Market place, Twizel
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management, and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Twizel Early Learning Centre is a community education and care service that is governed by a parent committee. The centre manager role is currently being shared by two curriculum leaders until a permanent appointment is made. The teaching team in mostly qualified. There is a small number of Māori children attending the service.
The service curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood education curriculum. Teachers engage children in language rich interactions and are responsive to their verbal and non-verbal cues. Children play and learn in a well-resourced learning environment. The design and layout of the building allows for a variety of indoor and outdoor play experiences for children.
Monitoring is required to maintain the improvments made to aspects of governance, management and health and safety.
ERO found an area of non-compliance in the service relating to:
a system of regular appraisal of staff.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008: GMA7.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
heavy equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage (HS6)
accurate records of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9)
equipment, premises, and facilities are checked every day of operation for hazards to children, in particular electrical cords (HS12)
risk assessments are undertaken and signed on employment (GMA7a)
attendance registers that have evidence of parental signatures to attest to their child’s attendance. (GMA11)
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Kathy Lye
Acting Director Review and Improvement (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
28 March 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Twizel Early learning Centre Inc |
|
Profile Number |
70489 |
|
Location |
Twizel |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
38 |
|
Review team on site |
December 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
28 March 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2018; Education Review, July 2016 |
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.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory 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:
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 certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Twizel Early Learning Centre Inc is a community-based early childhood service licensed for 39 children up to school age, including 12 children under two. Teachers provide education programmes for different aged children in two rooms. Each room has a separate outdoor play area. The centre is located next to Twizel Area School.
The centre is led by a team made up of the centre manager, two curriculum lead teachers and two teachers. They are supported by a teacher in training, a centre assistant and an office manager.
The philosophy and vision are underpinned by the early childhood curriculum and strong connections to their children's families and the local community. Valued learning outcomes include children being supported to develop:
strong and trusting relationships
belief that their unique contributions are valued
independence through having the time and space to grow and develop in a nurturing environment
a strong sense of their culture and identity
self-confidence and life skills through exploration.
Since the last ERO review in 2016, the leaders and teachers developed an action plan to address the recommendations from the report and have made very good progress in addressing these. There have been some changes in the board and centre leadership over this time.
Twizel Early Learning Centre is effectively enabling positive outcomes for children. The centre philosophy, vision and identified learning priorities guide the programme and focus on equitable outcomes for children.
Teachers provide a responsive curriculum closely aligned with Te Whāriki (the early childhood curriculum) and nurturing, interesting learning environments. They plan using authentic contexts for learning and use children's strengths, needs and interests to engage them in the programme. Children make choices from a wide range of planned activities and resources provided by teachers.
The bicultural curriculum is visible and consistently integrated into many aspects of teaching, learning and resourcing. This is supporting all children to know about New Zealand's bicultural heritage, and helps Māori children to be proud in their identity.
The centre provides a range of well-planned and thoughtfully resourced indoor and outdoor environments that meet the needs of children. Teachers have redeveloped the outdoor area to provide more challenge and exploration opportunities for infants and toddlers. Younger children benefit from high teacher ratios and a settled, nurturing environment. Children with additional learning needs are well supported by the collaborative and inclusive culture within the centre.
Teachers have improved the way they assess and plan programmes for children. They identify children’s individual needs and interests, and plan intentional teaching strategies to meet their learning goals. Leaders have developed systematic processes that support teachers to make regular evaluations of children’s progress.
Effective leadership now sets a clear direction for teachers. This ensures a consistent approach and is continuing to build the quality of teaching practice. The centre manager is effectively strengthening relationships within and beyond the centre. The board, leaders and teachers value and make use of the contribution of whānau and the local community. These connections are positively contributing to the quality of teaching and learning.
ERO and the centre leaders agree, that the following next steps are to:
continue to refine internal evaluation practices, including the use of more purposeful indicators to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of teaching practices
review and refine the centre's philosophy, vision and values to clearly reflect current priorities.
