Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne

Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne - 11/05/2020 - 11 May 2020

1 Evaluation of Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne

How well placed is Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne, formerly called Barnardos KidStart Childcare - Eastbourne Early Learning Centre, is licensed for 25 children, including up to five aged under two years. Of the 37 children enrolled, four identify as Māori.

The service philosophy emphasises the values of embracing the wonder of every child, connecting with whānau, inspiring a love for Aotearoa, valuing early learning and engaging children through play.

Ownership of the service is shared by Barnardos New Zealand (the organisation) and the Eastbourne Community Childcare Group (the committee). The parent-led committee supports the service with fundraising, resourcing and events. The organisation is a national non-profit provider of community services for children and families which guides centre systems and operations. A regional operations manager, and a pedagogy and quality assurance advisor work together to support curriculum and operations with a range of strategies including regular visits to the service. The centre manager is supported by three registered teachers.

The June 2016 ERO report identified a number of areas requiring improvement, including teacher development, assessment practices, internal evaluation, quality assurance processes and centre alignment with the organisation's strategic planning. Very good progress is evident.

This review was one of four reviews in Barnardos Early Learning Centres, Wellington region.

The Review Findings

Children confidently lead their learning in an environment that encourages opportunities for engaged and focused play. They are effectively supported to make good choices and solve problems. Teachers actively extend children's ideas and add purpose and complexity to play. They provide strong, effective support for children's growing independence and self-help skills. Children are empowered to take increased responsibility for the wellbeing of themselves, others and the environment.

A bicultural curriculum is actively promoted. Children are familiar with and participate in karakia, waiata and pepeha. Teachers use te reo Māori in learning conversations with children and in profile books. Te ao Māori concepts are evident in the environment. Whānau expertise is accessed to support centre practices. Continued development in this area is an ongoing focus for the service.

Leaders and teachers effectively establish a culture in which children and their families are valued. Individual children’s cultures, languages and identities are supported, promoted and celebrated.

The valued outcomes of the centre, as identified in their philosophy, are clearly evident in programme planning. Teachers demonstrate a good understanding of the purpose and process of assessment, planning and evaluation. Individual planning is informed by parent aspirations and children’s emerging interests. Learning stories document progress in relation to their development over time, based on clear, observable evidence. Teachers record strategies and decision making to promote learning and evaluate the impact of these using children's outcomes.

The centre manager has a good understanding of the organisation's expectations. These are strongly promoted, alongside consistent practice, which has positive impacts for children. A number of well-considered systems and strategies are in place. High expectations and professional engagement are effectively fostered.

Staff are reflective and highly improvement focused. Internal evaluations support team discussion, reflection and enhancements in a range of areas. Thoughtful analysis enables staff to measure their success against valued outcomes. Clearly articulating measurable quality indicators would streamline the process.

The service benefits from regular guidance, support and monitoring from regional management. Recent well-considered improvements to the organisations systems and policies are evident. Key strengths are:

• clear expectations within guiding documents

• opportunities to network with other services

• strategically aligned annual planning frameworks

• differentiated support based on centre needs.

A useful teacher appraisal framework is being embedded. Teachers are encouraged to research and reflect on key areas of practice. ERO and regional management agree that a next step is to more strongly focus appraisal goals on improved outcomes for children.

Staff, management and governance share a focus on the wellbeing of children and families.

Key Next Steps

ERO has confidence that this service has the capacity to self-identify next steps.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

11 May 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.