Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare

Education institution number:
20206
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
30
Telephone:
Address:

70 Howe Street, Newton, Auckland

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Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare

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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Auckland Girls’ Grammar School Childcare are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

ERO’s judgement

What the service knows about outcomes for learners

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Ngā Akatoro Domains

ERO’s judgement

He Whāriki Motuhake

The learner and their learning

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Whakangungu Ngaio

Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Ngā Aronga Whai Hua

Evaluation for improvement

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Kaihautū

Leaders foster collaboration and improvement

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Te Whakaruruhau

Stewardship through effective governance and management

Whakaū Embedding

2 Context of the Service

Auckland Girls’ Grammar School Childcare is located next to the school site. A centre manager has responsibility for daily operations. The school principal is the service provider. The team includes three qualified teachers, two unqualified teachers and a cook. There are separate areas for infants and for up to school age children. The service philosophy is based on children experiencing positive relationships in an environment that promotes independence and celebrates diversity.

3 Summary of findings

Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. The service philosophy is well embedded and has been collaboratively developed with parents and whānau. Children experience an environment where their languages and cultures are valued and nurtured by teachers. As a result, children form positive relationships with their peers and each other.

Teachers provide infants and toddlers with unhurried, calm, and respectful care. They understand and respond consistently to children’s verbal and non-verbal cues. Older children have very good opportunities to make choices about their play and to openly express their feelings and ideas. This enables them to engage in play for sustained periods of time.

Waiata and karakia are an integral part of daily routines. Leaders and teachers seek the contributions and aspirations of whānau Māori. Whānau input is valued and supports the ongoing development of the service’s culturally responsive curriculum. Children’s developing knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritage of Aotearoa is evident.

Parents and whānau regularly contribute to their children’s learning. They actively participate as partners in designing their child’s curriculum. Children’s learning is extended through a variety of intentional and spontaneous play opportunities. They are encouraged to investigate, and problem solve at their own pace. Children see themselves as successful learners.

Teachers systematically evaluate the impact of their teaching practices on outcomes for children. Assessment records show the progression of children’s learning over time.

The centre manager sustains high professional expectations for herself and all teachers. There is an ongoing team focus on continuous learning and improvement. Teachers work collaboratively and engage in robust professional dialogue to ensure and implement shared understandings about their practice.

Treaty-based practices are embedded in the service’s strategic goals and part of the internal evaluation priorities. These are strongly linked to improvements that result in positive learning outcomes for children. Effective policies and processes guide service operations.

4 Improvement actions

Auckland Girls’ Grammar School Childcare will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Continue to promote opportunities for teachers to grow their individual and shared professional leadership and capability.
  • Purposefully develop a reciprocal partnership between the school and centre to enhance bicultural practices and improve outcomes for all learners.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Auckland Girls’ Grammar School Childcare 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.

6 Compliance

Since the onsite review the service has provided ERO with evidence to show it has addressed the following areas of non-compliance:

  • maintaining records of all food served to Under 2s during the service hours of operation (other   than that provided by parents for their own children) (HS19)
  • having a current Building Code of Compliance (PF3).

Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

24 September 2021 

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Auckland Girls’ Grammar School Childcare

Profile Number

20206

Location

Newton, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

32 children, including up to 12 aged under 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

35

Ethnic composition

Māori 5, NZ European/Pākehā 14, Russian 4
other ethnic groups 12

Review team on site

June 2021

Date of this report

24 September 2021

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, January 2018; Education Review, May 2014

Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare - 25/01/2018

1 Evaluation of Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare

How well placed is Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare 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.

Background

Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare is located in the grounds of Auckland Girls Grammar School in central Auckland. The service is licensed to provide all day education and care for 32 children including up to 12 aged under two years. Infants and toddlers have separate indoor and outdoor play spaces. Families of this increasingly culturally diverse community have the option of enrolling children for full or half days.

The Auckland Girls Grammar School board of trustees and principal have responsibility for the governance and management of the centre. They have recently appointed a mentor from an external early childhood agency to support the centre manager in the delivery of the curriculum. These two leaders work alongside five other qualified teachers who make up the teaching team.

The service's philosophy supports a play based programme that is inclusive of all children. There is commitment to promoting the bicultural nature of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and to working in partnership with parents and whānau.

The 2014 ERO report recommended strengthening strategic planning, continued development of teachers' assessment practices, and a review of centre management systems. There has been some growth in these areas.

The Review Findings

Children are curious and confident explorers and investigators. They are conversational. The play based programme engages them well, and they are developing friendships as they explore together. Older children are starting to take increased responsibility for the wellbeing of others and the environment.

Infants and toddlers have good teacher to child ratios. Flexibility around centre routines allows children to move between the separate play spaces. This freedom of movement supports them to make successful transitions when they move to join the older group.

A good range of challenges are available in the two separate outdoor playgrounds to support children to develop, and gain confidence in, their physical strength and abilities. Teachers allow good space for older children to engage in sensory and creative experiences. It is time now for teachers to review the layout of the indoor areas and the level and quality of resources provided for children to encourage critical thinking and wonder.

A regular visitor to the centre skilfully role models effective use of te reo Māori and use of waiata. Words in te reo are starting to appear in learning stories, and some planning documentation includes links to a te ao Māori worldview. Artefacts that reflect children's different cultures are visible in the environment and accessible to children.

Teachers have established programme planning processes that show good links to Te Whāriki. In the area for the older children, plans are responsive to children's group interests and specify how teachers will respond. This process continues to develop. Planning for infants and toddlers could be more responsive to children's developing interests and strengths.

Children's portfolios of learning are individual to each child. Teachers use photographs well to support the narrative around children's learning. There has been good development of portfolios over 2017. Some show good continuity and developing complexity of learning, and learning dispositions are becoming a focus for teachers.

Centre leaders have recently established a framework for longer term internal evaluation projects. This is still in the early stages of development. Some spontaneous self review is occurring and being documented. Leaders have also developed strategic and annual plans to guide centre direction. Stronger alignment of all of these processes and documents would allow more cohesion in centre operations.

Managers need to ensure that the framework of centre policies and procedures meets the licensing criteria and current legislation. Access to hand washing facilities for infants and toddlers needs to be considered and an effective procedure implemented in the interim. Cleaning schedules also need to be developed, monitored and maintained centre-wide for the building and children's resources.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that key next steps in centre development include:

  • reviewing resourcing of the indoor environment to extend children's learning

  • continued refinement of programme planning processes that respond to the interests, strengths and abilities of all children

  • continuing to develop and embed internal evaluation that results in positive outcomes for children

  • building meaningful partnerships with parents and whānau that include and respond to their aspirations for the learning of their children.

Centre leaders have developed a comprehensive action plan to enable leaders and teachers to address these key next steps.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare 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.

Centre leaders need to establish suitable human resources management practices which include a system of regular appraisal for all teachers. Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, GMA7.

A systematic and prioritised review plan needs to be established to ensure centre policies and procedures continue to meet current legislative requirements.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Auckland Girls Grammar School Childcare will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

25 January 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

Location

Newton, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20206

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

32 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Service roll

31

Gender composition

Boys 19 Girls 12

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Asian
Middle Eastern
other European
other

4
16
5
2
2
2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

December 2017

Date of this report

25 January 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

May 2014

Education Review

February 2011

Education Review

February 2008

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.