BestStart Marchwiel

Education institution number:
70403
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
39
Telephone:
Address:

48 Andrew Street, Marchwiel, Timaru

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ABC Marchwiel - 12/05/2016

1 Evaluation of ABC Marchwiel

How well placed is ABC Marchwiel to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ABC Marchwiel is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

ABC Marchweil operates under the BestStart Educare Ltd management structure. BestStart (previously known as Kidicorp Ltd) is a large national organisation that owns early childhood education centres across New Zealand.

Since the last ERO review, in March 2012, significant improvements have been made to the centre's spacious facilities, resources and equipment. Major building work has created specific indoor and outdoor areas to cater for the learning needs of children aged under two years old and two-to-five year olds. The centre, with support from BestStart management, continues to be responsive to the unique needs of its local community.

In 2015 there were some changes to the management and leadership structure of the centre. This included the appointment of a new centre manager and professional service manager. Two existing staff have been appointed to head teacher positions in the preschool and under two-area. The business manager has provided continuity of leadership for the last few years. Staff work well together. Most teachers are fully-qualified registered teachers.

Centre managers have made recent good progress in addressing the recommendations from the 2012 ERO review. A lot of well-considered, useful centre initiatives are still at the early stages of implementation.

The Review Findings

The centre's philosophy was recently revised by management, teachers, parents and whānau. It is underpinned by shared values and beliefs of what this community considers is important for their children. There is a strong emphasis given to promoting children's sense of wellbeing and belonging.

Managers and teachers offer a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for children and families. They foster positive and respectful relationships across the centre community.

Managers and teachers have a strong focus on providing a curriculum that is responsive to the individual interests, strengths and capabilities of children, and increasingly to parent aspirations. Children benefit from the provision of a wide range of interesting learning experiences within and beyond the centre.

Teachers are developing ways to extend on children's thinking and problem solving skills. They purposefully set up the environment in ways that provoke children's curiosity, investigation and sustained involvement in a variety of exploratory play. Teachers work closely with children to promote children's health, physical activity, oral language, and social competencies.

Managers and teachers work closely with community agencies to further support children and families, particularly when children have additional needs.

The wellbeing of infants and toddlers is actively promoted within a small group setting. Responsive teachers support infants’ and toddlers’ need for strong and secure attachments. Teachers provide nurturing and caring interactions that encourage children's independence and confidence to explore and make their own discoveries.

The centre manager, professional service manager and the business manager work in partnership to implement BestStart management systems including quality assurance and strategic planning processes. They are professional leaders who promote collaborative ways of working to strengthen capacity and capability amongst the teaching team.

The management team is successfully building on the best of past practices to promote further improvements to the quality of education and care. These include improvements to the centre's annual plans and a more systematic and in depth approach to self-review practices.

There is a strong shared focus on continuous improvement and promoting positive outcomes for children and families.

Key Next Steps

The next steps relate to embedding and building on recent initiatives to improve centre practices. Managers have identified, and ERO agrees, priority should be given to:

  • long-term planning and self review

  • assessment, planning and evaluation practices

  • placing a greater emphasis on bicultural perspectives across all aspects of centre operation including the curriculum.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Marchwiel 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of ABC Marchwiel will be in three years.

Chris Rowe

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

12 May 2016

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

Location

Timaru

Ministry of Education profile number

70403

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

44 children, including up to 10 aged under two

Service roll

52

Gender composition

Boys 28; Girls 24

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Cook Island

Other ethnicities

6

41

1

4

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

March 2016

Date of this report

12 May 2016

Most recent ERO reports 

Education Review

March 2012

Education Review

March 2009

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 and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.

ABC Marchwiel - 15/03/2012

1 The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

ABC Marchwiel is located in a converted church hall in Timaru. The centre provides care and education for children from birth to five years.

The centre changed ownership in November 2011 from ABC to the Kidicorp Ltd. This is requiring the centre to review and use a range of new policies and procedures.

Since the March 2009 ERO review, there have been significant management and staff changes. The occupancy of the under two area has increased and managers and staff have responded by developing different areas of play and improved resourcing. However, ERO identified, and managers agree, there are some aspects of the premises that still need to be improved to provide all children with suitable learning spaces.

The managers have provided professional development for teachers. This support has helped them to improve the quality of programme planning and assessment of children’s learning.

Relationships between children, teachers and parents, and amongst staff are affirming and welcoming.

Children are provided with a good range of resources including computers to support a programme that effectively integrates te reo and tikanga Māori and literacy and numeracy skills.

Other positive features of the centre include:

  • a calm and well-managed learning environment
  • the way most teachers notice, recognise and respond to children’s play
  • a good range of activities that engage and sustain children’s interests.

The centre managers identified, and ERO agrees that to further improve outcomes for children priorities should be given to embedding the philosophy, using the new guidelines for appraisal and extending the centre’s long-term plan to include all aspects of centre development and self review.

