23 Glendale Road, Glen Eden, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden provides full-day and sessional care and education for children from six months to school age. The centre is licensed to provide for 32 children, with a maximum of ten under the age of two years. This centre is one of two owned by the managing director.
The centre operates from a renovated house. Children of all ages play together. The centre philosophy focuses on relationships and acknowledges the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The philosophy emphasises that the role of teachers is to observe and work alongside children to help them co-construct knowledge and to support their developing skills and dispositions.
The managing director is a qualified early childhood teacher and employs five qualified teachers. Three staff are new to the centre since the 2014 ERO review.
Good progress has been made in the areas that were identified for improvement in the 2014 ERO review.
The centre warmly welcomes children and their families. Children confidently talk with friends and adults during play and are settled in their environment. They have good opportunities to develop their independence and self-help skills.
Children spend much of their day in sustained play and exploring. Teachers encourage children's learning and development using a rich curriculum with equipment that encourages creative thinking. Children's development of oral language, and skills and knowledge related to literacy and mathematics, are well supported. Teachers are continuing to review and improve the environment to further promote children's problem solving and opportunities to make discoveries.
Programme planning and assessment practices and processes are now more focussed on enhancing children's specific dispositions, skills and working theories. Children with additional learning needs receive good collaborative support from teachers, parents and external agencies. Children's learning is shared with their parents through digital portfolios. Centre leaders are seeking to further enhance partnerships with parents by providing opportunities to talk about children's learning, the curriculum and current good teaching practices.
Staff use internal evaluation to improve outcomes for infants and toddlers. Teachers evaluate the impact of their curriculum decisions to see what difference they are making for the youngest children's learning. They are continuing professional development to implement Te Whariki, The Early Childhood Curriculum, in response to children's dispositions and preferences.
Teaching is responsive to individual children's needs and teachers make links to children's experiences outside of the centre.
Teachers are increasing their knowledge of te ao Māori perspectives by participating in professional development. As a result, they are continuing to strengthen bicultural aspects of the curriculum. Centre leaders agree that further priorities are to plan and implement approaches that support success for Māori children, and to develop whānau relationships. These developments could provide insights for planned approaches to support future enrolments of Pacific children and their families.
A culture of ongoing improvement is well embedded at all levels of the centre. Leaders foster teachers' and parents' shared understanding of the centre philosophy, vision and goals. They consult parents and staff and use their responses to inform strategic planning. Emergent leadership is encouraged and supported using a robust appraisal process. Leaders are strategically improving outcomes for children.
Leaders have identified appropriate priorities for ongoing centre improvement. These include:
developing bicultural partnerships through consultation on centre policies and practices
continuing to build the collective capacity of the teaching team through curriculum professional development, teaching and leadership as inquiry
continuing to review and improve the learning environment to further promote children's problem solving, exploration and investigation
continuing to maintain a sound policy and review base that responds to changes in requirements and legislation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen 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:
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.
To improve current practice, the early childhood service management should ensure that all excursions, including regular local outings, follow the centre policy for excursions and risk analysis and management.
The next ERO review of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
13 March 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.
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Location |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20185 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
46 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 29 Boys 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
December 2017 |
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Date of this report |
13 March 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2011 |
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Education Review |
February 2008 |
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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 |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden in West Auckland, provides full day and sessional care and education for children from six months to school age. Most of the teachers are qualified. Ratios of children to teachers are favourable, particularly for the youngest children. Since the 2011 ERO report the centre has changed ownership, has a new name, and the majority of staff are new. This is the centre’s first ERO report under the new licence.
Children and families are from diverse cultures. The centre aims to cater for the differing needs of its community. The owner and staff are committed to providing mixed-age programmes that allow children of all ages to participate in learning experiences together.
The centre is one of two owned by the centre manager. It operates in a renovated bungalow that has been carefully refurbished and resourced. The outdoor space is attractive and easily accessed by children. The centre manager oversees the operational and the administrative aspects of the centre, and a supervisor leads the team of four teachers. A cook provides nutritious meals and has longstanding relationships with families.
The centre’s philosophy affirms child-initiated learning and expresses commitment to bicultural practices. These aspects are acknowledged and celebrated in the programme.
Children and parents are warmly welcomed as they arrive at the centre. Children settle quickly to play in areas of their choice. They make good friends, are kind to each other, and have a strong sense of belonging in the centre. Children new to the centre and their families are very well supported to feel welcome and included.
Teachers plan programmes that cater for the care, learning and developmental needs of children. They are respectful of children. They provide space for children to play and be creative, and support them with gentle guidance and good questioning. Mat times and eating routines are managed skilfully. Children engage well in group learning and they enjoy opportunities to come together for shared meals.
Teachers work well as a team to provide programmes that promote and encourage children’s language skills with good conversation, reading and songs. Older children, in particular, have opportunities to develop confidence in their physical skills and abilities in the outdoor area.
Infants’ and toddlers’ learning is well supported as they play. The programme for younger children provides good opportunities for them to mix with older children. Teachers also provide clearly designated areas for infants and toddlers.
The programme promotes and celebrates New Zealand’s bicultural heritage and values children’s backgrounds. Some teachers confidently use te reo Māori in the programme. They also use children’s home languages when possible as a way to support their learning and strengthen communication with families.
Teachers promote parent participation and involvement in the programme and bring families together through social events at the centre. They value the contributions parents make to the programme and acknowledge the aspirations they have for their children. The manager and teachers are now keen to promote connections with local schools to better support children's transitions to school.
The centre manager is committed to providing good quality early childhood education. She has established useful strategic and management plans to guide the future direction of the centre. She provides very good professional learning for teachers to promote ongoing improvement in teaching practice throughout the centre. There is a good policy framework to guide centre operations and to help ensure health and safety requirements are met. A useful teacher appraisal system is in place and the manager uses an external appraiser to challenge and improve her own teaching and leadership practice.
The manager and teachers are continuing to refine centre self-review practices. Self review is clearly understood and used well as a tool for ongoing improvement. A useful programme evaluation process has been developed and is having a positive impact on children’s learning and on teaching practice.
The manager and supervisor recognise that key next steps for the centre include continuing professional learning programmes for teachers and strengthening planned self review. They also agree that other steps they could take include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen 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 Our Kids Early Learning Centre - Glen Eden will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
18 June 2014
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 |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20185 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
45 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 23 Girls 22 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā African Indian Samoan Cook Island Māori Other |
8 26 2 2 2 1 4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2014 |
||
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Date of this report |
18 June 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 2005 |
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.