44 Kent Street, Picton
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Picton Preschool are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakatō Emerging Whāngai Establishing |
Picton Preschool is owned and governed by a private company. The owners are involved in the day-to-day operations and curriculum development. Half of the children attending are Māori. Limited progress has been made with addressing the recommendations from the 2020 ERO report.
Children experience a learning-based play curriculum that is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. There is a range of opportunities that support and build children’s oral language capabilities. Children with additional needs are well supported by teachers who know them well. Leaders frequently communicate with external agencies to support the development of children’s capabilities and their social and emotional competence.
Infants and toddlers experience responsive and respectful relationships with their key teachers. Transitions into the nursery are individualised, and parents are encouraged to stay and settle their children. Teachers recognise and follow children’s cues and non-verbal communication.
Leaders and teachers recently developed the service’s learning priorities in conjunction with external expertise and team input. However, these are yet to be fully implemented. There are some opportunities for children to hear and use te reo Māori. The service is at the early stages of developing and implementing the bicultural curriculum.
The service has engaged in centre-wide professional learning and development to build shared understanding about key aspects of assessment and planning for learning, curriculum design, and internal evaluation. While the service uses a systematic approach to evaluation that is scheduled and well organised, some aspects need to be updated and aligned with current resources.
Those involved with governance and management place strong emphasis on the wellbeing of children when making decisions. They recognise the importance of fostering positive relationships with whānau and staff, and they intentionally seek advice and support from local agencies and the wider education community.
Picton Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Picton Preschool 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:
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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
3 November 2023
| Early Childhood Service Name | Picton Preschool |
| Profile Number | 65170 |
| Location | Picton |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 28 |
| Review team on site | August 2023 |
| Date of this report | 3 November 2023 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, March 2020; Education Review, March 2016 |
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Picton Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Picton Preschool is privately owned and operated as a family business, with a community focus. It is licensed for up to 30 children, including up to 10 up to two years of age. The centre is open five days per week for full-day sessions. Nearly a quarter of the children attending identify as Māori.
There have been recent and significant changes in teaching staff since the 2016 ERO review. Most teachers are fully qualified early childhood educators.
The centre's philosophy has been recently reviewed. It is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and states that it is 'opening doors to future possibilities' for children.
The July 2015 ERO report identified a number of areas for improvement. These included: assessment, planning and evaluation; staff appraisal and strategic planning and self-review. Some progress has been made in these areas.
The preschool is part of the Te Wheke Akoranga Marlborough Sounds Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.
Children experience positive, warm and respectful relationships. They are confident and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. There is provision for children to work at their own pace. Children under two years of age experience a respectful, calm and nurturing environment with adults who know them well.
All children have access to a wide variety of readily available resources that support creative and physical development for learning. The nursery and preschool each have their own outdoor play spaces. Older children have a spacious outdoor area that fosters co-operative play and physical challenge.
Teachers and staff effectively support children to build social competence. They use a range of strategies to expand children's learning and to extend their ideas through supportive questioning. They thoughtfully engage with children as they follow their interests.
An ongoing focus for the centre is the development of bicultural practices in all aspects of play and learning. Teachers regularly assess and plan for children's important learning and demonstrate sensitivity to individual needs. They skilfully record this in children's well-presented portfolios. Teachers clearly identify children's next learning steps for future planning.
Transitions into and within the centre are responsive, child paced and well managed. The centre has taken appropriate steps to develop positive relationships with local schools to successfully support children's transitions to school.
Leaders and teachers are engaging with useful external expertise to establish and develop strategic planning, internal evaluation and appraisal. This work will continue to be a focus for the centre.
Teachers should develop and implement strategies to seek and record parent voice and their aspirations for children's learning. This information should be incorporated into curriculum planning.
The new teaching team should continue to develop culturally responsive practices within the centre to ensure prominence and use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. This includes developing and embedding a deeper understanding and appreciation of te ao Māori.
The leadership team should continue to strengthen internal evaluation to ensure the effectiveness of changes, and that the impacts on children are evaluated clearly.
Before the review, the staff and management of Picton Preschool 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:
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
9 March 2020
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.
| Location | Picton | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 65170 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 36 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 21, Boys 15 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other ethnicities | 9 17 10 | |
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:7 | Better than minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | November 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 9 March 2020 | ||
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | March 2016 | |
| Education Review | April 2012 | ||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.
Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Picton Preschool is well placed to promote learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Picton Preschool provides for children from infants to school age in two separate areas. The nursery and the preschool each have their own outdoor play spaces.
The centre operates as a family business. The majority of the teachers are qualified early childhood teachers. Many have worked at the centre for a number of years.
Since late 2014, the centre has made progress towards meeting the recommendations in the 2012 ERO report. These recommendations were also in the 2008 ERO report. The managers are making good use of external support to help them improve self review, strategic planning, child assessment and programme planning and staff appraisal.
The centre used a useful format to complete the review of the centre philosophy statement. Some shorter spontaneous reviews have also been useful in making changes to the environment and programme. Staff consulted with parents and children as part of the review process. The philosophy statement states the managers' and teachers' vision:
The programme encourages children to make good use of the centre activities to develop their ideas through play. Dramatic play is a feature of older children’s play.
Teachers have good relationships with the children and support them to play well with other children. They sit beside children and also join their play. Teachers listen carefully to children and make suggestions.
The nursery teachers are supportive, caring and respectful of infants and toddlers. They have positive relationships with the children and with each other.
Māori parents are respected and willingly share their skills and knowledge with the teachers and children. The teachers use some te reo Māori and try to include special events such as Matariki in the programme.
The managers encourage staff to take leadership roles within the centre to share ideas and support each other.
A recent programme-planning process has the potential to provide teachers with good support for improving the quality of teaching and extending individual children’s learning experiences.
The centre managers and ERO agree that the recommendations of the 2008 and 2012 ERO reports should be addressed. Meeting these recommendations would increase the centre’s sustainability and its capability to improve the quality of teaching and learning outcomes for all children. The centre needs to:
The managers and teachers also need to find out the aspirations of parents of Māori children to ensure their children succeed as Māori and to develop ways for the centre to support these goals.
The centre managers report to ERO regularly on progress in meeting the key next steps in this report.
Before the review, the staff and management of Picton Preschool 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:
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 Picton Preschool will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
23 July 2015
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.
| Location | Picton | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 65170 | ||
| Licence type | Education & Care Service | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 10 aged under two | ||
| Service roll | 47 | ||
| Gender composition | Girls 27; Boys 20 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Asian Other ethnicities | 13 28 2 4 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+Based on funding rates | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | June 2015 | ||
| Date of this report | 23 July 2015 | ||
Most recent ERO reports
| Education Review | April 2012 | |
| Education Review | November 2008 | ||
| Education Review | February 2006 | ||
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:
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.