360 Albany Highway, Albany, 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 Little Doves Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakawhanake Sustaining Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Little Doves Early Learning Centre operates in the grounds of a large private school. Enrolled children are from zero to three years of age. A qualified centre manager and three head teachers are responsible for daily operations. Children are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, with approximately a quarter who have Chinese heritage. There are a small number of children who are Māori or of Pacific heritages.
Te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and te ao Māori intrinsically inform the design of the environment and curriculum within each learning space. Leaders and teachers consult with kaumātua and Te Herenga Waka o Orewa to support them in their commitment to become active Treaty of Waitangi partners. Teacher-led inquiries inform the development of shared understandings of a high-quality bicultural curriculum.
Strong relationships are enacted as the core of the service’s philosophy. Consistent caregiving enables teachers to respond sensitively to each child’s changing needs and preferences. Family and culture are viewed as inseparable from the child. Teaching and learning are a collaborative process where teachers and children are partners, and parents and whānau actively contribute. A strong sense of community is evident, where all are involved in decision making to ensure children thrive, grow and learn.
Planning for learners is multilayered and collaborative. Teachers constantly document their observations of children, their interests and dispositions, and plan teaching strategies to promote and enhance their learning. Children’s work is highly visible in the environment, enhancing their sense of themselves as successful learners. Woven through the curriculum is a focus on children as global citizens and kaitiaki (guardians) of the land and environment.
Evaluation, inquiry, and knowledge building are embedded in policies, systems, processes and practices. This collectively expresses how the service plans for, and takes action to realise its vision, values, goals and priorities for children’s learning. Leaders and teachers actively collaborate with other groups to support broader educational, social and community outcomes.
Little Doves Early Learning Centre will include the following action in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Engage further in opportunities to share knowledge, expertise and innovation with the wider Early Childhood Education sector in the interests of improving teaching practice and outcomes for learners.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Doves Early Learning Centre 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)
8 November 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Doves Early Learning Centre |
|
Profile Number |
47449 |
|
Location |
Albany, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers (delete if not applicable) |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
83 |
|
Review team on site |
September 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
8 November 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, March 2020 |
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.
Little Doves Early Learning Centre is a new purpose-built centre. It is governed by the Kristin School Board and belongs to the Kristin School Charitable Trust. The centre is licensed to provide for 75 children and all staff are fully qualified. They have an additional four teaching assistants.
The service curriculum is inclusive and is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning. It provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Teachers engage in meaningful, positive interactions in a language-rich environment enabling children to instigate and lead their own play. The service is well managed in accordance with effective management practices. Regular opportunities are provided for parents to communicate with the staff about their child’s learning.
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 |
Little Doves Early Learning Centre |
|
Profile Number |
47449 |
|
Location |
Albany, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 years |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Reported ratio of adults to children under 2 |
1: 3 - Better than regulatory standards |
|
Reported ratio of adults to children over 2 |
1:6 for 2 year olds - Better than regulatory standards 1:8 for 3 year olds - Better than regulatory standards |
|
Service roll |
71 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 42 Girls 29 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 4 |
|
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.
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: