Paengaroa Free Kindergarten

Here is the latest report for the Governing Organisation that this service is part of.

1 Evaluation of Paengaroa Free Kindergarten

How well placed is Paengaroa Free Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Paengaroa Free Kindergarten is a rural early childhood education and care service that caters for children from two years to school age. It is located in Paengaroa Village, adjacent to the primary school. Sessions are for a maximum of 30 children and run for up to six hours Monday through to Friday. At the time of this ERO review 42 children were enrolled, eight are identified as Māori.

The kindergarten’s mission 'champions childhood, every child is cared for and loved for who they are and what they bring, acknowledging the potential they hold within'. The kindergarten aspires to provide a place where community has a sense of belonging and all learners are inspired within a natural and simplistic environment that creates complexity. This mission along with values of aroha, wairua, ako, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kotahitanga underpin the philosophy of learning, the curriculum and teaching practice. Within the philosophy, the role of the teachers has been defined as, problem maker, co-constructor, listener, interpreter of play, role model, observer, partner in play, advocate and creator of positive mind sets.

The kindergarten operates under the umbrella of Tauranga Regional Kindergarten Association (TRK), which is a not-for-profit early childhood education service, governed by a board of parent-elected community representatives. The senior teacher provides valuable oversight, mentoring and encouragement for the teaching team, enhancing their professional work and learning.

TRK sets the strategic direction of its kindergartens with emphasis on nurturing reciprocal relationships with whānau and communities, organisational sustainability, meeting community needs and honouring the Treaty of Waitangi. The TRK provides kindergarten staff with clear guidelines and expectations for practice. There are systematic processes and highly effective self-review practices to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching, education and care provided by this kindergarten.

Consistent with TRK policy of only employing trained and registered teachers in regulated positions, the kindergarten is staffed by three qualified and registered teachers, along with an administrator.

This review was part of a cluster of two kindergarten reviews in the Tauranga Regional Kindergarten Association.

The Review Findings

The visionary head teacher has been highly effective in leading collaborative self review of the philosophy to reflect local context, shared values, parents' and whānau aspirations. Through this philosophy genuine relationships and learning partnerships have been developed at all levels of the kindergarten creating a culture of inclusion, mutual respect, trust and reciprocity that empowers parents and children. Families and children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and ownership of their kindergarten.

A feature of the kindergarten is the established culture of shared leadership. Within this culture intentional and effective self review provides a consistent focus on improvement to the curriculum, teachers' practice and processes. Children's perspectives are valued and integral to these decisions and change. Through this model, teachers, parents and children contribute important strengths, interests and aspirations that influence the curriculum and contribute to positive outcomes for all children.

Teachers, children and the kindergarten community have developed a thoughtfully designed environment and curriculum that fully enacts the mission, values and philosophy for learning. The environment provides a natural haven for exploration where children's play, curiosity and imagination are motivated, fostered and challenged to achieve unlimited goals and personal potential.

The natural environment provides many opportunities for children to engage with and make sense of the world around them. Within this environment sustainable practices foster an understanding about care and appreciation of relationships between people, places and things of significance to children and families. Experiences that further extend children's learning and understanding include outings into the local and wider community, gardening, cultural celebrations and family camps.

Teachers demonstrate a genuine commitment to Māori values outlined in the philosophy, bicultural partnerships and practices. They naturally include te reo and aspects of tikanga Māori into the programme and interactions. Māori parents who spoke with ERO can recognise their culture within the kindergarten and affirm teachers' approach to te ao Māori as learners alongside the children. Māori children and whānau feel acknowledged and empowered to influence decisions and make a significant contribution to the curriculum and life of the kindergarten.

In keeping with the kindergarten's sustainable practices and nature-based programme children have extensive opportunities to be active and contribute to decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Teachers promote positive attitudes about food, nutrition and physical activity with children and their families.

Teachers have prioritised desired outcomes for children's learning. They have developed clear learning indicators that effectively contribute to assessment, planning and evaluation for groups and individual children. Children's story books, electronic portfolios, curriculum records including movies enable children and families to revisit, reflect and build on learning experiences. Children's learning is well documented and represents a range of perspectives that include children's view of themselves and their peers as learners. In addition, children's interests and continuity of learning in relation to social and physical development, aspects of literacy, mathematics, science, the arts and technology are naturally integrated throughout the curriculum and well documented.

Teachers' partnerships with children are based on the concept of ako that acknowledges 'we are all learners and can learn from one another'. Effective strategies that support these learning partnerships include:

• co-construction, where teachers and children exchange ideas, research and plan together
• valuing children's working theories and providing time, space and opportunity to test these
• encouraging problem solving, risk taking and self-directed goals and challenges
• making learning processes fun, and safe to learn from mistakes, developing resilience.

Key Next Steps

Important considerations for the ongoing and strategic development of the kindergarten include:

• further development of relationships with local iwi with a view to enhancing the kindergarten's connections with people and places of significance to Māori
• continuing to deepen parents' involvement as partners in their children's learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Paengaroa Free Kindergarten 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 Paengaroa Free Kindergarten will be in four years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

30 May 2016

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

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.