297-301 Mt Wellington Highway, Mt Wellington, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Scribbles Early Education Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whāngai Establishing |
Scribbles Early Education Centre is a privately owned centre. It is one of three services under the same ownership. The centre manager oversees the operation and management of the service, supported by the service provider. Separate areas are allocated for infants, toddlers, and older children. The service roll reflects the community’s ethnic diversity.
Children are confident and active learners. They engage and participate well in activities provided by teachers. Children capably choose activities and lead their learning through play. They have a strong sense of belonging and move within their learning environments with ease. Children express themselves well and know that their needs will be met.
Infants are treated with dignity and respect. They receive individualised care where their needs are quickly responded to. Their non-verbal communication is recognised, understood, and supported. An unhurried programme provides younger children with a calming environment that enables their learning and independence.
The languages and cultures of Māori and Pacific children are integrated through the curriculum. Leaders and teachers acknowledge the need to seek and include the views of children, parents and whānau to more purposefully respond to their diverse languages, cultures and identities.
Teachers use Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to plan children’s learning programmes. Leaders and teachers collaboratively develop and maintain responsive, reciprocal, and respectful relationships with children, parents and whānau. Strengthening the documentation of children’s learning and development over time would enhance planning and assessment practices.
Leaders plan for and support professional learning opportunities to ensure teachers develop their confidence, capabilities and reflective practice. Resources are well allocated to support teachers to take on new knowledge, and to change and improve their professional practice.
A range of approaches have been implemented to evaluate the quality of operations and the curriculum. Leaders agree that it would be beneficial to seek external expertise to build capability and collective capacity in evaluation and inquiry.
Human resource policies, procedures and practices promote the recruitment of staff who fit the service’s values and philosophy. The positive working environment is conducive to the building and sustaining of adul:child relationships.
Scribbles Early Education Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Scribbles Early Education Centre 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.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
24 September 2021
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Scribbles Early Education Centre |
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Profile Number |
46097 |
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Location |
Mt Wellington, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
110 children, including up to 35 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
93 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 19, NZ European/Pākehā 22, Tongan 14, Cook Island 13, Samoan 11, Chinese 4, other Asian 4, other Pacific 4, |
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Review team on site |
May, 2021 |
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Date of this report |
24 September 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2018; Education Review, November 2014 |
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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.
Scribbles Early Education Centre is located in Mt Wellington, Auckland. It operates in a large purpose-built facility and serves a culturally diverse community. Licensed for 110 children including up to 35 children under two years of age, the centre caters for children in four age-related rooms. It is one of several services under the same ownership.
The service's vision is 'for children to encompass and develop a love of life, showing compassion and empathy in all relationships, being inclusive, kind, respectful, non-judgemental and proud of who and where they come from'. This vision and the service's overarching philosophy are influenced by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and underpin all aspects of the operation of the service.
Since the 2014 ERO review, there has been significant turnover of staff due to maternity leave. Managers are thoughtfully implementing strategies to ensure that there is a smooth transition of qualified and non-qualified teachers. This is helping to maintain good quality care and education for all children.
Children, parents and whānau are warmly welcomed into the centre. Teachers know the community well and are responsive to parents' aspirations for their children.
Teacher practice supports children to settle well in their surroundings. Children confidently explore and make decisions about their play. The indoor and outdoor environments are inviting and well resourced. As a result children readily engage in sustained, collaborative and individual play. Teaching strategies support children to form trusting relationships with adults and to display a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing.
Babies and toddlers experience calm, nurturing and respectful practices. The teaching team supports children to explore and be curious about their surroundings. Teachers' practice reflects a commitment to the notions of 'an education of care' and 'primary caregiving'. They are responsive and sensitive to the needs of children. A new separate area for children who are not yet independently mobile, provides a secure space for the youngest children to play and not be disrupted.
Older children mange themselves competently and display a strong sense of confidence. They are respectful of their peers and contribute in a variety of ways to the learning programme. Centre leaders and teachers ask children about their preferences to inform and shape the programme. Teachers agree that it is important to continue strengthening this practice.
Teachers work as a collegial team, and make good use of the ethnic diversity, skills and expertise that each bring to the programme. They are culturally responsive to children and families, and place importance on Māori as tangata whenua. The varied Pacific heritages of children are valued and celebrated within the programme.
Transitions into and through the centre are well managed. Centre managers have identified the need for a coordinator to further develop relationships with local schools. The aim of this is to support children's transitions beyond the centre and on to school. Children with additional learning needs are well supported. ERO notes that it would be useful for teachers to revisit planning documentation to strengthen the individualised support for these children.
Centre portfolios are a record of children's participation in the programme. Learning Stories could be enhanced by showing children's learning developments. Teachers' planning reflects children's interests and parent aspirations. Teachers should now ensure that planning, assessment and evaluation is aligned more closely to the revised Te Whāriki early childhood curriculum.
The owners and centre manager value and support meaningful professional learning for staff. Emergent leadership among teachers is encouraged. Teachers' involvement with spontaneous and long-term internal evaluation leads to improvements. Owners and leaders recognise the benefit of strengthening internal evaluation and making processes more systematic across the centre.
The owners have a clear vision for the service. Their strategic thinking around the management of resources, people and property, guide the direction of the centre. Strategic appointments have been made in response to staff taking leave. The centre has a policy framework to guide practice.
Key next steps include:
enhancing teacher skill and capability by providing whole-centre professional learning development across all rooms
further developing policies and procedures to strengthen staff appraisal, job descriptions, induction and mentoring programmes
strengthening organisational practices that are underpinned by the Māori values of tikanga, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga.
Before the review, the staff and management of Scribbles Early Education Centre 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.
In order to improve current practice and comply with legislation, the owners must:
develop and implement policies and procedures required as part of the Vulnerable Children's Act 2014, including that all persons that have contact with children are police vetted [Vulnerable Children's Act 2014, GMA7a, appointment processes that include police vetting of staff].
The next ERO review of Scribbles Early Education Centre will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
2 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 |
Mt Wellington, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46097 |
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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 |
110 children, including up to 35 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
121 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 52% Girls 48% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
17% |
|
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
January 2018 |
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Date of this report |
2 March 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2014 |
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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.