26 Colombo Street, Cashmere, Christchurch
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 Pebbles Montessori Cashmere are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere is one of three early childhood services under shared private ownership. The curriculum promotes free-play alongside a Montessori-based philosophy. A centre manager is responsible for daily operations. A small number of Māori children and children of Pacific heritages attend. There has been good progress in relation to the key next steps in ERO’s 2020 report, including gaining greater parent input and internal evaluation.
Children have opportunities to share and revisit their learning. Teachers build on children's prior knowledge to extend thinking and support a growing curiosity about their wider world. Cultural identity is promoted throughout the environment and supports children to learn about themselves and others. A broad range of science and literacy experiences support infants, toddlers, and young children to progress their learning.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported. Opportunities to learn are inclusive of all children including the use and learning of New Zealand Sign Language to support communication.
The learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, are deliberately used to guide the assessment process. Children’s learning is well connected to these outcomes, and intentional teaching strategies are reviewed to determine what has worked well. Progression of learning and partnerships with parents are evident.
There are opportunities for children to learn about the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa. Aspects of tikanga Māori, and at times the use of te reo Maōri is evident in the curriculum. However, this is not yet a consistent practice across the teaching team.
The internal evaluation framework is yet to be embedded. Collaboration is evident, however, a good understanding of the process is not yet shared across the teaching team. An increased emphasis on specific data gathering, related to quality indicators and using this information to inform evaluative reasoning is required.
Leaders have good processes to support compliance and assessment processes. Internal evaluation systems clearly link to strategic planning and teachers’ professional growth cycles. There is a system for review of policies and procedures, however the review cycle is too lengthy to ensure currency and effectively guide practice.
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Increase the meaningful use of te reo Māori across the teaching team to strengthen teachers’ confidence and the bicultural curriculum.
Include clear, high-quality indicators in internal evaluation to guide the evaluative process and show evidence of the impact on learners.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pebbles Montessori Cashmere 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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
19 June 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere |
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Profile Number |
46833 |
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
57 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
19 June 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, February 2020 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere is a privately-owned education and care service. It is licensed for 37 children, including up to 15 children under two years of age. Children are grouped in two rooms according to their age. Teachers use a Montessori approach to deliver the curriculum, especially for the older children.
The centre's vision is for tamariki to see themselves as competent and confident learners in an environment of peace, respect and collaboration. Leaders and teachers have recently established centre priorities for learning. These priorities are: developing the whole child, relationships, respect, inclusive communication and the uniqueness of each child's learning journey.
This centre is one of three services. The owner and general manager provide governance, and overall organisational and professional leadership across the services. The centre manager carries out the day-to-day management of this service. Most teachers are qualified in early childhood education, including Montessori education qualifications.
Leaders have made good progress in response to ERO's recommendations in the November 2016 report. Since that review:
a new centre manager has been appointed
the general manager position has been created
children's learning is a stronger focus of assessment and planning
teachers are providing stronger bicultural perspectives in their practices
leaders have further developed their evaluation for improvement practices.
This review was part of a cluster of three services within Pebbles Preschool Ltd.
Children are well supported to lead their learning, consistent with the centre's vision of them being confident and competent learners. Teachers know the children well and respond respectfully to their care and learning needs. They work alongside the children rather than direct their learning and activities. Both outdoors and indoors, children have easy access to a variety of resources, activities and play equipment. These provide appropriate challenge, motivation and extension to children's learning and development. Transition practices between the rooms are sensitively managed in consultation with the parents to best meet the needs of the children. Children have a strong sense of belonging to their centre, where learning is the focus of play and activities.
The centre manager and teachers have deepened their knowledge and awareness of te ao Māori. Children hear and have many opportunities to use te reo Māori throughout their day and experience many aspects of tikanga Māori. This includes regular karakia and developing a shared mihi. Cultural competencies are given prominence within the centre, for children and adults. Children are gaining an understanding of manaakitanga and how it can become part of their interactions and relationships with others. Māori children see their culture and identity as a valued part of their centre.
Infants and toddlers experience routines that reflect and respond to their own patterns and needs. Teachers are responsive to children's verbal and non-verbal cues and signals. The environments are well resourced and set out to encourage exploration and challenge. Play is used well to extend the development, learning and social competencies of the infants and toddlers. Children play well alongside each other and individually.
