32 Akiraho Street, Mount Eden, 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 Bear Park Mt Eden are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Bear Park Mt Eden is a franchised service which is one of 11 services that are part of the Bear Park group. A qualified owner and manager oversee the service operations. There are two rooms for different age groups of children. Children enrolled are from diverse cultural backgrounds, with a small number who are Māori.
The Bear Park group has services in Auckland and Dunedin. Pedagogical leaders provide professional advice, guidance and support for Bear Park services.
Infants and toddlers experience an environment where their wellbeing is prioritised. Teachers work closely with parents to develop whānau relationships that inform children’s learning. Positive transitions into the service provide a foundation for secure infant/child and teacher attachments.
Teachers purposefully plan the curriculum to motivate children and develop their creativity. They use skilful questions to prompt children’s thinking and to develop their confidence to communicate their thoughts. Children are very well supported to develop connections with people, places and living things, through contributing to and evaluating their investigations and projects. Kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the land) and environmental sustainability are priorities for the service.
Children’s home languages and identity are valued. Cultural traditions, tikanga Māori values and te reo Māori are an integral part of the service’s curriculum. The philosophy and curriculum are based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which values children as capable learners working collaboratively with teachers in a stimulating environment. Planning and assessment documentation celebrates diversity, children’s dispositions for learning and their individual progress over time.
Relational trust at every level supports effective team collaboration. Teachers are provided with a range of professional development opportunities and mentoring. Leaders share their professional knowledge and expertise within the Bear Park group and with the wider professional community. A long-term plan informed by Bear Park organisational goals, values and priorities guides ongoing improvement and results in positive outcomes for children.
Leaders and teachers implement effective policies, procedures and practices that contribute to equitable outcomes for children at this service. There is a well-established system in place for internal evaluation that supports meaningful improvements across the service. Strong professional leadership, communication and innovation contributes to sustained improvements and continuity in the provision of high-quality care and education for children.
Bear Park Mt Eden will include the following action in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Engage further with the Enviroschools programme and continue to use internal evaluation to document how a focus on sustainability has contributed to enhanced and equitable learning outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bear Park Mt Eden 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.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
24 April 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Bear Park Mt Eden |
|
Profile Number |
10202 |
|
Location |
Mt Eden, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
79 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
24 April 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2015; Education Review, September 2011 |
How well placed is Bear Park Mt Eden to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bear Park Mt Eden continues to provide high quality education and care within a programme that incorporates Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and Reggio Emilia philosophy. Since ERO’s 2011 review, the centre has been merged with the adjacent infant and toddler centre under one licence. It is now licensed for 75 children and caters for children from three months to school age. Children play and learn together in age-appropriate groupings.
The centre operates under the umbrella of the Bear Park franchise. The franchise management group provides well developed policies, organisational frameworks and professional support. The strength of these systems and processes helped the smooth transition of centre ownership during 2012.
The Bear Park Pedagogical Team works across and within 10 centres to support teaching and learning. The centre owner oversees and guides day-to-day operations in collaboration with the supervisor and teachers.
The positive features of Bear Park Mt Eden that were acknowledged in ERO’s 2011 reports continue to be evident. Managers have responded well to ERO’s recommendation that staff enhance the programme to further support infants and toddlers as capable and competent learners. They have also implemented strategies to work more effectively with families and the wider community to enrich children’s learning.
Ongoing professional learning has focused on developing planning and assessment approaches that are more responsive to children’s interests and working theories. The management team provides opportunities for all teachers to contribute to the drive and direction of the centre.
Teachers warmly welcome children and their parents/whānau to the centre. Children settle to their play and connect well with each other and their teachers. Trusting relationships between adults and between adults and children contribute to high quality learning interactions. Children have a strong sense of belonging. They are confident and collaborate well to support each other’s play. Teachers place importance on children leading their learning.
Active participation of parents in the life of the centre is encouraged and supported by teachers. Teachers have been deliberate in engaging parents and whānau in discussions about children’s learning. They have helped parents to understand how the Bear Park programme provides foundation learning for children’s future education. Parents report that their perspectives of their children’s learning are valued by teachers. Increasingly, parent voice is evident in records of children’s learning.
Children’s transitions to, and within the centre are well managed. As a result of the centre promoting successful partnerships with local schools, transitions of older children from the centre have been enhanced.
Children experience literacy, mathematics and the sciences in the centre’s richly resourced environment. Teachers support children's use of language and art in their investigations. Other features of effective teaching practice in the centre include:
Provision for children less than two years of age is well considered and nurturing. Teachers are sensitive to children’s preferences and requirements. They interact with these young children in a calm, unhurried way giving them time and space to lead their learning. A successful initiative to support younger children’s sense of security and identity has been the centre’s ‘buddy system’. As a result of this system, teachers have noticed that infants and toddlers have been more active participants in their learning.
Māori children’s culture and identity are well catered for. Teachers reinforce the bicultural principles of Te Whāriki by taking time to get to know Māori children and their whānau. Links have been made with a local marae and kohanga reo. Teachers see this developing relationship providing a means to enrich the centre’s te reo and tikanga Māori programme. Pacific children’s different island heritages are valued. The centre owners share with staff their deep knowledge of the culture and language of different Pacific nations.
Strong centre direction is provided by centre owners and supervisors with support from the umbrella organisation. Governance and management of the centre is efficient and effective. Operational systems and processes are well connected and support a professional culture that is focused on what is best for children. Self review is used for ongoing centre improvement. An effective appraisal system supports teachers to reflect on ways they can promote children’s thinking and the complexity of their play. Teachers appreciate the very good amount of time and resources they have for their ongoing professional learning and development.
ERO and centre managers discussed the following key next steps in this centre’s ongoing improvement:
ERO is confident that the centre has the capacity and capability through its high quality leadership and effective long-term planning to sustain its successful development.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bear Park Mt Eden 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.
The next ERO review of Bear Park Mt Eden will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer-Northern Northern Region
16 March 2015
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 |
Mt Eden, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10202 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
96 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 53 Girls 43 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese Indian Middle Eastern Tongan Latin American Samoan other European other Asian |
6 57 7 4 2 2 1 1 1 11 5 |
|
|
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 |
December 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
September 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 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:
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 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.
Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool provides very good quality education and care for children between two-and-a-half to five years of age. The centre shares the site with Bear Park Mt Eden Infant Toddlers, which caters for infants and toddlers. The two centres are part of the Bear Park group of early childhood centres. The franchise management team provides centre owners within the group with advice, audit and management support.
Programmes at Bear Park Centres reflect the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Staff see children as competent learners who construct their own working theories about the world. Teaching practices follow this philosophy within the framework of Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum.
Children frequently engage in complex and imaginative play in the inviting, richly resourced environment, which encourages exploration and investigation. Children have well developed social skills and are able to manage their own behaviour. They are confident and capable learners who are respectful of each other’s work and opinions.
Teachers support each other very well. They work skilfully alongside children, stimulating new thinking while building on prior learning. They clearly value children’s ideas and contributions. Programme planning, assessment and evaluation processes reflect children’s learning and are responsive to individual and group investigations.
Parents express a high level of satisfaction with the quality of education and care provided by the centre. Communication between the centre and families is open and responsive. The recent introduction of a parent portal as a means of sharing children’s learning with their families has been received with enthusiasm. Centre managers will find it helpful to make further use of this effective communication tool.
The licensee manages the day to day operation of the centre. Effective and efficient management practices are in place. Self review is used as a tool for ongoing evaluation and improved practice. ERO, the licensee and centre managers agree that teachers should further consider ways of working with families and the wider community to enrich children’s learning.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool 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 at Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
The 2008 ERO report noted the high quality care being provided for children in an environment that supported their emotional and physical wellbeing. The high quality of teaching interactions, learning resources and the stimulating, well presented environment contributed to the provision of meaningful learning experiences for children. ERO recommended that the quality of education be further enhanced by ensuring that children’s individual interests were more prominent in the learning programme.
Positive outcomes for children. Children’s enthusiastic and purposeful engagement in play ensures that they settle quickly into the programme and take opportunities to explore the centre environment. They are confident and capable learners who participate in co-operative and collaborative play scenarios. Groups of children work together for sustained periods of time to develop complex, imaginative ideas. They are skilful in managing interactions with their peers, and show empathy, thoughtfulness, respect and care for others. Children are confident communicators who enjoy occasions when they can share their knowledge and ideas with teachers and other children.
Teaching and learning. Teachers have formed warm and caring relationships with children. They have a good knowledge of children’s interests and experiences away from the centre environment. Teachers are responsive to children and work to support and extend their learning. Most teachers use open-ended questions skilfully to challenge children’s thinking, sustain conversations and to encourage children to talk about their own ideas. They use interactions with children to help them to develop increased knowledge and understanding and to prompt them to think about their prior learning.
