163 Rimu Street, Forest Lake, Hamilton
View on map
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Montessori @ Rimu was reviewed by ERO in 2017 and found to be requiring further development. There have been changes within the teaching team with two new teachers appointed and one existing teacher promoted to head teacher. The centre has been involved in extensive professional development since the last ERO review.
Children’s learning is enhanced by meaningful and positive interactions. The practices of adults providing education and care demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and development, and knowledge of relevant theories and practice in early childhood education. The curriculum reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. The rights of each child to be confident in their own culture is supported.
Regular appraisal for teachers is in place. A system for reviewing centre policies and operations in the service has been implemented. Non-compliance relating to aspects of health and safety and governance and management documentation have been addressed.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS26, HS33, GMA7A, GMA8, HS4]
The next ERO review is likely to be an Education Review.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
16 June 2020
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Montessori @ Rimu |
|
Profile Number |
30079 |
|
Location |
Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 0 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 |
n/a |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children over 2 |
1:9 - Better than regulatory standards. |
|
Service roll |
17 |
|
Gender composition |
Female 9 Male 8 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 6 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
16 June 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2017 |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
As part of an Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
As part of an Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Requires further development
There is a need to strengthen key aspects of centre governance, assessment and planning practices, and leadership for learning.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Montessori @ Rimu is a privately owned full-day education and care service located in the Maeroa suburb of Hamilton City. The centre is licensed for 26 children aged over two years. The roll of 20 includes seven Māori children.
Since the previous ERO review in 2014 there has been a complete change in the teaching team. One teacher undertakes the role of day-to-day management of the centre. She also provides support for the other qualified full-time teacher and the two untrained part-time teachers. The centre owner is a qualified early childhood teacher and visits the centre on a weekly basis to provide governance and leadership support.
The centre’s philosophy is based on the teachings of Maria Montessori and the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The centre’s curriculum is at an early stage of development. Teachers are continuing to review and develop the curriculum to provide a balance between the principles of Montessori and Te Whāriki. An appropriate range of Montessori equipment is available at the centre. However priority should be given to reviewing the presentation and quality of resources accessible for children. A specialist music teacher visits the centre on a weekly basis and there are many opportunities for children to participate in spontaneous music and dance throughout the week. The programme is enhanced with regular visits and excursions into the local community.
Individual assessments identify children’s learning, and make links to Te Whāriki and the Montessori curriculum. Teachers now need to make better use of this information to inform their planning to support them to enhance children’s learning. There are well considered and responsive transition processes for children when they start at the centre. Children’s exploration and learning would be enhanced by continuing to strengthen the programme and improving the learning environments.
Teachers have developed a culture of care and respect. They have responsive interactions with children. Teachers increasingly empower children to make choices about their play and learning and deliberately implement practices that are inclusive of children with special health requirements. They naturally integrate literacy and mathematics learning into the programme. There has been a recent focus on developing bicultural practices. Teachers are increasingly using te reo Māori in their interactions with children. Bilingual signage is evident in the centre environment. These approaches are supporting Māori children's sense of belonging at the centre. Children enjoy learning and playing in a trusting and warm environment.
Strong partnerships with parents and whānau are a feature of the centre. Regular formal meetings between teachers and parents provide valuable opportunities for the sharing of important information. Curriculum evenings are held to inform parents about key aspects of the centre's programme. There are many opportunities for parents to share their knowledge and expertise with children. Parents appreciate being able to access their children's learning portfolio and share their aspirations with teachers electronically. Positive partnerships support children’s sense of wellbeing and belonging.
Self review is at an early stage of development. Teachers implement useful processes to evaluate aspects of the programme. More in-depth self review is incorporated as part of externally provided professional learning and development programmes. There is a need to regularly review centre policies to ensure that they reflect current legislative requirements.
There is a need to strengthen key aspects of centre governance and professional leadership. Priority should be given to reviewing the current leadership structure to give greater emphasis to leadership for learning within the centre. Strategic planning processes require further development to identify specific areas for ongoing improvement. The centre’s policies need urgent review to ensure they reflect current practice and legislative requirements. The teacher appraisal process requires strengthening to provide teachers with regular and meaningful feedback about the effectiveness of their practices and to meet the requirement of Education Council of New Zealand.
Governance and leadership of learning requires strengthening. Priority should be given to:
implementing a strategic approach to enhancing the centre's environment including extending the range and quality of resources accessible to children
strengthening the teacher appraisal process
further developing assessment, planning and evaluation practices
review roles and responsibilities for leadership of learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Montessori @ Rimu 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to teacher appraisal, policy development and review and health and safety. The service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
Develop a written child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Vulnerable Children's Act.
Ensure a robust teacher appraisal process is implemented to meet the requirements of the Education Council of New Zealand.
Regularly review policies to ensure the centre meets current legislative requirements.
[HS30, GMA7,GMA6 Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008]
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
The next ERO review of Montessori @ Rimu will be within two years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
8 December 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.
|
Location |
Hamilton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
30079 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
20 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 6 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
October 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
8 December 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2011 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2008 |
||
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:
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.