Busy Bees Whitby

1 Evaluation of Whitby Educare

How well placed is Whitby Educare to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Whitby Educare is an independently owned and operated early learning service in Whitby, Porirua City. It is licensed for 72 children including 19 aged up to two years. Currently 11 children identify as Māori.

Since the December 2014 ERO report, there has been a change of ownership. The owners manage the service, with a head teacher taking responsibility for the teaching and education programme. There has been some turnover in staff since that time. The philosophy is under review.

The previous ERO evaluation found areas of concern. These have not been sufficiently addressed.

The Review Findings

Children have access to a wide range of resources. To strengthen learning opportunities teachers should ensure these resources maximise child-led creative and expressive experiences.

There has been some progress in increasing teachers' understanding and use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. The recent review of transitions has had a positive impact on celebrating children's milestones. The Whakawhiti ceremony involves whānau and families attending events. This review provides a context to begin a relationship with local iwi, Ngāti Toa.

The focus on developing relationships with families contributes to a friendly tone within the service. The quality of interactions needs further development to support all teachers to better engage with all children, including those up to two years old. This is especially necessary around routine activities and to extend and challenge children’s language, thinking and problem solving.

Children are yet to experience a curriculum that is reflective of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and of current best practice. The implementation of the agreed philosophy and the establishment of a curriculum framework that guides teaching, learning and care requires urgent attention. 

Documentation of children’s learning requires strengthening. Children's interests are yet to be sufficiently captured in the planning and implementation of the programme. Priority should be given to developing opportunities for children to make decisions about their engagement and participation in learning.

Managers and leaders are continuing to increase their understanding of the purpose and use of self review for accountability and improvement. Owners, managers, and staff should develop processes for evaluating the impact of teaching practices and policies on children's learning and development.

Strengthening understanding of governance, management and leadership roles and responsibilities is required. Documenting meetings and aligning systems and processes should support decision making and planning for improvement.

During the onsite phase of the review, ERO identified a number of concerns relating to the supervision of children and the systematic monitoring and response to hazards. Health and safety practices and systems need to be improved. These are a priority to meet Ministry of Education licensing criteria, and for monitoring the quality of centre practices.

The performance management process is not effective in supporting and developing leaders' and teachers' practice. Further work is needed to ensure professional teaching requirements are met.

Key next steps

Leaders and staff should seek support to:

• effectively implement Ministry of Education licensing requirements
• develop a curriculum that is reflective of Te Whāriki, recognising children's interests and providing rich and stimulating experiences
• further build on the learning opportunities that support children who identify as Māori
• implement robust self review and evaluation practices
• improve systems and processes for effective governance and management, including fully implementing the appraisal process.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Whitby Educare 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.

Actions for compliance

ERO found significant areas of non-compliance in the service related to: curriculum, health and safety and performance management. The service provider must ensure:

• the centre curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation (documented and undocumented) that demonstrates an understanding of children's learning and interests
• all aspects of the Vulnerable Children Act are in place and appropriately implemented
• all staff are appraised with a robust system for development of management, leadership and teaching roles
• earthquake and fire drills are held regularly and have appropriate documentation as a record of action
• children have access to inside and outside licensed areas at all times of the service’s operation and are supervised at all times.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1, C2, C4, GMA7 and GMA 7a, HS8, HS1]

Since the onsite phase of the review, centre managers have addressed the following:

• heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment are secured
• general hygiene is of a standard to support children's health and safety.

Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Whitby Educare. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements. 

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Whitby Educare will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

12 February 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.