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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Westport Early Learning Centre is a community-based, not-for-profit service governed by a board of elected members. It provides a full-day service for 50 children, including up to 12 under two-year olds. The March 2020 ERO report identified that the service required further development to improve some areas of practice. Progress has been made.
The service provides a free-play programme in a prepared environment that reflects the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Kaiako interactions with children promote learning reciprocal relationships. Adults demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and development by offering infants and toddlers a programme in which they have time to explore. Children’s learning is encouraged through planned and spontaneous experiences. Parents and whānau have opportunities to contribute to their children’s learning and to service operations. Health and safety procedures are monitored, and changes made when required. A policy framework and annual planning guide centre operation.
Next steps include:
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008; GMA8.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
30 April 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Westport Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 65603 |
| Location | Westport |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
49 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 10, NZ European/Pākehā 26, Other ethnicities 13 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
30 April 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2020, Education Review, September 2015. |
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.
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:
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Westport Early Learning Centre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
The governing board has identified that it requires support to further develop its understanding of its roles and responsibilities. In addition, there are changes to operation of the service with a pending restructure and change of centre management.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Westport Early Learning Centre is a community-based, not-for-profit service governed by a board of elected parent and community members. It provides a full-day service for 50 children, including up to 12 under two year olds. It is purpose-built with extensive outside play areas. Most teachers are qualified and registered early childhood teachers.
The philosophy has an emphasis on relationships, fostering children's social, emotional, physical, spiritual wellbeing and a commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi.
The centre has responded to several of the recommendations in the September 2015 ERO report. Leaders have made good progress in developing internal evaluation, staff appraisal, aspects of assessment and strategic planning.
Children are well supported in their transitions into, within, and out of the service. Transitions are flexible and personalised to meet the needs of each child and family and contribute to their sense of belonging. Collaboration with local schools and external agencies supports successful transition to school.
Children under two years of age are well provided for by responsive teachers who meet their specific learning and wellbeing needs. They benefit from primary caregiving in the nursery where teachers maintain a calm, peaceful environment and provide predictable routines. Teachers are respectful of children. They listen carefully and respond to their cues.
There is a strong focus on te ao Māori in the learning environment. Teachers naturally incorporate te reo and tikanga Māori into the daily programme. There is an emphasis on respect and caring for the environment.
The child-led curriculum is responsive to the interests, strengths and needs of all children. The indoor and outdoor learning environments are spacious and well resourced. They provide choice and challenge for children's exploratory and creative play. The service has strong connections with the local community. Children benefit from regular excursions.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported. Teachers provide an inclusive learning environment to ensure that children participate fully in the programmes alongside their peers. Teachers know children well and celebrate successes and milestones with family and whānau.
Teachers and leaders are improvement focused. They use a meaningful internal evaluation process to reflect on areas needing improvement. They are implementing a new individual planning system that is supporting them to strengthen their assessment of children's learning. A next step for teachers is to embed the planning system and evaluate its effectiveness in documenting the way they plan for and promote positive learning outcomes for all children.
The governing board, centre leaders and ERO agree that the service's key next steps are to:
further develop understanding and application of governance roles and responsibilities
strengthen induction processes for teachers and managers
evaluate the effectiveness of the board
review and refine the strategic plan so that it clearly reflects centre priorities and informs annual action planning
implement a planned approach to professional learning and development that is aligned with centre priorities.
Centre leaders and teachers identify, and ERO's evaluation confirms, that the newly-developed assessment planning and evaluation process needs to:
reflect children's language, culture and identity
ensure teaching strategies are identified and evaluated for effectiveness
be embedded so that it can be evaluated to measure its impact on children's learning outcomes.
Before the review, the staff and management of Westport Early Learning Centre 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance relating to the administration of medication. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following area:
records need to show evidence of parental acknowledgement that medicine has been administered.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008. HS28
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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
31 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 |
Westport |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65603 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
65 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 36, Boys 29 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
December 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
31 March 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
September 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 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:
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.
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.