20 Ponsonby Terrace, Ponsonby, 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. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Ponsy Kids Community Preschool are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool is a community-based service that is governed by the Ponsonby Community Centre Board. A small number of children attending are Māori. Other children attending come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Children learn within a curriculum that effectively enacts the service’s philosophy, where children and whānau are at the heart of the matter. Parents have regular opportunities to share children’s home lives that contribute to an enriched curriculum. Day-to-day experiences that include te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, waiata, and tuakana-teina (older-younger child) relationships, support success for tamariki Māori. The visibility of children's cultural identities within the environment and documentation is growing.
Reciprocal and respectful relationships between children and teachers foster children’s learning in a well-resourced, play-based learning environment. Older children experience suitable challenge, choice and complexity of learning. Younger children are given time and space to lead their own learning. Those with additional needs are well supported by external agencies and service staff. The learning and interests of children are intentionally responded to.
Assessment, planning and evaluation of children’s learning are well established. There is an ongoing focus to strengthen the use of learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, in relation to planning and responding to individual children and supporting their learning over time. Internal evaluation follows a useful framework. Teachers are beginning to consider how to record the information gathered, in order to identify the impact of changes made on children’s outcomes.
A long-serving, experienced team is well supported through robust systems and processes. Effective governance and management practices are in place. Collegial and positive relationships between those in governance roles, leaders and teachers foster a positive working environment.
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Continue to strengthen the visibility of children’s individual languages, cultures and identity through assessment documentation.
Increase the extent to which internal evaluation enables leaders and teachers to evaluate how improvement actions have progressed the valued learning outcomes in Te Whāriki.
Before the review, the staff and management of Ponsy Kids Community Preschool completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
7 November 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool |
|
Profile Number |
10085 |
|
Location |
Ponsonby, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
41 children aged over 2 years |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
32 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
7 November 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2020; Education Review, June 2016 |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool is an established community-based service located in the Ponsonby Community Centre. It provides a variety of sessions for the education and care of mixed-aged children over two years of age. The centre is governed by the Ponsonby Community Centre Board.
Children are mostly Pākehā. Smaller numbers of children come from a range of other ethnicities, including Māori. Most teachers are fully registered, experienced and long serving. Two new teachers have been appointed.
The centre’s philosophy prioritises a commitment to bicultural practices and an inclusive curriculum. It also highlights the importance of respectful relationships between teachers, children and their families. Children are seen as capable, confident, lifelong learners.
Since the 2016 ERO review, the centre has undergone major renovations to the indoor and outdoor environments. Teachers have accessed professional development in planning, assessment and evaluation, and leadership. Very good progress has been made in these areas.
Children are confident, their sense of belonging is highly evident. They build trusting relationships with their teachers. Children benefit from mixed-aged play opportunities and learn from each other in tuakana/teina roles. These roles provide opportunities for children to develop their social and communication skills.
Children contribute to a curriculum that is responsive to their needs. The programme provides good early literacy, science and maths learning opportunities. Teachers purposefully arrange natural resources and provide easy access to equipment to invite children's play. Learning activities promote children's curiosity and encourage sustained play.
Teachers have good relationships with families which support children to settle confidently into the centre. They welcome children and their families in nurturing ways and engage them in friendly, professional conversations.
Teachers know children well as learners. They are committed to the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Ongoing assessment information is focused on enhancing dispositional learning. Portfolios inform parents about their child's developmental progress over time. Children enjoy revisiting these records of learning with their peers.
The learning environment values and promotes te ao Māori. Displays of te reo Māori phrases support the current te reo Māori programme to further build teachers' confidence and capability. Leaders continue to seek professional learning to strengthen their bicultural practices. Teachers continue to reflect and revisit their professional practice to further inform teaching and learning.
Teachers implement effective, inclusive teaching practices that enable children with additional learning needs to participate in the programme. Children are encouraged to extend their language and ideas and practise their self-managing skills in preparation for transitioning to school.
The board is focused on promoting positive outcomes for children. Centre leaders and the community board are a strong collaborative team. The board supports professional development, resources, property improvement and teacher wellbeing. Clear comprehensive processes and procedures guide an effective appraisal process. Leaders are improving and sustaining the quality of education and care through internal evaluation.
The centre leaders agree that the key next steps are to continue to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Ponsy Kids Community Preschool 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
28 May 2020
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 | Ponsonby, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 10085 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 41 children aged over 2 years | ||
| Service roll | 61 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 31 Girls 30 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā other ethnic groups | 2 51 8 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Over 2 | 1:7 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | January 2020 | ||
| Date of this report | 28 May 2020 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | June 2016 | |
| Education Review | April 2013 | ||
| Education Review | March 2010 | ||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.