10 A Tennyson Street, Petone, Lower Hutt
View on mapHow well placed is Petone Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
With targeted association support, Petone Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Petone Kindergarten is a well-established centre situated near Petone township. Since the January 2012 ERO report, hours of operation have changed and six-hour sessions now operate for children from two years to school age.
Petone 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.
All teachers are qualified and registered at Petone Kindergarten. Some, including the head teacher have many years experience at the kindergarten. The centre philosophy focuses on providing a welcoming environment for all, which embraces children’s mana and holistic learning.
The 2012 ERO report for Petone Kindergarten identified at centre level that assessment, planning, self review, appraisal and use of te reo Māori needed 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 kindergarten reviews in He Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens.
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. Petone Kindergarten’s curriculum, what children experience, requires further development to meet the association's expectations for high quality learning.
Assessment portfolios provide a record of children’s participation and involvement in kindergarten experiences and activities. Teachers need to improve these records to more clearly and consistently, identify and respond to children's learning, and their next learning steps. Recent developments to group planning processes include making children’s learning more visible for parents and whānau.
Teachers are at the early stages of inquiring into aspects of their practice. These review processes require further development. Next steps in self review and evaluation to guide decisions for improvement to teaching and learning are to:
The senior teacher provides termly written reports that outline agreed development priorities and progress in relation to the quality of teaching and learning. The association has recently implemented new reports that should more deliberately focus on outcomes for children, and teacher and leader performance. ERO's evaluation affirms this development. Targeted support is needed to improve curriculum leadership and to more effectively respond to all learners.
Children have relationships that are caring and responsive. Teachers are welcoming to parents and families. Children have some opportunities to make choices in the programme and sustain their play. Older children are encouraged to support younger children in their play. Teachers purposefully support children’s social learning.
Teachers have established some good links with local schools that helps positive transitions for children and their families. They are exploring further ways to enhance this process.
Children with additional needs are positively supported. Teachers are aware practices that are inclusive and involve families in decisions that affect their children while at the kindergarten.
The 2012 ERO report identified that the association needed to improve the appraisal processes. This continues 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 have some opportunities to learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage. Teachers and leaders acknowledge that they need to build their 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.
The senior teacher, head teacher, staff, and ERO agree on the following key next steps. They will:
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 the senior teacher. This should include:
Progress against an action plan, that addresses the key next steps and actions for compliance, will be monitored by ERO.
Before the review, the staff and management of Petone 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:
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:
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance and management and the provision of a suitable early childhood education for children. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas and ensure that:
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Petone Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
8 June 2015
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Location |
Petone |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5376 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children |
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Service roll |
70 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 36, Girls 34 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Tokelauan Asian |
14 45 38 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2015 |
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Date of this report |
8 June 2015 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) These are available at www.ero.govt.nz |
Education Review |
January 2012 |
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Education Review |
April 2008 |
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Education Review |
September 2005 |
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.
right">The Child – the Heart of the Matter
Petone Kindergarten is affiliated to the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association (the association). The association has a governing board and a general manager. The general manager is the licensee of the kindergarten. The association employs a team of senior teachers, one of whom is responsible for leading the professional support and advice and guidance to the teaching team. She also liaises with the kindergarten community.
The teaching team is now stable after some years of change. The team, ably led by the head teacher, is beginning to provide each other with critical feedback and through professional discussion, improve practice.
There is a calm settled tone. Children’s interactions are mutually respectful. Individuals demonstrate confidence in approaching staff for assistance, support and comfort. Purposeful play is a feature.
Teachers affirm and celebrate children’s abilities and achievements and are supportive of children’s interests and emotional and physical needs. Parent partnerships are valued. Staff encourage parents to spend time at the kindergarten and value their contributions.
The environment and programme are highly supportive of literacy and mathematical development. Teachers work closely with groups and individuals to build on children’s emerging interests. Routines are well established and effectively used to develop independence and affirm self management skills.
A commitment has been made to recognising the importance of Māori perspectives in the programme. Displays and learning stories are increasingly reflecting the multi cultural backgrounds of children.
Attractive profile books with a balance of individual and group stories and photographs, provide whānau with a good record of their child’s time and learning at the kindergarten. Teacher and child voice are well included. Frequent links between stories clearly show children’s development.
Strengthening self review remains an appropriate focus for the teaching team. The team’s review process has identified a number of aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation for further development and review. The use of te reo Māori is also seen as an area to be strengthened. EROs evaluation agrees with these directions.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Petone Kindergarten was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atPetone Kindergarten.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
The Centre managers also suggested and ERO agreed to consider:
EROs findings in these areas are set out below.
Since the April 2008 ERO review, the kindergarten has developed and implemented an action plan to address the identified areas for improvement from the report.
The teaching team is now stable after some years of change. One teacher is new at the kindergarten this year. The team, ably led by the head teacher, is beginning to provide each other with critical feedback, through professional discussion, in order to improve practice.
Environmental upgrades have been made as part of an ongoing property development plan. An office area has been enlarged and decking and a large covered area constructed in the outside area. Further renovation of the inside environment is planned.
Children’s interactions are respectful. Friends support and provide help for each other and family relationships are well developed. Children demonstrate confidence in approaching staff for assistance, support and comfort. Purposeful play is a feature.
There is a calm settled tone. Teachers work well with children and listen with care. Positive guidance strategies are a strength. Teachers affirm and celebrate children’s abilities and achievements and are supportive of children’s interests and emotional and physical needs. Tuakana/Teina is highly evident.
Parent partnerships are valued. Staff encourage parents to spend time at the kindergarten and value their contributions. Whānau are warmly welcomed and farewelled with valuable exchanges of information occurring at these times. Teachers are interested in and acknowledge the holistic development of each child. They know them and their families well.
