Redwoodtown Kindergarten

1 Evaluation of Redwoodtown Kindergarten

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

Redwoodtown Kindergarten is well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Redwoodtown Kindergarten is licensed for 40 children aged over two years. It provides all-day education and care four and a half days a week. All permanently-appointed teachers are qualified and certificated early childhood teachers. The kindergarten serves an increasingly diverse community.

The kindergarten is administered and supported by the Marlborough Kindergarten Association. (MKA) The association is a not-for-profit, community-based provider. A general manager is responsible for the operation of the kindergartens. A senior teacher provides ongoing advice and guidance to the kindergartens. A kaiarahi Māori supports culturally responsive practice. Strategic direction and governance decisions are the responsibility of an elected board of trustees.

Redwoodtown Kindergarten’s philosophy gives emphasis to reflecting their culturally rich community, promoting children’s social and emotional development, and caring for the environment.

Since ERO’s 2014 review, Redwoodtown Kindergarten has appointed a new head teacher and several teachers. Teachers have improved assessment and planning for individual children and the quality of annual planning.

The association is involved in the Piritahi and Te Wheke Akoranga Kāhui Ako |Communities of Learning. Redwoodtown Kindergarten is a member of the Piritahi Kāhui Ako| Community of Learning.

This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Marlborough Kindergarten Association.

The Review Findings

Children's wellbeing is strongly promoted and a sense of belonging is nurtured. They are well supported to make decisions about their learning. Teachers respect and enable children to make choices. They provide uninterrupted time for children to explore their own interests and actively foster engagement in the programme. Teachers use effective teaching strategies and appropriate resourcing to extend children's thinking and creativity. Early literacy and mathematics is a strength of the programme.

The head teacher and teachers have a strong focus on building positive relationships with parents. They value and acknowledge parents and whānau aspirations for their children and deliberately weave these into planning to meet individual children's needs, emerging interests and identified strengths. Links between home life and learning at the kindergarten are actively encouraged. The value of whanaungatanga (a sense of family and belonging) underpins the philosophy and practices of the centre.

A culture of inclusive education is highly valued. The head teacher is proactive in recognising and responding to children's diverse needs. Teachers welcome children with additional needs and their whānau. They are flexible in their approach and adapt programmes to enable seamless participation for all children. The head teacher and teachers actively seek eternal support to better provide positive outcomes for children.

The head teacher is effectively building a team culture that is cohesive and focused on positive outcomes for children. Teachers actively support one another and share a range of leadership responsibilities. They collaboratively plan and share information to benefit children's learning progress and developing social skills.

Internal evaluation is a growing strength of the kindergarten. Teachers are reflective and regularly inquire, with depth, into teaching strategies that make a positive difference for children's learning. The kindergarten receives high quality feedback from the association that affirms practice and guides next steps for improvement.

Planning for individuals has been strengthened. Teachers collaboratively assess and plan for individuals and groups. The best examples show purposeful goals linked to parent aspirations, clearly identified teaching strategies, and include assessment that is meaningful and linked to learning over time. Evaluation of group assessment and planning is useful, highlighting what is working well and areas that need to be strengthened.

Since ERO’s 2014 reviews of kindergartens in the Association, a new general manager, senior teacher and office administrator have been appointed. The board is working towards a new strategic plan. Managers and leaders have proactively addressed ERO’s recommendation for the association identified in previous reports by strengthening the appraisal policy and processes. However this is in the early stages of implementation.

The MKA is strongly committed to ensuring all children have equitable access to inclusive education. This is very evident in the association's philosophy that promotes facilitating learning opportunities through positive relationships, celebrating diversity and ensuring equitable access to education. The philosophy is reflected in decisions made by the board and leadership.

Kindergartens receive a high level of support from the Marlborough Kindergarten Association. With a number of new head teachers, attention has been placed on growing leadership and building a cohesive culture across the kindergartens. MKA’s involvement in the Kāhui Ako|Communities of Learning is making a significant difference to developing teaching as inquiry, transition to school and culturally responsive practices. Teachers are well supported by the kaiarahi Māori to build culturally responsive practices.

The board and leadership work well together with clear roles and responsibilities. Leadership provides quality reports to the board so they are well informed. The board and leaders make good use of internal evaluation to consult with the parent community and staff, to reflect on their own practice and support decision-making.

The board and association have identified that strategic planning is a key next step. ERO and the association acknowledge that:

• plans need to be more focused on strategic goals

• significant board decisions need to be underpinned by action plans

• the association's values need to be more clearly articulated.

Leaders and ERO also agree that there is a need to:

• develop guidelines that outline the association expectations for teaching and learning to better support consistency of practice and sustainability across the kindergartens.

• fully implement planned observations into appraisal practices in all kindergartens.

Key Next Steps

Kindergarten leadership has identified, and ERO's evaluation has confirmed, that the key next steps are to:

• continue to build teachers' confidence and understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori, including extending bicultural perspectives in children's planning and assessments

• strengthen evaluations of assessment and planning for individual children

• review the philosophy to better emphasise priorities for children's learning and reflect current teaching and learning practice

• collectively develop and document guidelines to better support shared understanding and expectations about assessment, planning and evaluation, including processes that support additional plans for children with diverse needs.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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

Alan Wynyard

Director Review & Improvement Services Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

4 September 2018

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.