13 Merrington Crescent, Aranui, 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 Just Kids Merrington are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Just Kids Merrington is one of three early learning services governed by the Families for Life Trust. Since the 2019 ERO review, there have been changes within the management structure. A newly appointed curriculum leader and a professional leader have been appointed from within the organisation to work alongside the manager, across the three services to provide leadership and curriculum support. Progress is evident since the last ERO review report.
Children, including infants and toddlers benefit from a responsive curriculum that values Māori and Pacific cultures, values, and identities. A greater focus on partnerships for learning has led to kaiako working more closely with parents to develop planning for their children’s learning. They support parents to share their cultural expertise to enrich the curriculum. Kaiako use some basic te reo Māori. They are slowly building their capability to meaningfully increase their use of te reo Māori in everyday conversations with children. Kaiako are still building their confidence and knowledge in the use of children’s home languages to support and maintain connection to, and fluency in their home language.
Priorities for learning are strongly evident in the ways that children play, and the intentional teaching strategies and opportunities provided for learning. Kaiako work effectively with families of children with additional learning needs to plan and implement appropriate support and learning programmes.
Learning priorities include supporting children to develop:
social competence
oral language and thinking skills
tuakana-teina relationships
early literacy and mathematics learning.
Kaiako are yet to use assessment information to evaluate how well all children are learning in relation to these priorities.
Strategic governance and leadership within the organisation are contributing to growing leaders and kaiako professional knowledge and capability. Sustained professional learning has led to improved processes for assessment for learning and internal evaluation. Leaders have identified that the monitoring of internal evaluation requires improvement. Kaiako understanding and use of effective internal evaluation is becoming embedded in practice.
Trustees are highly responsive to the needs of the community of each service. Resourcing and decision-making help to reduce barriers to participation and support family wellbeing.
Just Kids Merrington will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. These are to:
increase kaiako capability to use te reo Māori and children's home languages in meaningful ways in daily conversations with children
embed assessment, planning and evaluation processes and use assessment information to know how well all children are progressing in relation to the learning priorities and the extent to which the curriculum is supporting them to achieve these priorities
consolidate and embed teacher capability to systematically and effectively engage in each stage of the internal evaluation process.
Before the review, the staff and management of Just Kids Merrington 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
5 September 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Just Kids Merrington |
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Profile Number |
47372 |
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 6 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
30 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 13, Pacific 7, other ethnic groups 1 |
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Review team on site |
May 2022 |
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Date of this report |
5 September 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Just Kids Merrington is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Just Kids Merrington is one of three early childhood education and care services managed by the Families for Life Trust. The Trust purchased this early childhood site in 2017 and it was licensed by the Ministry of Education that year.
The centre is licensed to provide full day education and care in a mixed age group for up to 28 children, including up to six under the age of two. Many children come from diverse cultural backgrounds and this diversity is reflected in the staffing. The centre states that it is committed to providing low cost, quality accessible care for children and their families within the local community, including a free transport service.
A centre manager and senior head teacher provide educational leadership of the three centres. There is a head teacher who leads the teaching team. Most of the teachers are qualified and registered early childhood teachers.
Centre programmes and practices are guided by a shared vision and philosophy which emphasise respectful relationships, open communication, and learning as a lifelong journey. The preschool's core values support children's learning through the belief that 'our broad, rich curriculum ensures that play is a fundamental feature, and reflects the holistic way in which children learn and grow'.
The centre participates in the Ōtākaro Kāhui Ako Community of Learning. It is also part of the leadership team for the Aranui Community of Practice, a network of early childhood and school leaders in the Aranui/Wainoni area.
This review was part of a cluster of three reviews in the Families for Life Trust which is part of a community complex that supports families.
This is the first ERO review of Just Kids Merrington.
Children are engaged in the learning programme and are well supported by their teachers who are responsive and supportive. They listen to children's ideas and provide resources and equipment which encourage children to investigate, explore and extend their interests.
The organisation of the indoor and outdoor areas allow children to play and learn for sustained periods of time in meaningful ways. The environments are calm and thoughtfully presented. Children engage positively with other children and tuakana-teina is evident in the play and learning between older and younger children.
Children have opportunities to explore the local community, such as the local library and gymnasium. Literacy is well supported, and teachers use community opportunities to extend children's awareness of the wider world. Leaders and teachers make effective use of community groups to extend children's learning and care of the environment.
Children enjoy warm, nurturing relationships with teachers. They make independent choices and can access a range of resources. Teachers are responsive to younger children's non-verbal cues, needs and interests. The teachers communicate with parents regularly to provide continuity between the centre and homes. This provides good support for children's sense of wellbeing and belonging.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported by their teachers. Leaders and teachers consult with outside agencies and the centre's education support workers, to ensure that these children can participate fully in the learning programme.
Programme planning includes aspects of Māori culture and contributes to building children's awareness of Aotearoa New Zealand's bicultural heritage. Teachers have a strong commitment to building their knowledge and understanding of tikanga and te reo Māori.
Internal and external professional development have been used by leaders and teachers to improve assessment, planning and evaluation. Te Whariki (2017), the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum, is well documented in assessment, planning and learning outcomes.
Transitions into and out of the centre are flexible and individualised and consider the preferences of the child and their family. Teachers engage with parents and whānau to seek their aspirations for their child.
Leaders and teachers have used internal and external expertise to improve internal evaluation processes, and are building a culture of reflection for continuous improvement. Strategic planning and goals are linked to teacher practice, appraisal and professional development. Strong leadership and a collaborative approach are supporting staff to continue to develop their professional capability and leadership capacity.
The centre is in its second year of operation. Centre leaders and ERO's evaluation confirms that the next steps are to:
further strengthen appraisal processes to ensure that appraisal meets the expectations of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Before the review, the staff and management of Just Kids Merrington 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
7 May 2019
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.
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
47372 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 6 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
21 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 10, Girls 11 |
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|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
11 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 May 2019 |
||
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
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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.