The outdoor and indoor environments are spacious and inviting. Children regularly engage in cooperative activities for long periods. The arrangement of activity areas recognises children as capable and confident learners. Resources are accessible to children and presented in such a way as to promote interest, inquiry and self choice. Children are encouraged to access materials and equipment for their own creative activities. Some areas are left as a work space only to encourage children to identify and request material for their own play. Outdoor equipment promotes physical activity and motor skill development.
Teachers provide environment and programme provisions that are highly supportive of literacy and mathematical development. Children see themselves reflected in photos and name tags and there are many opportunities to recognise and record their own symbols. Reading to, with and by, children is a frequent occurrence. Opportunities arising from play are well used to foster counting, shape and colour recognition. Teachers work closely with groups and individuals to build on emerging interests. Routines are well established and effectively used to develop independence and affirm self management skills.
A commitment has been made to recognising the importance of Māori perspectives in the programme. There is some use of te reo Māori during the programme, including waiata at mat time. Displays and learning stories are increasingly reflecting the multi cultural backgrounds of children.
Teachers use Te Manawa, the association’s criteria for curriculum implementation, to more effectively document learning and planning for children. The team have developed a useful tool (What’s on Top) to enable them to contribute to discussions about the learning that is occurring for groups and individual children.
Attractive profile books, with a balance of individual and group stories and photographs, provide whānau with a good record of their child’s time and learning. Teacher and child voice is well included. Frequent links between stories clearly show children’s learning and development. Children often dictate stories to teachers. These are recorded and included in profile books and are being well used to promote imagination and capture children’s thinking.
Staff acknowledge and ERO agrees that they need to continue:
Strengthening self review remains an appropriate focus for the teaching team. While a range of practices have been reviewed spontaneously, a planned in depth review cycle has yet to be completed by the current team.
Appraisal overly focuses on self reflection at the expense of specific appraiser feedback to provide teachers with areas for improving practice. There is variability in clearly documenting outcomes of appraisal discussions.
The 2008 ERO review of the association identified several strengths, including the provision of professional development, sound operation plans, support for property development and the use of a range of communication strategies to keep teachers and communities informed. Areas for improvement included the quality and depth of the written feedback given to teachers by the senior teacher and strengthening the appraisal process.
Since 2008, the association has led consultation with the community to modify session times and improve the ratio of teachers to children from 1:15 to 1:10 and maintained its policy of employing qualified, registered teachers in regulated permanent positions.
The association provides expectations and guidance to the kindergarten through its strategic plan, policies and procedures and more recently, the professional development strategy Te Manawa: Criteria for Curriculum Implementation.
The association continues to provide high levels of guidance and support to teachers for the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. These include:
The association, senior teachers and ERO have identified areas where the association can strengthen its support for teachers. These include:
ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports. This information will be used as the basis for long term and systemic educational improvement.
As part of this review ERO evaluated the extent to which:
The head teacher is an advocate for children with moderate to severe learning needs. Concerns are recognised and observations by appropriate external agencies to identify and confirm initial diagnosis are initiated. No child with moderate to severe needs has ever been refused a place at the kindergarten.
Good use is made of external personnel such as the Educational Support Worker and occupational therapists to support all identified children. The teaching team gather detailed information about the children’s needs and medical backgrounds which they discuss at staff meetings. This information is used by teachers, parents and support workers to collaboratively prepare high quality individual plans for each child. These set child goals, teacher goals and strategies for meeting them. Progress is reviewed and reported on a regular basis.
Before the review, the staff of Petone Kindergarten completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-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 documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
ERO and the kindergarten leaders agreed that the priorities for development and review are those outlined in the report.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Kathleen Atkins
National Manager Review Services
Central Region
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Type |
All Day Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, aged over 2 |
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Roll number |
72 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 36, Boys 36 |
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Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 42, Mäori 11, Other European 5, Pacific 5, Indian 2, South East Asian 2, Other ethnic groups 5 |
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Review team on site |
October 2011 |
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Date of this report |
18 January 2012 |
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Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review April 2008 Education Review September 2005 Accountability Review August 1998 |
18 January 2012
To the Parents and Community of Petone Kindergarten
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Petone Kindergarten.
Petone Kindergarten is affiliated to the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association (the association). The association has a governing board and a general manager. The general manager is the licensee of the kindergarten. The association employs a team of senior teachers, one of whom is responsible for leading the professional support and advice and guidance to the teaching team. She also liaises with the kindergarten community.
The teaching team is now stable after some years of change. The team, ably led by the head teacher, is beginning to provide each other with critical feedback and through professional discussion, improve practice.
There is a calm settled tone. Children’s interactions are mutually respectful. Individuals demonstrate confidence in approaching staff for assistance, support and comfort. Purposeful play is a feature.
Teachers affirm and celebrate children’s abilities and achievements and are supportive of children’s interests and emotional and physical needs. Parent partnerships are valued. Staff encourage parents to spend time at the kindergarten and value their contributions.
The environment and programme are highly supportive of literacy and mathematical development. Teachers work closely with groups and individuals to build on children’s emerging interests. Routines are well established and effectively used to develop independence and affirm self management skills.
A commitment has been made to recognising the importance of Māori perspectives in the programme. Displays and learning stories are increasingly reflecting the multi cultural backgrounds of children.
Attractive profile books with a balance of individual and group stories and photographs, provide whānau with a good record of their child’s time and learning at the kindergarten. Teacher and child voice are well included. Frequent links between stories clearly show children’s development.
Strengthening self review remains an appropriate focus for the teaching team. The team’s review process has identified a number of aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation for further development and review. The use of te reo Māori is also seen as an area to be strengthened. EROs evaluation agrees with these directions.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Kathleen Atkins
National Manager Review Services
Central Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this centre.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.