The Y Early Learning Centre Birkdale

Kauri Kids Birkdale - 01 Jun 2023

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 Kauri Kids Birkdale are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Kauri Kids Birkdale is a community-based service that is managed by the Auckland City Council. An operations manager provides governance and management for the 10 Kauri Kids services. The teachers, including the manager are experienced and qualified.

3 Summary of findings

Children at Kauri Kids Birkdale are settled and engaged in their play. They are articulate and friendly. Children work independently or in small groups and enjoy long periods of uninterrupted play. Teachers know the children well and support their self-chosen play. The spacious centre environment is organised to provide a range of spaces that encourage children’s imagination and creativity.

Teachers promote a child-centred curriculum. Key teacher caregiving practices support the development of meaningful relationships with children and parents/whānau. Children’s assessment records and an online portal show how the service shares children’s learning with their parents. Teachers could now consider how they respond to whānau aspirations for children’s learning.

Teachers use basic te reo Māori and include aspects of tikanga Māori in their daily practice. They demonstrate a commitment to promoting the languages and cultures of all the children in the centre.

Teachers have developed strong connections with parents and the local community. They are active participants in the local kāhui ako | community of learning along with local schools. Teachers provide good opportunities for parents to participate in centre events and celebrations.

The centre is effectively led. Teachers have a shared understanding of the service’s philosophy, vision, and improvement goals. Internal evaluation is collaborative, and improvement focused. Teachers could continue to strengthen and monitor the impact of their internal evaluation processes on outcomes for children.

A well-developed strategic plan with clear development goals and an annual plan guides the Kauri Kids group. Teachers’ professional goals align with the overarching strategic objectives. Well-developed policies, systems and procedures provide guidance for everyday operations.

4 Improvement actions

Kauri Kids Birkdale will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• To respond more purposely to the knowledge and expertise that children and whānau bring to the service.

• To increase the visibility of how teachers respond to parent/whānau aspirations in curriculum planning, evaluation information and in assessment of children’s learning.

The Kauri Kids governance group will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• Strengthen teachers’ individual appraisals through ongoing monitoring and provision of feedback to support teachers’ growth in practice.

• Improve internal evaluation processes and monitor the implementation of improvement actions, including evaluating the impact of these actions on improved outcomes for children.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kauri Kids Birkdale 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.

6 Actions for Compliance

During the onsite visit, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

• Ensuring that documentation clearly states the name and amount of medicine administered to children (HS28).

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

1 June 2023

7 About the Early Childhood Service