Nature's Wonder

1 Evaluation of Nature's Wonder

How well placed is Nature's Wonder 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

Nature's Wonder is a privately owned, early learning service located in Eltham. It was purpose-built and opened in late 2016. Over its two years of operation, rolls have grown to full capacity. The service is licensed for 44 children, including 12 aged up to two years. The service philosophy emphasises nature, beauty and relationships. Twenty percent of children enrolled are Māori.

The managing director is qualified in early childhood education. She divides her time between teaching and oversight of centre operation. She is supported by two head teachers, appointed in 2017. The teaching team includes a mix of in-training, provisionally registered and more experienced teachers. Most are fully qualified.

Infants and toddlers have dedicated resources, teaching staff and indoor and outdoor spaces, adjoined to those of the older age group. They transition between learning environments around two years of age.

The service is part of the Central Taranaki Kāhui Ako.

This is the first ERO review for Nature's Wonder.

The Review Findings

The philosophy is strongly evident in practice. Learning spaces are attractive, inviting and thoughtfully arranged. The creative arts and nature exploration are strong features of the environment and daily programme. Children are engaged and confident. Teachers prioritise respectful relationships. They successfully promote children's social competence and friendship skills. They ask thoughtful questions and support children to follow their interests and passions. Active movement is encouraged. Events and excursions extend the curriculum.

Infants and toddlers benefit from warm, responsive interactions. They are calm and settled. They confidently explore the richly resourced environment at their own pace. Teachers work and play alongside these young learners, and are highly attuned to their preferences, interests and non-verbal cues. Care routines are unhurried and child-led. Toddlers' social and emotional competence is skilfully promoted with peaceful and respectful strategies.

Staff are appreciative of the key role parents play in children’s education. They purposefully build positive relationships with families, and have successfully created a welcoming, supportive climate of community in the service's two years of operation. This is a strength of the service. These good quality relationships should provide a strong foundation for the development of learning-focused partnerships. ERO and leadership agree that this is a next step for the service. This should include consistent reciprocal consultation practices, particularly around planning for learning, and philosophy and 'priority outcome' reviews.

Careful attention is paid to sensitively supporting children and their families as they transition into and through the centre. Teachers are building their relationships with local schools.

Children have increasing opportunities to see, hear and experience elements of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori within the daily curriculum. Teachers are committed to ongoing development of these practices, for all children, as well as to affirm the culture of tamariki Māori. They agree that their next step is to consult with local whānau Māori to tailor bicultural practices to their specific learning community. ERO's evaluation affirms that teachers should continue to explore and establish targeted practices that promote the success of Māori learners.

Teachers have been actively improving assessment, planning and evaluation processes. Children’s portfolios contain authentic, appreciative narratives and observations. Some good examples show how individualised teaching strategies have resulted in improved learning outcomes for children. Continuing to develop portfolio documentation, and establishing consistency of quality across the centre, is a priority next step. This should include consideration of how children's unique cultures, languages and identities inform teacher practice.

Children with additional learning needs are well supported to engage with the curriculum alongside their peers. Teachers liaise with parents and external agencies as appropriate. Improved assessment documentation should better support teachers to monitor the success of individual education plans.

Teachers collaboratively reflect on, research and review practices, to make well-considered changes that benefit children. Leaders agree that internal evaluation processes should be more focused on using clear evidence to measure the impact of practices on children's learning outcomes.

The newly-revised appraisal process does not yet include all good-practice appraisal components. Leaders are accessing Education Council resources to address this.

Management and teachers are engaged, enthusiastic and focused on promoting positive outcomes for children and whānau. A culture of collaboration and continual professional growth is evident. The managing director is actively growing distributed leadership. She effectively fosters a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the philosophy, vision and goals of the service.

Key Next Steps

Leaders have appropriately prioritised the building of effective relationships and shared practices within a newly-established centre and team. It is now timely to shift focus to developing:

• strong evaluative practices

• reciprocal, culturally responsive parent and community partnerships

• specific, targeted strategies for promoting the success of Māori learners.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Nature's Wonder 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Nature's Wonder will be in three years.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review & Improvement Services

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

28 November 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		Eltham
Ministry of Education profile number		47134
Licence type		Education & Care Service
Licensed under		Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
Number licensed for		44 children, including up to 12 aged under 2
Service roll		74
Gender composition		Girls 37, Boys 37
Ethnic composition		Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups	15 54 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		October 2018
Date of this report		28 November 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.