Before the review, the staff and management of Twizel Early Learning Centre Inc 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.
The next ERO review of Twizel Early Learning Centre Inc will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
3 September 2018
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 |
Twizel |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70489 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 21 Girls: 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
3 September 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
July 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2013 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Systems and processes for managing and leading the service need to be further developed and strengthened to ensure positive outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Twizel Early Learning Centre is a community-based early childhood service located beside the school in Twizel. It provides all-day education-and-care for up to 39 children. In response to community needs, the service now provides for up to 12 children under two years of age.
The service is governed by a board of dedicated parents. Since the last ERO review in 2013, there have been significant changes to management and leadership within the centre. The current head teacher was appointed in October 2015 and holds a fixed-term position until September 2016. An office administrator has been recently appointed to help with the business aspects of the service.
Most of the key areas for improvement in the last ERO report remain key areas for improvement.
Board members show they have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities as governors of the service. They meet regularly and have reviewed many aspects of the centre operations to ensure it continues to be viable and responsive to the needs of the Twizel community. They receive reports from the management team about the daily operations of the service. These reports would be more useful if they were evaluative rather than descriptive. The board has developed a strategic plan to guide the direction of the service but the plan needs strengthening. The board should ensure that planning over time:
shows in more detail the actions and resources necessary to achieve the vison and associated goals
is carefully monitored and documents the progress towards meeting the vision and goals.
With ongoing changes to leadership within the centre, board members have identified that they need to grow the leadership and management capability. The board should develop planning to ensure that leadership growth is well supported, including planning for external support and ongoing professional development for service leaders.
In 2014 leaders had professional development to support self-review practice but with ongoing changes little of this learning was applied. Two teachers have very recently had professional development in this area but leaders identified that self review is in the early stages of implementation. The next step is for leaders and teachers to:
further develop procedures to guide self review
ensure self review is guided by an evaluative question or focus
use indicators aligned to the review focus
monitor the impact of the changes and report the findings to the board
develop and implement a schedule for self review.
The procedures for teacher appraisal need strengthening to clearly state what is expected for teachers. For example, the procedures should reflect the expectations set by the Education Council. This includes gathering evidence to support the practising teacher criteria and observations of teaching practice.
In 2015 the teaching team redeveloped the centre philosophy. This could be strengthened by more clearly stating the desired outcomes for children in this centre. The team should then review how well the philosophy is evident in practice. The philosophy and policies state that leaders and teachers are committed to providing a bicultural curriculum. Teaching practice and the programme require further development to ensure this commitment is realised.
The team regularly undertakes spontaneous self review in response to emerging concerns. These reviews indicate that the curriculum for children aged two and over needs to be more responsive to individual and groups of children. There has to be a stronger focus on learning. Teachers need to further develop their understanding of how to implement Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The new head teacher has been leading the development of planning, assessment and evaluation practices. This is still work in progress. The associated policies and procedures need to be strengthened to better guide teachers in their work. Records should show how teachers:
use children’s interests and dispositions to foster learning
include children’s language, culture and identity
show continuity of learning and progress over time
plan experiences and teaching strategies to support individual and group learning
evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and experiences in supporting the desired learning.
There is a separate area for infants. Records show that teachers are responsive to the changing needs of babies and toddlers in this area. Teachers provide a range of experiences for this age group that support their language and social development.
Board members and leaders need to address the areas for improvement identified within this report.
Before the review, the staff and management of Twizel Early Learning Centre Inc 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.
Some systems and procedures need to be strengthened so that:
the child protection policy allows for direct reporting
policies and procedures are updated to include the Vulnerable Children's Act
written procedures are developed for guiding staff when police vetting signals a conviction
medication and illness forms have parental acknowledgement
risk-assessment and management plans for outings require more detail and ratios are included on the outings form.
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 Twizel Early Learning Centre Inc will be within two years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
26 July 2016
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 |
Twizel |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70489 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 21 Girls: 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
9 28 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
26 July 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
April 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2009 |
||
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2006 |
||
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.