Learning environment. The spacious indoor and outdoor environments are attractively and thoughtfully presented and provide opportunities for children to engage in physical, imaginative and exploratory play. An extensive variety of activities support children’s investigation and inquiry. Opportunities to develop learning about literacy, numeracy and science are integrated into the context of children’s play. Children’s sense of pride, ownership and respect for the centre’s environment is evident as they engage in play activities.
Programme management. Teachers notice, recognise and respond to children’s interests and encourage their involvement in a high quality educational programme. Regular entries in children’s individual portfolios increasingly indicate how children’s learning is extended over time. Planning documents show how teachers and children identify a focus for investigation and inquiry, share their knowledge, and then research and explore new ideas together. A collaborative team approach to assessment and evaluation facilitates reflective discussion that results in further enhancement of children’s learning.
Partnerships with parents. Families express a high level of satisfaction with the centre and comment on the reciprocal and trusting relationships that they and their children have with the teaching team. A wide variety of communication techniques, including an online parent portal, continues to provide opportunities for parents and teachers to work together. Regular informal sharing of information about children, and formal parent/teacher interviews, also contribute to positive outcomes for children.
Management and self review. Annual and strategic management goals focus on ongoing improvement and whole centre development. Self review is systematic, well established and transparent. Review practices inform policy analysis and guide the ongoing enhancement of the learning programme for children. A responsive approach to external review has enabled centre managers to identify ways in which practices could be improved. Resultant improvements have had a positive impact on the programme provided for children.
Teacher appraisals promote reflective teaching practices and contribute to continued professional learning and development. Constructive feedback from managers enables teachers to refine their teaching practices and programme delivery. A comprehensive support and guidance programme is provided for provisionally registered teachers.
Ongoing improvement. The licensee, management team and teachers work collaboratively to provide a high quality learning programme for children. The programme could be further enhanced by centre managers:
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:
Although there are no Māori children currently enrolled in the centre, managers and teachers have considered ways in which they could welcome and respond to Māori children and their whānau in the future.
Teachers have identified that developing relationships with all families is important. An individualised programme to support children’s transition into the centre provides a sound base for the development of responsive and reciprocal relationships with whānau.
In order to improve current practice and to reflect their commitment to New Zealand’s bicultural heritage, centre managers and teachers could:
Before the review, the management of Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool completed an ERO Centre Management 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 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, the licensee and centre managers agree that teachers should continue toenhance the ways in which they collaborate with families and the wider community to enrich children’s learning.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
|
Location |
Mt Eden, Auckland |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10202 |
|
Type |
All Day Education and Care Centre |
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
Number licensed for |
45 children over two years of age |
|
Roll number |
55 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 32 Boys 23 |
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā 53 other 2 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2011 |
|
Date of this report |
5 September 2011 |
|
Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review, September 2008 Education Review, March 2006 Accountability Review, December 2002 |
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool.
Bear Park Mt Eden Preschool provides very good quality education and care for children between two-and-a-half to five years of age. The centre shares the site with Bear Park Mt Eden Infant Toddlers, which caters for infants and toddlers. The two centres are part of the Bear Park group of early childhood centres. The franchise management team provides centre owners within the group with advice, audit and management support.
Programmes at Bear Park Centres reflect the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Staff see children as competent learners who construct their own working theories about the world. Teaching practices follow this philosophy within the framework of Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum.
Children frequently engage in complex and imaginative play in the inviting, richly resourced environment, which encourages exploration and investigation. Children have well developed social skills and are able to manage their own behaviour. They are confident and capable learners who are respectful of each other’s work and opinions.
Teachers support each other very well. They work skilfully alongside children, stimulating new thinking while building on prior learning. They clearly value children’s ideas and contributions. Programme planning, assessment and evaluation processes reflect children’s learning and are responsive to individual and group investigations.
Parents express a high level of satisfaction with the quality of education and care provided by the centre. Communication between the centre and families is open and responsive. The recent introduction of a parent portal as a means of sharing children’s learning with their families has been received with enthusiasm. Centre managers will find it helpful to make further use of this effective communication tool.
The licensee manages the day to day operation of the centre. Effective and efficient management practices are in place. Self review is used as a tool for ongoing evaluation and improved practice. ERO, the licensee and centre managers agree that teachers should further consider ways of working with families and the wider community to enrich children’s learning.
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.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services
Northern 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:
improve quality of education for children in early childhood centres; and
provide information to parents, communities and the Government. 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.