Managers are effectively using self-review practices to improve outcomes for children. The centre provides a well-maintained environment for the health and safety of children and adults.

Future Action

ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

2 Review Priorities

The Focus of the Review

Before the review, the management of ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Marchwiel was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.

The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atABC Developmental Learning Centre - Marchwiel.

All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:

  • the programme provided for children
  • the learning environment
  • the interactions between children and adults.

ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.

The Quality of Education

Background

The centre changed ownership in November 2011 from ABC to Kidicorp Ltd. This is requiring the centre to review and use a range of new policies and procedures. The centre’s philosophy focuses on positive relationships, parent participation and encouraging children to interact, take on roles and develop relationships with others through play. This philosophy has not been reviewed since the new owners have taken over.

Areas of strength

Teachers develop warm, positive and caring relationships with children. They support children to play cooperatively with each other. Teachers know children well, they notice and follow children’s interests and engage in interesting conversations.

Teachers communicate effectively with each other and work well as a team. Professional development is helping staff to learn together and improve outcomes for children.

Parents are warmly welcomed into the centre. They are given many opportunities to become involved with their children’s learning and play.

Most teachers interact effectively with children to promote their thinking, learning and creativity. These teachers:

  • respond to children’s play and support them to develop social skills
  • listen well to children, use good questioning skills and help children to extend their language
  • celebrate children’s learning successes.

These interactions result in a calm and well-managed learning environment where children develop and engage in sustained play.

The centre’s programme gives children good opportunities to engage in interesting learning activities. These activities include a well-integrated focus on te reo and tikanga Māori, and literacy and numeracy. Children are provided with a good range of resources including computers to support the development of these skills.

Teachers are developing planning procedures that meet the needs of a range of individual and groups of children. Learning is well recorded in learning stories. Most examples show good links between teachers’ observations, programme planning and children’s learning over time.

Managers use effective processes to make changes. These include improved group and kai times, transitions in the programme and the operation of the under two area. Managers and teachers report that these reviews have resulted in an improvement in the way children self select, make decisions and use their self-help skills.

Areas for development and review

The centre managers acknowledge and ERO agrees, that to further improve outcomes for children priorities should be given to:

  • developing and introducing a shared philosophy so that it can become the basis of future self reviews
  • extending the long-term plan to include all aspects of centre development and self review
  • using the new guidelines for appraisal.

ERO identified, and managers agree, that there is a need to review how the premises can be better developed to fully support all aspects of children’s learning and development. At the time of the review, there was no separate developed outdoor area for under two-year-old children.

The outdoor environment limits older children’s opportunities for physical challenge, and exploration.

The centre adjoins a large gym room. This room is not included on the license and requires the centre to use it as an excursion activity. The managers need to review how this area can be more effectively used to support children’s ongoing learning and development.

3 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff of ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Marchwiel completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

  • administration
  • health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial and property management.

During the review, ERO looked at the service’s documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:

emotional safety (including behaviour management, prevention of bullying and abuse)

physical safety (including behaviour management, sleeping and supervision practices; accidents and medication; hygiene and routines; travel and excursion policies and procedures)

staff qualifications and organisation

evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

4 Future Action

ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

About the Centre

Type

Education and Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998

Number licensed for

44 children, including up to 12 aged under two

Roll number

58

Gender composition

Girls 28;

Boys 30

Ethnic composition

New Zealand European/Pākehā 50;

Māori 3;

Pacific 5

Review team on site

January 2012

Date of this report

15 March 2012

Previous three ERO reports

Education Review March 2009

15 March 2012

To the Parents and Community of ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Marchwiel

These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Marchwiel.

ABC Marchwiel is located in a converted church hall in Timaru. The centre provides care and education for children from birth to five years.

The centre changed ownership in November 2011 from ABC to the Kidicorp Ltd. This is requiring the centre to review and use a range of new policies and procedures.

Since the March 2009 ERO review, there have been significant management and staff changes. The occupancy of the under two area has increased and managers and staff have responded by developing different areas of play and improved resourcing. However, ERO identified, and managers agree, there are some aspects of the premises that still need to be improved to provide all children with suitable learning spaces.

The managers have provided professional development for teachers. This support has helped them to improve the quality of programme planning and assessment of children’s learning.

Relationships between children, teachers and parents, and amongst staff are affirming and welcoming.

Children are provided with a good range of resources including computers to support a programme that effectively integrates te reo and tikanga Māori and literacy and numeracy skills.

Other positive features of the centre include:

  • a calm and well-managed learning environment
  • the way most teachers notice, recognise and respond to children’s play
  • a good range of activities that engage and sustain children’s interests.

The centre managers identified, and ERO agrees that to further improve outcomes for children priorities should be given to embedding the philosophy, using the new guidelines for appraisal and extending the centre’s long-term plan to include all aspects of centre development and self review.

Managers are effectively using self-review practices to improve outcomes for children. The centre provides a well-maintained environment for the health and safety of children and adults.

Future Action

ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.

If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region