There is variability of practice in making the learning pathways for individual children clear. The best practice was when:
teachers clearly recorded the planned-for learning, based on multiple formative assessments
teachers recorded the specific teaching strategies they planned to use to advance children's learning
learning stories showed the progress children had made within the planned learning pathway
teachers used the progress information to effectively evaluate the impact their teaching had on children's learning and development.
Planning documentation shows that few parents take up the opportunities offered to them, to contribute in meaningful ways to their children's learning pathways' planning.
Leadership for the three centres is purposeful in its support of teachers' professional practice and wellbeing. Leaders have promoted a shared understanding of the centre's vision, philosophy, strategic goals and priorities for children's learning. Clear roles and responsibilities ensure all teachers are aware of the expectations of them for the delivery of the curriculum. Senior leaders support initiatives that contribute to better organisation and positive outcomes for children. These are key factors for the provision of responsive and effective teaching and learning programmes.
Internal evaluation is used effectively to improve teaching and learning, and centre-wide practices. There is useful alignment from the vision and strategic goals to centre development, and to teachers' appraisals and inquiries. Teachers and leaders participate in relevant evaluation, knowledge building and professional learning that contributes to changes in thinking and practices. Leaders are yet to show the impact of practices, improvements and systems on outcomes for children.
Leaders and teachers need to explore different approaches to gain a greater input from parents to children's planning.
To gain a fuller picture of the impact of centre developments, leaders need to evaluate the difference improved actions and practices, as a result of internal evaluation, is having on outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pebbles Montessori Cashmere 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
19 February 2020
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 |
Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46833 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
73 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Male 38 Female 35 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
|
|
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 |
December 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
19 February 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
November 2016 |
|
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:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pebbles Montessori Cashmere is a new, privately-owned centre. The centre provides education and care for infants, toddlers and children to school age, in two separate areas. There is a focus on Montessori approaches to learning with the older children.
This centre is one of three owned and operated by Pebbles Preschool Ltd. A new centre manager was appointed in 2016. The owner and manager work collaboratively together to provide professional leadership to staff across the centres.
Most staff are qualified early childhood teachers and some staff are in training. Families that attend the centre come from a diverse range of backgrounds. This is the centre's first ERO review.
This review was part of a cluster of three early childhood centre reviews of Pebbles Preschool Ltd.
Children are confident and focused on learning. They talk to one another about their activities and respectfully support each other to complete tasks. Children make choices within the prepared environment. They have time to explore equipment and resources at their own pace.
Teachers work purposefully with children to foster their learning. They support children to develop a range of skills and build their independence. Children's physical skills and confidence are supported in the well-presented and challenging outdoor areas.
Teachers provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for children and families. They know each child well. Teachers caringly support children with additional needs and make good use of external agencies and expertise.
Children under two years of age experience nurturing relationships with their teachers. Teachers carefully follow each child's home routines and parents are kept well informed about their child’s daily activities. Children have many opportunities to be involved in group activities. They have easy access to a wide range of resources. Music and te reo Māori are naturally integrated into their learning programme.
Transitions into and within the centre are flexibly and thoughtfully managed to meet the needs of children and families. Centre leaders have established a good relationship with the neighbouring school. They are also building relationships with other schools in the area.
Teachers communicate well with parents. They invite them to contribute ideas and encourage them to be involved in the centre programme. Parents increasingly communicate with teachers online.
Leaders work well together. They have introduced a number of new initiatives and developments at governance, leadership and centre levels including child assessment and programme planning, self review, strategic planning and appraisal processes. There are clear systems that are guided by up-to-date policies and procedures.
The centre's self-review process is systematic and focused on ongoing improvement. However, self-review findings are likely to provide increasingly useful information if the process is made more evaluative. The appraisal process includes teacher reflections and sharing of effective teaching strategies. To further enhance the quality of teaching, formal observations and written feedback must form part of the appraisal process. The centre's strategic plan and its associated annual plan need further clarification in order to clearly set the future direction for the centre.
Centre leaders and ERO agree that the key next steps to promote positive learning outcomes for children are to:
more consistently make children's learning the focus of assessment, planning and evaluation across the centre for individuals and groups
increase teacher capability across the centre and strengthen the visibility of bicultural aspects in key documentation and practices
strengthen and embed the strategic plan, evaluation and appraisal.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pebbles Montessori Cashmere 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 Pebbles Montessori Cashmere will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu
25 November 2016
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 |
Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46833 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 15 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
61 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 41; Boys 20 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Latin American Other ethnicities |
5 48 1 2 5 |
|
|
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 |
September 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 November 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
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.