Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford

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

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Waiapu Kids­-Abbotsford, located in a rural community, is one of several centres operating under the umbrella of Anglican Care Waiapu. The manager and team leader are supported in the day-to-day operation by four qualified teachers and two teaching assistants. Non compliances identified in the March 2020 ERO report have been addressed.

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum for children is underpinned by Christian values and Te Whāriki. The programme is inclusive and responsive to children’s emerging interests. It reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Teachers provide learners with a range of experiences and opportunities in a positive learning environment.

Parent’s aspirations for their children are respected and acknowledged. Opportunities to contribute and share ideas about their child’s learning are encouraged.

An annual plan provides guidance for daily operation. Systems and processes are implemented to meet all health and safety, and governance and management requirements.

Next ERO Review

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

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

26 May 2021

Information About 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.

1 Evaluation of Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford

How well placed is Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford requires further development to ensure compliance with all health and safety licensing requirements, as outlined in the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008.

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

Background

Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford is situated in Waipawa and operates under the Waiapu Anglican Social Services Trust Board. The centre provides all day care and education and is licensed for up to 33 children aged from birth to five years.

The centre philosophy promotes respectful relationships, ako and Christian values to support children's mana and cultural identity.

The November 2016 ERO report identified areas for improvement in: review and evaluation; partnerships with whānau Māori; and building knowledge and understanding of Pacific cultures to support Pacific children. Good progress has been made to address these areas.

The Review Findings

Respectful relationships with children and their families foster a sense of belonging. Children have space and time to lead their own learning within a well-resourced environment. The centre philosophy is highly evident in practice.

The curriculum effectively reflects the service's priorities for learning and Christian values. Deliberate teaching practices are responsive to the individual needs and interests of children. Children's prior knowledge is successfully used to inform the curriculum.

Teachers have made good progress towards implementing culturally responsive practices. Aspects of te ao Māori are woven throughout the daily curriculum and regular outings into the community. Children confidently participate in kapahaka, waiata and karakia. Te reo Māori is used in meaningful ways. As staff continue to build their knowledge, increasing links to mana whenua should be considered to further enrich the local curriculum.

Successful strategies enable whānau Māori to contribute to their children's learning. Teachers and leaders continue to work in partnership with whānau to support their children's success. 

An ongoing focus to develop teachers' understanding of Pacific cultures and language has increased the inclusion of language and resources across the curriculum, particularly for Samoan children. This continues to be a work in progress to further support leaders and teacher's engagement with all Pacific communities.

Teachers work collaboratively with parents and external agencies to provide additional learning support for children as needed.  The reciprocal nature of ako is well understood for promoting an inclusive learning environment. A range of appropriate strategies promote early language development.

Well-considered transition processes foster children's sense of security. Key teachers enable learners and their families to form relationships with a familiar adult. Attentive caregiving provides opportunities for younger children to participate in the curriculum alongside their older peers.

A robust planning process to promote consistent teaching practices is becoming embedded. A range of assessment documentation shows how children's learning has progressed overtime. The centre's priorities for learning, children's interests and developing dispositions are strongly reflected in children's learning portfolios.

Teachers work collaboratively to improve practice. Meaningful professional learning opportunities align to teachers' developmental goals and the developing local curriculum.

Inquiry and self-review are supporting teachers to improve their practices. Teachers should continue to develop their knowledge and use of effective internal evaluation to identify and give priority to measurable actions that result in improved outcomes for children.

As a priority, leaders need to ensure policies and procedures are aligned to the requirements relating to the Teaching Council's expectations for appraisal. Systematic monitoring of appraisal requires strengthening.

Key Next Steps

Leaders should continue to build knowledge and understandings of policies and procedures, and support systematic monitoring of these, to ensure all licensing requirements are consistently met.

Leaders and teachers should also continue to:

• develop and embed the local curriculum
• develop effective internal evaluation. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Waiapu Kids - Abbotsford 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.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to premises and facilities and health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:

• furniture and items intended for children to sleep on (such as cots, beds, stretchers, or mattresses) are of a size that allows children using them to lie flat, and are of a design to ensure their safety
• adults providing education and care undertake relevant emergency drills with children on at least three-monthly basis
• evidence of written parental acknowledgement that medication has been administered.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF29, HS8, HS28]
[Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, 45 (1a), 46 (1a) (1d)]

To improve practice, the service must ensure that it monitors health and safety practices. Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• the medication form has been updated to include written parental acknowledgement after medication has been administered
• the sleep procedure inclusive of safe sleeping practices has been reviewed by staff and discussed with parents.

Steps are now in place to have regular emergency drills and monitor that these have been undertaken.

Development Plan Recommendation

ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.

Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

20 March 2020 

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

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.

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.