11 Jellicoe Street, Morningside, Whangarei
View on mapNot well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Okara Educare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Okara Educare provides education and care for 70 children, including up to 20 under the age of two years. Children are grouped according to age into two separate indoor and outdoor play areas. Half of the children enrolled are Māori.
The centre manager is supported by an area manager. The teaching team includes five other qualified and three unqualified teachers.
The centre's philosophy is consistent with the values of Educare Learning Centres and is aligned with the aims of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It acknowledges te ao Māori and values respectful relationships with children, whānau and the community. It also recognises the importance of having a physical and emotional environment that supports children's wellbeing and learning.
The 2015 ERO report identified many positive aspects of practice. Areas for continued development were bicultural practice, programme evaluation, appraisal processes and whānau contributions to assessment. There has been a positive response from the teaching team.
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 settle easily into their play. They have easy access to a wide range of resources and the freedom to explore. Children engage confidently with adults, trusting them to respond to their requests and ideas. They have a good sense of belonging in the centre environment.
Children confidently engage in play with their friends. They play imaginatively and creatively. The outdoor environment offers a very good range of physical activities. Children use the equipment available skilfully to set their own challenges. Long periods of uninterrupted play allow them to revisit and strengthen their knowledge and skills.
Teachers' interactions with all children are caring and positive. They are responsive to children's ideas, conversations and requests, and good models for children's developing language. Mathematics and literacy learning occur in meaningful contexts. Teachers' responses allow children to sustain and bring complexity to their play. Consistency in staffing supports infants and toddlers to form secure attachments with their caregivers.
Te reo Māori is very visible in the centre's environment and documentation. Māori values that are included in the service's philosophy are lived and understood by the teaching team. Children and teachers enjoy weekly visits from a kapa haka group. Teachers would like to continue deepening their knowledge of te reo and te ao Māori.
Children's transitions through the centre are sensitively managed. The centre layout allows younger children to interact with older children and their teachers throughout the day. Teachers have built strong relationships with the local school that support children as they transition to school. The centre is very inclusive and works well with outside agencies to ensure positive outcomes for all children.
Programme planning is based on teachers' observations of children's interests. Teachers include parent aspirations, as well as children's inquiries and self-identified learning goals, when considering learning outcomes. Teachers should now establish processes for recording their planned responses to children's interests, and for programme evaluation.
The centre is well managed and led. An improvement focused strategic plan guides the centre's future direction. Annual plans could include actions to be taken in each year to ensure continued progress towards achieving the centre's strategic goals.
Educare managers are proactively building leadership capability within the organisation. The sustainable leadership model is working well in this centre. An improved appraisal system and targeted professional learning and development are supporting ongoing improvements in teaching and learning.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps for the centre include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Okara 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
7 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 | Morningside, Whangarei | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 45829 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 63 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 34 Boys 29 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā other ethnic groups | 29 30 4 | |
| 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 | December 2018 | ||
| Date of this report | 7 May 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | April 2015 | |
| Education Review | September 2013 | ||
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Okara Educare is situated in Morningside, Whangarei. It provides sessional and full day education and care for children up to the age of five. Seventy percent of children are Māori. Children play in a large, purpose-built indoor space which opens out onto a well designed outdoor area.
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 manager at Okara Educare oversees the day-to-day management of the centre. Most of the staff are registered teachers and many have continued to work at the centre since the 2013 ERO review.
ERO’s 2013 report noted good practices in the way the centre was developing relationships between children, parents, whānau and teachers. The development of the curriculum was a centre priority at that time. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, was evident in documentation, and teachers used effective approaches to planning and assessment. These good practices continue to be evident.
The centre has responded positively to ERO’s 2013 recommendations. Managers and teachers have made good progress strengthening the quality of the programme. They have taken steps to develop a curriculum that better supports children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour. These changes have helped to support positive learning outcomes for all children.
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 confident, capable and articulate. They benefit from an inclusive environment, play well together and display a strong sense of belonging and security. Children show competence in their social skills with each other and in the way they relate to adults. Teachers are nurturing and respond quickly to children’s needs.
Children enjoy the indoor and outdoor flow. They experiment in their play and trial new ideas. They benefit from readily accessible resources that offer varying degrees of interest and challenge. The environment is well organised and attractively presented.
Positive and reciprocal relationships are evident. Teachers engage effectively with children to support their learning. They respect children’s choices and view them as capable and competent learners.
Infants and toddlers enjoy the attentive care they receive in their separate area of the centre. Teachers are committed to actively involving and fostering children’s sensory awareness throughout the day. Individualised care promotes children’s sense of wellbeing and capability.
Teachers plan programmes using Te Whāriki and their observations of children’s interests and responses to learning activities, as their guide. Parents and whānau contribute to this planning process. Teachers help children to make connections with their learning. Individual children’s learning portfolios reflect the progress of each individual in their development and learning.
Teachers are developing their use of te reo Māori. Positive relationships and strong partnerships have been established with whānau. Parents are invited to share aspects of their cultural heritage in the daily programmes.
The centre manager has been purposeful in building good relationships with the local primary school. Teachers, parents and whānau work together to help support the transition to school process for children and their families.
The Educare leadership team provide effective governance and management systems and processes to centre leaders and teams. 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.
The general manager, centre manager and senior teachers agree that the next steps for centre improvement are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Okara 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
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 Okara Educare will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
13 April 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 |
Whangarei, Northland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45829 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
68 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 35 Boys 33 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
30 38 |
|
|
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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 April 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2013 |
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.