Parsons Avenue Kindergarten

Education institution number:
5375
Service type:
Free Kindergarten
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
45
Telephone:
Address:

20 Parsons Avenue, Levin

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Parsons Avenue Kindergarten - 18/10/2019

1 Evaluation of Parsons Avenue Kindergarten

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

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten, located in Levin, provides whānau-based all-day education and care for up to 42 children aged over two years. Daily sessions run from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm. Of the roll of 56 children, 22 are Māori and 8 are of Pacific heritage.

The recently reviewed kindergarten philosophy has aroha at its centre, and is based on bicultural values of whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and whakaute.

Since the June 2015 review there have been some changes in staffing. A new head teacher was appointed in 2016. All teachers are fully qualified.

The kindergarten is a member of the Horowhenua Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten is governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association (the association). A team of senior teachers oversee and support the professional practice of the teaching team. The association governs 102 kindergartens which includes three Pacific kindergartens and a Pacific home-based service with two networks.

ERO’s June 2015 report identified areas requiring further development. These included strengthening and improving self-review and evaluation, assessment for learning, and promoting te ao Māori in a more local place-based context. Good progress has been made in self-review, evaluation and developing a localised te ao Māori curriculum. While some improvements have been made, assessment remains an area for continued focus.

Progress has been made by the association to improve the quality and monitoring of processes to support individual kindergartens and regular implementation of a robust appraisal system.

This review was one of four in He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association in Levin.

The Review Findings

Children make good use of the thoughtfully planned outdoor environment which provides challenge and helps in the development of their physical skills. Planting seeds and nurturing and harvesting vegetables from the māra teaches children about sustainable practice and promotes respect for papatūānuku and kaitiakitanga.

Tuākana tēina relationships between older and younger children are nurtured. Independence and friendships are promoted. Freely available resources enable children to make decisions and choices. Teachers are responsive to children's emerging interests and support them to confidently lead their learning.

Children benefit from teachers’ commitment to consistently learning and using te reo Māori within everyday interactions. Te ao Māori concepts are regularly discussed with children. They learn about local hapu and iwi, whakapapa and kawa and have made respectful connections with local iwi. Teachers’ whānau-focused relationship-building strategies are a very positive foundation for further development in this area. Targeted strategies that respond to the cultural context of Māori and Pacific children and their whānau are a current area of focus and professional learning for the teaching team.

In consultation with whānau, children with additional learning needs are well supported to participate fully in the curriculum. External agencies are accessed when appropriate.

Children and whānau are warmly welcomed and successfully encouraged to build a sense of belonging within the kindergarten. Teachers know children and families very well. They purposefully build warm and supportive relationships with whānau. Parent aspirations support teachers to focus on learning outcomes that matter most to this community. A sense of belonging has been effectively prioritised and transitions into and through the service are thoughtfully managed. Teachers have established useful relationships with the neighbouring school. Regular, reciprocal visits support children’s confidence and familiarity with the school context.

The association's governing documents guide teacher practice. These are appropriately used by leaders and teachers to plan and analyse practice, support assessment and underpin decision making.

The curriculum emphasises children’s choice, learning through nature, and whanaungatanga, whānau partnerships. Teachers record observations of children’s play and learning, and celebrate their growing friendships, skills and learning dispositions. Useful information about the value of learning through play is shared through assessment documentation. A next step is for teachers to strengthen their assessment, planning and evaluation process for individual children. Improvements should include:

  • evidence-based evaluation that shows how targeted teaching has supported children’s progress

  • children’s interests and parent aspirations to promote new learning

  • strategies and informed assessment insights enriched through a deep understanding of children’s unique cultures, languages and identities.

Teachers share a caring, positive view of children and support them in their emotional regulation. They have recently undertaken a review around promoting children’s social competence. Ongoing monitoring, evaluation and refinement of these strategies should continue, with a focus on children’s outcomes.

Teachers are highly reflective and access a good range of professional learning and research to continually grow their understandings. An effective distributed leadership model is highly evident, and teachers are encouraged to take on a range of responsibilities.

A well-considered appraisal process has recently been enhanced to grow and develop teacher practice. Teachers are expected to inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching. Purposeful appraisal goals focus on improving aspects of leadership and practice to support children’s wellbeing and learning.

The senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. They successfully foster collective sense of responsibility to implement the vision, values and mission of the association. Systems and processes have been well developed to guide teacher’s capability and positively impact on children’s learning.

Senior leaders work effectively together, with a shared commitment to meeting strategic goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Well-considered resource allocation supports and enhances children’s learning and wellbeing.

Key Next Steps

The key next steps for teachers are to:

  • build on strategies that respond to the cultural context of Māori and Pacific children

  • strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation documentation

  • continue to monitor and focus on supporting children’s social competencies.

ERO and senior leaders agree that the association's next step are to:

  • continue to follow the strategic direction set through Tūmanako, Te Tiriti o Waitangi based Strategic Priority Framework.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Parsons Avenue 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

18 October 2019

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

Levin

Ministry of Education profile number

5375

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

42 children over 2 years

Service roll

56

Gender composition

Males 31, Females 25

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Pacific
Other ethnic groups

22
20
8
6

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

August 2019

Date of this report

18 October 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2015

Education Review

May 2012

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.

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten - 08/06/2015

1 Evaluation of Parsons Avenue Kindergarten

How well placed is Parsons Avenue Kindergarten 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

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten is located in Levin next to Levin East School. Since the May 2012 ERO review, significant redevelopment of the outdoors has occurred to provide children with inviting learning space. Of the total roll of 62 children, 21 are Māori. The recently reviewed kindergarten philosophy includes shared beliefs that support children to become confident and competent life-long learners.

Parsons Avenue Kindergarten is one of 85 kindergartens and three home-based education and care networks governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Free Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association). This is a new kindergarten association created from joining the Rimutaka and Wellington Kindergarten Associations in 2014. The transition to the new association is expected to be a three-year process.

The board and managers provide governance for the organisation. Senior teachers have delegated kindergartens. Their role is to provide regular support and a range of professional learning and development opportunities for teachers.

In 2012, the association developed a framework to guide the implementation of its curriculum, Te Manawa. This document outlines criteria for curriculum delivery including expectations for assessment and planning for children's learning.

All teachers at Parsons Avenue Kindergarten are qualified and registered. The experienced head teacher has been at the kindergarten for many years. Several staffing changes have occurred since the previous ERO report. The kindergarten currently has five permanent fulltime teachers.

The previous ERO report for Parsons Avenue Kindergarten identified that review of routines and planned self review of curriculum effectiveness required further development. Areas where the Wellington Kindergarten Association needed to strengthen its support for teachers were also identified at the time. Improvement continues to be needed in some of these areas that the association has plans to address. These feature as key next steps in this report. The alignment of individual kindergarten’s annual plans with the association’s strategic priorities has now been addressed.

This review was part of a cluster of 12 reviews in the He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua kindergartens.

The Review Findings

The curriculum, environment and resources provide children with a varied range of activities and learning experiences.

Teachers generally have positive and responsive relationships with children and actively promote peer interactions. There is a clear focus on ensuring teaching practice and the environment is supportive and inclusive. Teachers share values that encourage respectful behaviour and support children's developing social competencies.

Young children and toddlers welcome opportunities to enthusiastically explore, talk about and engage in these experiences. Literacy and mathematical learning feature meaningfully within a variety of experiences throughout the curriculum.

Teachers use assessment to increasingly respond to children's immediate and emerging strengths, interests and skills. Narratives and photographs show their engagement and progress. These observations of learning are reflected in portfolios and a variety of visual displays within the centre. Teachers’ analysis of observations continues to be refined and developed.

Parents are welcomed and acknowledged as their child’s first teacher. Partnerships are based on acceptance and respect. Teachers encourage and provide opportunities for parents to contribute to their child’s learning. The diverse backgrounds of children and their families are valued.

Teachers effectively support children to settle into kindergarten. Transitions to and from the kindergarten are flexible and responsive to individual needs and preferences. Positive, reciprocal relationships with the adjacent school help to support children and families with transitions.

The experienced head teacher provides effective leadership. Self-review processes continue to develop practice through a focus on teaching and learning. A range of perspectives and information is gathered. Children’s ideas are considered. Teachers should now deepen the analysis of the information gathered to further improve educational outcomes for children.

The senior teacher provides termly written reports that outline agreed development priorities and progress in the quality of teaching and learning. The association has recently implemented new reports that should more deliberately focus on outcomes for children, teacher and leader performance. ERO's evaluation affirms this development.

The previous ERO report identified that the association needed to improve the appraisal processes. These continue to require development. A recently revised appraisal model, yet to be implemented, includes: more focused goals that build teacher and leader capability; more regular and targeted feedback and feed forward about teaching practice; and clearer links with the Registered Teacher Criteria.

Children at Parsons Avenue Kindergarten have frequent opportunities to learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage. Association leaders acknowledge that they need to build teachers’ capability to be responsive to Māori children’s culture, language and identity. This development should include establishing relationships with mana whenua and making use of Ministry of Education resources such as, Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017 and Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners.

Key Next Steps

The senior teacher, head teacher, teachers, and ERO agree on the following key next steps for Parsons Avenue Kindergarten:

  • strengthening and further developing self review and evaluation understanding

  • continuing to refine and develop aspects of assessment and programme planning

  • investigating further ways to promote te ao Māori in a more local, ‘place-based’ context.

The senior management team of He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua should continue to further improve processes for growing and developing the practice of teachers, head teachers and senior teachers. This should include:

  • improvements to the quality and monitoring of processes to support individual kindergartens and regular implementation of a robust appraisal system

  • building teachers’ capability to be more responsive to Māori children’s culture, language and identity.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the management of Parsons Avenue 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:

  • administration

  • health, safety and welfare

  • personnel management

  • financial and property management.

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 Parsons Avenue Kindergarten will be in three years.Image removed.

Joyce Gebbie

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

8 June 2015

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

Levin

Ministry of Education profile number

5375

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children, aged over 2

Service roll

62

Gender composition

Boys 35

Girls 27

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Chinese

Cook Island Māori

21 3

6

4

1

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%

Based on funding rates

80%

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

February 2015

Date of this report

8 June 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

May 2012

 

Education Review

May 2008

 

Education Review

July 2005

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.