205 Tomoana Road, Mahora, Hastings
View on mapERO’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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Bay Buddies Kindergarten is one of three local centres owned and operated by MLC Educare Ltd. Previously known as BestStart Hastings Central, this is the centre’s first ERO review under new ownership. Children over three years old play and learn in a mixed-age environment. Most transition from the adjacent Bay Buddies Preschool.
The service curriculum 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. Children experience positive, respectful interactions with adults. Strategies are in place to involve parents and whānau in their children’s learning.
A policy framework and an annual plan guide centre operation. Teacher appraisal and internal evaluation processes are established. Health and safety procedures are monitored and changes made when required. The premises and facilities are resourced to provide for the learning and abilities of the children attending.
Next steps include:
continuing to develop the local curriculum to reflect the newly developed philosophy statement.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
4 April 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Bay Buddies Kindergarten |
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Profile Number |
55343 |
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Location |
Hastings |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 years |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
24 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 12, Other ethnic groups 8 |
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Review team on site |
February 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
4 April 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2017; Education Review, October 2012 |
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.
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.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Community Kindy St Leonards is owned and operated by BestStart Educare Ltd. BestStart (previously known as Kidicorp Ltd), is a large national organisation that owns early learning services across New Zealand. This service was previously known as ABC Mahora South.
This service provides full time and sessional education and care for 30 children aged over 2 years. The current roll of 31 children includes seven who identify as Māori.
A centre manager has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the service. She is supported by a business and professional services manager, who work across the region for BestStart.
ERO’s October 2012 review recommended that the centre strengthen opportunities for parents and whānau to increase their participation in the planned curriculum and children's learning stories. In addition, developing understanding of ways to promote educational success for Māori children, and identification of strategic priorities required development. Progress in these areas is evident.
There have been a number of changes in centre management since the previous ERO review. A new centre manager was appointed in July 2016.
This is the first report for this service under is new name Community Kindy St Leonards. This review was one of a cluster of four in BestStart Educare Ltd.
Children participate in a play-based programme that encourages their exploration. They play independently or in groups of their own choosing for sustained periods. They actively experiment, inquire and participate in activities which provide challenge. Literacy, science and numeracy are valued and promoted. The outdoor environment is well developed to promote children's physical skills and understanding of the natural world. Indoor play spaces are carefully organised with easily accessed resources. Respectful practices between children and by teachers contribute to a settled learning environment.
Children requiring additional learning support are identified, and external agencies guidance is accessed when required.
Teachers' have developed a collaborative and visual approach to planning for learning that is inclusive of parents' contributions. Regular entries in e-portfolios provide information about children's engagement in the programme and developing friendships. At times parents provide feedback about their children's entries and share stories from home. In response to parent feedback the centre has identified the importance of having a hard copy of this information to enable children to revisit their learning.
Leaders acknowledge that teachers' approach to planning should be further strengthened by identifying specific learning outcomes for children. This should help to identify their progress over time. Additionally there is a need to acknowledge children's cultures, languages and identities in their learning records.
Bicultural practice is evident. Thoughtful consideration has been given to acknowledging the cultural backgrounds of children and their families throughout the environment and programme. Culturally significant events are celebrated. Aspects of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are evident in teacher practice. Waiata Māori are popular with children. Teachers acknowledge that further strengthening their knowledge of te ao Māori should support them to better understand and promote educational success for Māori learners. ERO agrees with this direction.
Transitions into and from the centre are well considered and made in collaboration with families and whānau. An organisation wide initiative supports children's transition to primary school. Teachers are working collaboratively with other BestStart centres to develop a strategy that helps to facilitate relationships with local schools.
A clear framework is in place to guide the appraisal process. This includes self and appraiser assessment and has a developmental focus. Formal observations of teachers' practice should provide useful data to inform decisions about teachers' ongoing learning. Implementing practices that reflect teaching as inquiry should further strengthen the process. Teachers participate in a wide range of professional learning and development.
Teachers' implementation of self review is guided by the organisation's collaborative and reflective approach. Planned and spontaneous reviews are becoming established practices. Leaders and teachers should build capacity for and strengthen and embed systems and processes to support internal evaluation that leads to ongoing improvements to teaching and learning. To strengthen the current process they should:
develop a schedule of planned review and evaluation
build evaluation knowledge, reasoning and understanding
include opportunities for parents to contribute to the process
measure the impact of changes on outcomes for children.
The professional service manager (PSM) provides regular in-depth feedback, support and guidance about the curriculum in action. She clearly identifies strengths and areas for development. The PSM, in partnership with centre leaders, should continue to monitor the progress made by staff as a result of these recommendations.
Leaders and managers agree that next steps are to continue to strengthen:
the quality of learning stories to show how children's learning is progressed over time
teachers' understanding of bicultural practice and ways to promote educational success for Māori children
evaluation of practices to better measure the impact of practice on outcomes for children
targeted observations of teachers' practice to support their inquiries into their teaching.
Before the review, the staff and management of Community Kindy St Leonards 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.
The next ERO review of Community Kindy St Leonards will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
31 March 2017
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 |
Hastings |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
55343 |
||
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
31 |
||
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Gender composition |
Girls 19, Boys 12 |
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|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Other ethnic groups |
7 19 1 4 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
January 2017 |
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Date of this report |
31 March 2017 |
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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 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:
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.