BestStart Pinnacles

Education institution number:
47551
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
82
Address:

1 Northlake Drive, Wanaka

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Pinnacles Early Learning Centre

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 Pinnacles Early Learning Centre are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whāngai Establishing

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whāngai Establishing

Whāngai Establishing

2 Context of the Service

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre is a privately-owned, stand-alone service. A centre owner and a newly appointed centre manager oversee a team of mostly qualified teachers, many of whom have been recently appointed. Children attending are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including a small number of Māori children. The service has made some progress in developing a local curriculum and increasing opportunities to gather whānau views as recommended in the ERO 2020 report.

3 Summary of findings

Children experience a responsive curriculum where they have choice in their play, learning and participation. They are provided with a variety of experiences and environments reflective of the age-based room priorities, including belonging, language, imagination and kaitiakitanga. Children’s sense of belonging and mana are enhanced through caring interactions with teachers.

Infants and toddlers are well supported. Teachers know the children well and are responsive to their verbal and non-verbal cues. Room priorities of wellbeing, belonging and exploration are evident. They experience a calm and slow-paced environment, with respectful teacher interactions.

The bicultural, culturally responsive curriculum requires further development. There are some opportunities for children to hear te reo Māori, mostly at routine times and through waiata. While there are some cultural celebrations, the visibility of all children’s cultures in practice and documentation requires strengthening.

Clear assessment for learning processes guide teacher practice. Assessment information shows links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers plan for children’s learning and document their interests and participation in a range of experiences. They regularly communicate with whānau about their children. Assessment documentation is yet to consistently show:

  • children’s learning and progress overtime in relation to Te Whāriki learning outcomes

  • whānau involvement in developing individual learning goals for their children.

Leaders and teachers are improvement focused. The wellbeing of children and whānau is the primary consideration in decision making. Leaders ensure resourcing is aligned to the centre philosophy. Quality improvement systems, processes and practices are establishing and need embedding. These include completing a full professional growth cycle for all teachers, and building capability in evaluation to know what is, and is not, working well to inform change.

4 Improvement actions

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • In assessment documentation, consistently show children’s learning progress and development over time in relation to the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki.

  • Increase whānau involvement in curriculum decisions and implementation and sharing aspirations about their children’s learning.

  • Continue to develop and implement a bicultural and culturally responsive curriculum.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Pinnacles 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.

6 Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:

  • Ensuring documentation of excursions includes a record of the time excursions take place.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008; HS 17.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

11 July 2023

7 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name 

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre 

Profile Number

47551

Location

Wanaka 

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

100

Review team on site

May 2023

Date of this report

11 July 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Akanuku | Assurance Review, October 2020

 

 

 

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre - 30/10/2020

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

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.

Background

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre opened in January 2019. This is the first ERO review of the service. The owner provides governance and a centre manager leads the service on a day-to-day basis. Staff include ten qualified teachers. Children from infants-to-school age learn in three aged-based areas.

Summary of Review Findings

Children experience positive interactions and reciprocal relationships with their teachers. The service curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation and demonstrates teachers’ understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau and life contexts.

There are suitable systems for governing and managing the service. Parents have opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service’s operational documents.

The purpose-built premises and environments provide for a range of individual and group learning appropriate for the children attending. The premises and equipment are kept safe, hygienic and maintained in good condition. Health and safety procedures are monitored, and changes made when required.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • continue to develop the local curriculum to reflect the things that are important to children and their families, kaiako and the wider community
  • provide further opportunities for the perspective’s parents and whānau have about their children to be shared and responded to
  • strengthen the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their identity, language and culture.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

30 October 2020

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Pinnacles Early Learning Centre

Profile Number

47551

Location

Wanaka

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80%+

Service roll

76

Gender composition

Male 39, Female 37

Ethnic composition

Māori 7
NZ European/Pākehā 63
Other 6

Review team on site

October 2020

Date of this report

30 October 2020

Most recent ERO report(s)

First ERO review of the service.

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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 Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
  • previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
  • that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
  • that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
  • where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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:

  • curriculum
  • premises and facilities
  • health and safety practices
  • governance, management and administration.

As part of an Akanuku | 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:

  • 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 certification; ratios)
  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

  • discussions with those involved in the service
  • consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
  • observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.