23 Norfolk St, Regent, Whangarei
View on mapNot well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Norfolk Street Educare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Norfolk Street Educare, located close to the centre of Whangarei, provides education and care for 56 children, including up to 25 under the age of two years.
Programmes for children aged three and four are provided in 'The Villa', a modified house with two outdoor areas, while the younger children are accommodated in a purpose-built facility with a separate outdoor space. Two team leaders work closely with each other and with an area manager who has oversight of other Educare Early Learning Centres.
The centre's philosophy is consistent with the values of Educare Early Learning Centres and aligned with the aims of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It acknowledges te ao Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi. Respectful relationships and environments that support children's wellbeing and learning are important to the team.
The 2015 ERO report identified positive areas of practice, including governance, management and teacher interactions with children. The key next steps included programme planning, assessment and strategic planning. While progress has been made in these areas they continue to be areas for improvement.
The centre is one of 16 centres owned by the directors of Educare Early Learning Centres. The shared vision across this group is "Learn, Laugh, Play". The group's senior leadership team provides administrative and professional support. They also monitor and evaluate the centre's progress towards achieving the centre-specific strategic goals that align with the organisation's goals.
Educare's focus over the past three years has been professional learning and development (PLD) in leadership and in te ao Māori. More recently, PLD has included a focus on supporting children’s oral language, programme planning, assessment and aspects of performance management.
This review was part of a cluster of three reviews of Educare Early Learning Centres.
Children experience a programme that promotes learning in an environment that supports their wellbeing. Teachers' interactions with children are positive and affirming. Children are encouraged to lead their own learning. Teachers encourage them to extend their play through careful questioning and by helping them resource their activities.
Infants and toddlers are well cared for and supported to learn. Teachers communicate effectively with parents and provide continuity with the children's home routines. They promote children's oral language development well using a wide range of strategies, including questioning and giving children time to respond.
Centre staff continue to build their capability to help children learn about te ao Māori. Te reo is visible in the environment and is used in the context of the programme. Aspects of tikanga Māori are included in centre activities. Kapa haka tutors visit the centre weekly to work with children. They include age-appropriate activities that are enjoyed by the children.
The centre is well resourced. Teachers have reviewed and improved the layout and resourcing of indoor environments. Children have easy access to appropriate equipment. Children under three years of age have an inviting outdoor area that provides suitable challenges. Centre managers could now consider how to improve the layout of the adjoining outdoor area for the older children, while retaining existing good opportunities for physical challenge.
Teachers work effectively in partnership with parents to support children's learning and wellbeing. Parents share their aspirations for their children with teachers who include them in assessment and planning. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their child's electronic portfolio and share aspects of their children's experiences beyond the centre.
The centre is well led and managed. Teachers work collaboratively to support children and ensure that centre operations run smoothly. Educare Learning Centres has established a suitable policy framework used by all centres.
Internal evaluation is valued at the centre and guides improvement. Educare's guidelines for internal evaluation now have a greater focus on using evaluative questions to guide the process. Where the guidelines are used, the quality of internal evaluation has improved. Strategic planning could now be improved by making strategic goals more specific and encouraging centre leaders to closely monitor progress towards meeting the goals.
Educare is proactively building leadership capability within the organisation. This is working effectively at Norfolk Street Educare. They have also strengthened appraisal processes. The improved appraisal system and targeted professional learning and development is supporting ongoing improvements to teaching and learning.
Centre managers agree that key next steps for the centre include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Norfolk Street 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:
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.
Centre managers should increase the detail in risk management plans for excursions to encourage staff to think carefully about how risks will be managed and how they should respond to emergencies.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
3 May 2019
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 | Whangarei | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 45340 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 56 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 62 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 35 Boys 27 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā other ethnic groups | 20 33 9 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:4 | Better than minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:8 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | November 2018 | ||
| Date of this report | 3 May 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | March 2015 | |
| Education Review | June 2012 | ||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.
Norfolk Street Educare is situated close to the centre of Whangarei. Operating under a single licence out of two adjacent buildings, the centre provides all day education and care for 56 children up to five years of age, including 25 children up to the age of two. The centre is part of the Educare Early Learning Centres group of early childhood services. It operates under the management systems that support all Educare centres.
The centre’s philosophy promotes opportunities for children to 'learn, laugh and play' through respectful relationships and honest, open communication with parents and whānau. Parents value the family feel of the centre and the emphasis given to creating a natural environment for children’s play.
As a result of staff changes since the 2012 ERO review there has been a move to a shared leadership structure, with a team leader and supervisor forming the centre management team. The teaching team is well qualified and experienced. Governance and management support is provided by Educare owners and senior management.
This review was one of three reviews of Educare Early Learning Centres. Educare owners and senior managers took an active role in each review.
Children are happy and confidently engage in the programme. They have well-established, genuine friendships with teachers and their peers. Children’s wellbeing and sense of belonging are nurtured through positive interactions, respectful relationships and good care routines.
Children are encouraged to be independent explorers and make discoveries from a very good range of accessible resources. They move freely between the indoor and outdoor environments, engage in activities that interest them and collaborate in their play.
Responsive caregiving supports infants’ and toddlers’ need for secure attachments. Teachers maintain a calm, nurturing environment in which babies and younger children have space and time to explore their surroundings.
Older children have good access to a range of equipment that supports their play choices. Children have opportunities to play independently or with their peers for sustained periods of time. Teachers work alongside children and support them in their play. The well-resourced outdoor areas provide good opportunities for physical and imaginative play.
Teachers know children well, respond to parents’ aspirations and use this knowledge to promote opportunities for authentic learning. The programme allows children to initiate their own learning through play and follow their own interests. They develop early literacy and mathematics concepts through their play. Transitions into and through the centre are sensitively managed.
Teachers are committed to providing a programme that reflects New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage and supports Māori children to succeed as Māori. Teachers and children use te reo Māori consistently throughout the day.
The centre is well led. The centre co-leaders and teachers work effectively as a team. Centre leaders and Educare senior management acknowledge the importance of continuing to build leadership capability. The centre’s strategic plan guides centre direction and aligns with Educare’s new strategic plan. Self review is well established and focussed on improving outcomes for children.
The Educare leadership team provide effective governance and management systems and processes to centre leaders and teams. They support centre leaders and teachers to provide high quality education and care. Distributed leadership and sharing of expertise across centres is promoted. The owners provide very well for the professional development of staff. The general manager capably supports each Educare centre to improve outcomes for children.
Managers and staff recognise that it is now timely to:
At the organisational level, the leadership team could enhance Educare’s direction by reviewing teachers’ leadership pathways within Educare.
Before the review, the staff and management of Norfolk Street 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:
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 Norfolk Street Educare will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
23 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 |
Regent, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45340 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
56 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
77 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 39 Girls 38 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Cook Island other European |
20 51 2 1 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
23 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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.