Milton Kindergarten

1 Evaluation of Milton Kindergarten

How well placed is Milton Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Milton Kindergarten is one of four kindergartens governed and supported by the South Otago Kindergarten Association (SOKA). The kindergarten provides education and care for up to 30 children from two years to school age. Most children attend full kindergarten hours and some for mornings only. A head teacher has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the service.

The service has had several changes in staffing since the last ERO review. The new head teacher and teacher have both started at this service in the last year.

This service has recently joined the Tokomairiro Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL) which includes the high school, primary schools and other early learning organisations in this region. The association senior teacher has advocated strongly for the inclusion and involvement of early childhood services within the CoL.

The recommendations from the 2013 ERO report, including strengthening planning, and building self review have been successfully addressed.

This review was part of a cluster of four kindergarten reviews in the South Otago Kindergarten Association.

The Review Findings

Positive outcomes for children are being promoted through:

• teachers having warm, respectful relationships with children and their families

• teachers incorporating the skills and expertise of parents into the kindergarten and programmes

• learning partnerships with teachers', parents and whānau

• appropriate consultation with external agencies when expert advice is needed.

Children are supported to be confident, competent learners and to take increased responsibility for themselves and be good role models for others. Teachers encourage children to be independent and manage their own wellbeing. They use a positive consistent approach to managing challenging behaviours. The very clear expectations for children's behaviour are becoming well embedded. Children know these and are responding well to them.

Strong bicultural practices are evident. The principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are incorporated and programmes include Māori concepts, and te reo Māori. Teachers value Māori children’s identity as Māori.

Teachers, through a wide range of activities and strategies, engage children and support their skill growth. Early literacy and numeracy is integrated in the daily programmes with an emphasis on supporting specific children to develop their oral language development in meaningful contexts. They adapt the curriculum and their practices to provide for the different age ranges and to help children take part in sustained learning. They focus on talking about the learning to support children’s social and emotional growth. The transition for older children to school is carefully managed.

Teachers are focused on making ongoing improvements for effective running of the kindergarten. They are reflective practitioners who critique their own practices and the impact these have on children. Their internal evaluations are in-depth and lead to positive outcomes for children. Currently the philosophy is undergoing a comprehensive redevelopment to enhance the curriculum and learning.

Teachers are building consistency and quality into planning, assessment and evaluation processes through useful guidelines. This needs to continue. Records of children's learning show teachers have a deep understanding of the child and the increasing complexity as the child progresses. Some parents are contributing to the picture of their child's learning through these.

The head teacher is providing strong, supportive leadership. She and the teacher work effectively together, focusing on making a positive difference for children. They are building their practice and systems to efficiently enable this.

Planned evaluations would be strengthened by using a review schedule and placing relevant indicators of success so that these guide judgements of quality.

The kindergarten is effectively governed by South Otago Kindergarten Association. The association has developed clear strategies to guide the services' futures. The senior teacher is providing very effective leadership, support and guidance to the kindergarten. She shows a strong commitment to ensuring positive outcomes for children. The association implements useful systems to be assured that the kindergarten meets all requirements. The board funds regular appropriate professional development, which contributes to improved teaching practices, leadership skills and bicultural inclusion.

Next steps for the association are to:

• strengthen the processes for internal evaluation within the association and across kindergartens

• continue bicultural development within the board and across documentation.

Key Next Steps

Continue to strengthen internal evaluation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Milton Kindergarten 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 Milton Kindergarten will be in three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)

8 August 2017

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

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.