Kids Count - Kelvin Road

Education institution number:
46450
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
120
Telephone:
Address:

22 Kelvin Road, Papakura

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Kids Count - Kelvin Road

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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Kids Count - Kelvin Road are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whakatō Emerging

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whakatō Emerging

Whāngai Establishing

2 Context of the Service

This is one of six services under the same ownership and governance. Day-to-day operations and leadership of the large team are undertaken by a centre manager, with children learning across four age-based rooms. Almost half of children enrolled are Māori, and large numbers of Cook Island Māori, Samoan or Tongan children also attend.

3 Summary of findings

Children participate in centre life and explore their community through a curriculum that clearly links to the Kids Count philosophy. Families are encouraged to be involved, with leaders acting as advocates alongside parents and whānau to ensure children’s participation. Transitions into, and out of, the centre respond to children’s and their family’s needs. Children have a sense of security in being able to predict what happens next.

The curriculum is in the early stages of responding to children’s cultures. There are some opportunities for children to experience elements of te ao Māori. The environment partly reflects the high numbers of Māori and Pacific children attending, but individual cultures, languages and identity are not used to inform the curriculum.

Support and ongoing mentoring for new and provisionally registered teachers are in the early stages of impacting positively on children. Response to children as learners, and resourcing, are inconsistent across the rooms. When planning, priority is given to group activities rather than individual learning outcomes. How teachers’ practice responds to children as individuals, and how it consistently reflects Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, is not evident.

Those responsible for governance have a strong focus on equity and removing barriers to participation. Their overarching vision is well understood by centres. A new senior leadership team is establishing operational conditions. An operations manager was appointed during the cluster of ERO reviews, and a curriculum leader has been offering support to centres over the last year. New systems and processes for internal evaluation and assessment and planning are not fully embedded.

4 Improvement actions

Kids Count - Kelvin Road will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Develop and enact a shared understanding of Te Whāriki that prioritises child-led, play-based learning.

  • Provide consistent resourcing and learning environments to respond to children’s interests and dispositions for learning.

  • Fully establish the new planning and assessment processes to support teachers in identifying and responding to individual children’s learning.

Kids Count governance will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:  

  • Provide support to enable centres to create and enact their centre’s philosophy and localised curriculum that responds to their children and community. 

  • Develop cohesive systems and processes across the Kids Count group that support leaders and teachers to understand and consistently implement regulatory and operational requirements.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Count - Kelvin Road completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

6 Actions for Compliance

During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

  • Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment that could topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

3 October 2023

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Kids Count - Kelvin Road

Profile Number

46450

Location

Papakura, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

100 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

160

Review team on site

July 2023

Date of this report

3 October 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2018.

 

Kids Count - Kelvin Road - 20/03/2018

1 Evaluation of Kids Count - Kelvin Road

How well placed is Kids Count - Kelvin Road 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

Kids Count - Kelvin Road is licensed to provide education and care for up to 100 children, including a maximum of 20 under two years old. The centre has a separate building and outdoor space for children under three, but they often mix with older children outdoors. Most children have Māori or Pacific heritage. The roll includes smaller numbers of Pākehā, Indian and Asian children.

The service is one of five Kids Count centres. This is the first ERO report for this service. The Kids Count management group delegates day-to-day operation to a centre manager, a supervisor, and team leaders in each of the four age-related groups of children. There are 12 registered teachers and a number of unqualified staff, who all reflect the diversity of the centre community.

The management group believes that 'every child has the right to reach their potential'. The organisation has a commitment to providing a wrap-around service for low income families that will improve outcomes for children and minimise barriers to their participation in early childhood education. Services include a van pick-up service for most children, home visits from community support staff, and scholarships where there are high family needs. These initiatives have improved the attendance rate of most children.

The Review Findings

Children arrive with enthusiasm and show a sense of belonging in the centre. Older children in particular, have positive relationships with teachers and respond well when adults support their play. Children enjoy the outdoor environment where they often engage in group play and physical activities, and use the resources available.

At the time of ERO's review many of the younger children had only recently transitioned into new rooms and effective routines and practices were not consistently evident. Teachers working with infants and toddlers in two adjacent rooms had not yet established effective learning environments for these children. When ERO observed the programme those children did not have access to appropriate learning resources at all times and teachers needed to develop more effective strategies for engaging children.

Learning is becoming more focused for older children. They are beginning to sustain their interest in creative materials, and when using resources such as puzzles and blocks. Children would benefit from more learning challenges that encourage them to think and explore their own ideas, and through further development of literacy and numeracy in the context of meaningful play.

Teachers' planning formats help them to identify resources and activities to support overarching topics and interests, particularly for group activities. Teachers maintain learning stories and ongoing assessment records for each child related to developmental milestones, which are integrated into learning programmes. Teachers regularly evaluate their programmes but should become more rigorous in reflecting on the quality of outcomes for children.  Some steps leaders and teachers could take to effect change include:

  • evaluating ways in which they facilitate child-led learning and support sustained periods of play
  • further development of specific strategies to support children's oral language development.

Teachers and leaders recognise the value of finding ways to engage with whānau of children who are transported to the centre in vans. Several families attend centre meetings and events, and make good use of a whānau room at the centre. Teachers use learning stories to invite parents to support their children's interests at home.

The management group has high expectations for the centre. The owner and her team have established aspirational goals in their strategic plan and a network of support for staff at all levels. This support includes internal professional development for teachers and non-qualified staff, including van drivers. Leaders have encouraged teachers to engage in self-review within their rooms with the intention of developing more rigorous whole-centre evaluation.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps to support centre development include:

  • engaging external support to enhance educational leadership to improve teachers' involvement in and facilitation of children's learning
  • ensuring that strategic plans include goals for improving provision for children's learning
  • providing guidance to help teachers engage in robust internal evaluation, and inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching practices.

Since the on-site review the centre leaders have made considerable progress in response to the report findings. They have undertaken a review of resources resulting in additional varied and age-appropriate resources. They have developed clear action planning which addresses the key next steps and areas for improvement. They have initiated good strategies to support ongoing internal evaluation and planning for improvement. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Count - Kelvin Road 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.

To improve current practice the service should develop environments and learning experiences that are consistent with the Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kids Count - Kelvin Road will be within three years.

Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

20 March 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

Papakura, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46450

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

100 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

168

Gender composition

Girls       87
Boys      81

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Samoan
Cook Island Māori
Indian
Niuean
Tongan
Southeast Asian
other Pacific
other

71%
11%
  4%
  4%
  2%
  2%
  2%
  1%
  2%
  1%

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:5

Meets minimum requirements

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

October 2017

Date of this report

20 March 2018

 

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

No previous ERO reports

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.