19 Kahu Crescent, Te Rapa, Hamilton
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Kids Cave Early Learning is a privately-owned centre that changed ownership in 2019. Three age-based rooms have flexible outdoor spaces that enable children to work together. A general manager is responsible for governance and pedagogical leadership. The centre manager has the responsibility for day-to-day operations.
Children experience a curriculum that is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation. Teachers demonstrate an understanding of children’s interests, whānau and life contexts, and apply knowledge of learning and development to their teaching.
Adults engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s preferences are respected and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. The service curriculum supports children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour. A philosophy statement guides the service’s operation.
The key next step is to continue to strengthen evaluation that shows how assessment and planning contribute to the progression of children’s learning.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
17 March 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Kids Cave Early Learning |
| Profile Number | 46717 |
| Location | Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 20 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
|
Service roll |
63 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 10, NZ European/Pākehā 23, Pacific 5, Indian 18, South African 5, Other ethnic groups 2. |
|
Review team on site |
January 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
17 March 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
First ERO review of the service. |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Childrens Corner Te Rapa Ltd is an all-day education and care service for children from birth to school age. It is a privately owned centre under new ownership. Centre management/owners have two other early childhood services in Auckland. Management took over the centre in April 2015 and this is the first ERO review for the centre. The centre is licensed for 75 children with a maximum of 20 children under two years of age. The environment has three age group areas designed to meet the diverse ages and abilities of infants, toddlers and young children.
The service is located in Te Rapa, Hamilton in a growing industrial area, and caters for families in the local businesses and community. In the past two years, management has developed and improved centre systems and practices, and is focused on developing the quality of the programme and staffing. The leadership structure consists of the centre owners, a centre manager, and two team leaders.
The centre has a high number of registered early childhood teachers across all age group rooms. Management demonstrates a commitment to quality and operates above the minimum regulations for adult-to-child ratios. The infant room provides one adult to every three infants, and centre leaders ensure the group size is no larger than 12 infants at one time. Centre leaders and teachers have established a shared centre vision. They set high expectations and aim to be recognised as a provider of high quality education and care, where the best interests of children and their whānau/family are at the heart of decision making.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Management and teachers understand the importance of developing positive, accepting and trusting relationships with children and their families. They view this as an essential component of providing the best possible learning outcomes for children. Teachers have introduced key teacher roles, which support the core value of respectful practice. Children are well supported to transition into a supportive and caring environment responsive to their emotional and social wellbeing.
Children experience an environment that provides them with many opportunities to have fun, be challenged and to learn through play, social interactions with others and the learning environment. Teachers value the diverse multicultural backgrounds of children in the centre, and use other cultural practices and greetings, enhancing all children's knowledge and appreciation for cultural diversity.
The essential curriculum strands and goals are integrated throughout the daily programme. Children are empowered to make choices and to explore interest areas and topics. Centre leaders and teachers have prioritised te ao Māori as a long term goal for future development, which will build on their current te reo and tikanga Māori practices.
A particular strength in the older age group room is the well-embedded literacy practices facilitated by teachers and resources in the environment. Children are learning literacy in meaningful ways through their play. They are developing an understanding of print and alphabet knowledge. Toddlers enjoy a programme that responds to the characteristics of this age group. They benefit from the slow, unrushed climate and teaching practices that enables them to engage in sustain play. Toddlers are well supported to develop their social competencies and independent learning skills. A feature of the infant programme is the sharing of information among teachers and parents, which enables teachers to provide personalised, and responsive care routines. Teachers successfully provide a language-rich environment, skilfully tuning into infants non-verbal body language and cues.
Children's assessment is overseen by the team leader who leads curriculum development. Each team follows the format of notice, recognise and responding to children's interests, strengths and learning. Individual and group planning is responsive to children's knowledge, skills, learning dispositions, and used effectively to plan further learning. These records provide a rich description of children's success in learning and progress over time.
Transitions into the centre, between the rooms and onto school have been reviewed and this has led to improved outcomes for children and their families. Teachers sensitively adapt the transition process to accommodate smooth transitions that are responsive to children's needs, temperaments and emotional wellbeing. Teachers in the older age group room are developing a relationship with local schools. They have developed an individual summary portfolio of children's learning, knowledge, skills and dispositions that children can share with the new entrant teacher to support their transition to school.
Leaders and teachers work collaboratively as a team to achieve their vision, philosophy and values for high quality education. Teachers appreciate leaders mentoring and coaching that effectively encourages them to reflect on, and grow their professional practice. A strategic plan and framework guides self-review processes, resulting in ongoing improvements to the quality of teaching and learning. Leaders and teachers have undertaken extensive emergent and planned self review since the service opened in April 2015. These practices provide a sound foundation for teachers to now implement strategic long-term inquiry that is evaluated and aligns with the centre's vision and philosophy to sustain and improve outcomes for children.
Management need to develop self-review processes that inquire and research into culturally responsive practices for children who are Māori. This should enable leaders and teachers to know about the effectiveness of how well they enact the service's philosophy, vision and goals in supporting Māori to achieve success as Māori.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Childrens Corner Te Rapa Ltd 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.
The next ERO review of The Childrens Corner Te Rapa Ltd will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato/Bay of Plenty
18 April 2017
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 |
Te Rapa, Hamilton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46717 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
64 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 33 Boys 31 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Cook Island Samoan |
16 45 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
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 |
February 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
18 April 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
No previous ERO reports |
||
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.