1 Prictor St, Papakura Central, 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 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 Discoveries Educare - Papakura are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
The service provides education and care for children from infants to school age. Governance and management support for the service is managed by Empower Education. Recently appointed leaders and staff reflect the ethnic diversity of the community. The majority of teachers are registered. They are supported by an experienced manager who oversees daily operations and administration.
Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging, and confidently transition into and through the centre. They know routines well and can predict what happens next. Well-defined areas of play invite and support children to lead their learning. Children participate and engage in various learning opportunities that enable them to explore and extend their play. Literacy and mathematics are promoted in meaningful ways.
Parents’ views are valued, and they have opportunities to contribute to and participate in the curriculum. Engaging parents in consultation on the local curriculum for the service has not yet been undertaken.
The recent appointment of a bicultural leader is building teachers’ confidence in promoting te ao Māori in the curriculum. Māori children and their whānau experience a curriculum where they can see and hear their language and culture valued and celebrated daily.
Languages and symbols of children’s cultural backgrounds, including the diversity of Pacific heritages, are visible in the environment. Building teachers’ cultural knowledge and practice to respond more effectively to children from diverse cultural backgrounds is required to better support this.
Infants and toddlers experience positive, sensitive, and responsive interactions with teachers who care for them. Teachers maintain calm and unhurried care routines, which enable these young children to explore the environment with confidence.
An inclusive curriculum supports children’s diverse needs. Leaders and teachers work in partnership with parents of children with additional needs to enhance their learning. More frequent reporting of children’s progress to parents could further support this.
Although assessment for learning practices are well established, the quality and content of these are variable. Monthly planning for individual children is well documented, and parents are informed of children’s interests, learning dispositions and play preferences. Parents and whānau are able to contribute, and portfolios are easily accessible to children and their whānau.
Leaders have established useful organisational systems and processes that enable positive outcomes for children. They have:
fostered collaboration and relational trust among the teaching team
supported and provided meaningful professional learning and development to strengthen teachers’ professional practice through the newly implemented professional growth cycle
undertaken internal review to look more deeply into their curriculum practices
developed a more cohesive organisational culture.
Discoveries Educare - Papakura will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Strengthen the curriculum and teaching practice by building knowledge and understanding of a localised curriculum in partnership with parents and whānau. This knowledge could then guide teachers’ implementation of these localised priorities.
Embed the professional growth cycle for teachers. Use this process to support leaders and teachers to build their knowledge and cultural competencies through research, current guidance documents and teacher and centre inquiries.
Leaders and teachers to build and embed internal evaluation capability for ongoing curriculum improvement. Use the findings from these evaluations to inform the service’s strategic direction.
Before the review, the staff and management of Discoveries Educare - Papakura 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.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Documentation that includes assessment and management of risk for regular or special excursions (HS17).
A system for regular appraisal of staff (GMA7).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
17 August 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Discoveries Educare - Papakura |
|
Profile Number |
46823 |
|
Location: |
Papakura, Auckland. |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
100 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 years |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
71 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 12, NZ European/Pākehā 4, Indian 42, Samoan 5, |
|
Review team on site |
May 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
17 August 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Assurance Review, March 2020 |
ERO’s Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about 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.
Discoveries Educare - Papakura is part of the Discoveries Educare organisation. It received a full licence in February 2019. Staff reflect the cultural diversity of the community. Most of the children are of Indian heritage. The centre manager leads a team of qualified teachers as well as teachers in training, unqualified staff, a cook, and an administrator. The centre is supported by the Discoveries Educare General and Business Managers and a newly appointed Professional Practice Manager.
Teachers implement a curriculum based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, which
reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. They engage children in positive interactions, which supports their social competence and respects the right of each child to be confident in their own culture.
Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children. There is regular communication with parents about their child’s learning. Premises and facilities are well maintained. There are sufficient and suitable spaces for the provision of indoor and outdoor experiences. An ongoing process of self review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care.
Next steps include:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Education Review.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
13 March 2020
| Early Childhood Service Name | Discoveries Educare - Papakura |
| Profile Number | 46823 |
| Location | Papakura, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
100 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 years |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 |
1:4 - Better than regulatory standards |
|
Reported ratio of staff to children over 2 |
1:8 - Better than regulatory standards |
|
Service roll |
67 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 3, Indian 41, other ethnic groups 14 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2020 |
|
Date of this report |
13 March 2020 |
|
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.
ERO undertakes an Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:
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 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 Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through: