are woven throughout the programme in meaningful ways.
Parents and whānau make significant contributions to the programme. Each child's sense of belonging is nurtured through transitions into and through the service. The transition to school process is underpinned by children developing into confident learners. Good working relationships have been established with local schools.
Programme planning is based on the interests of the children alongside community, cultural and whānau events. Records of learning are individual and contain numerous comments from whānau. Teachers' planned responses include parent aspirations and are individual to each child. Teachers help all children to celebrate their differences and to be strongly grounded in their language, culture and identity. The preservation of children's home languages is promoted and valued.
The organisational culture of continuous improvement supports teachers to lead in areas of personal strength or interest. Teachers are reflective practitioners, very open to new learning and feedback. Robust and effective appraisal and self-review processes support the ongoing growth and development of teaching practices and lead to positive outcomes for children.
To enhance their current good quality provision for children, leaders and teachers plan to further strengthen their bicultural practices and the alignment of strategic and annual plans, self review and appraisal goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little People 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 Little People will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
16 June 2016
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 |
Glenfield, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20521 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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|
Number licensed for |
38 children, including up to 13 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
42 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 23 Girls 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā Chinese South African Fijian Indian other |
20 11 4 2 2 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 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 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.