38 Truro Street, Sumner, Christchurch
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention Centre is well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Van Asch Early Intervention Centre operates as an integrated part of the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre. The service caters for children from a wide geographical area. The diverse community includes pre-schoolers aged 0-to-6 years old who are deaf or hard of hearing, children of deaf adults, and siblings of deaf children. Teachers are also involved in regular residential courses run by Van Asch for pre-schoolers who are deaf and their parents. These courses are part of the wider provision of services under the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre.
The service philosophy gives emphasis to supporting children to become capable, confident communicators through the promotion of early intervention, language acquisition, family involvement, collaboration with other specialist services and best teaching practice.
All staff are qualified teachers with specialist training in early intervention and deaf education. The service places a strong emphasis on supporting parents to become effective communicators with, and first teachers of, their deaf children. Children usually attend one session per week.
Since the 2014 ERO review, there have been significant changes to the leadership and governance of the service. A new head teacher was appointed in 2015 and a new governance body was formed. The service is now governed by the Deaf Education ECE trust (which has oversight of both Van Asch Early Intervention Centre and Kelston Deaf Education Centre Preschool). A range of management functions is provided by the national Deaf Education Combined Board of Trustees. A new teaching team has sustained and built on the positive practices identified in the 2014 ERO report, and further developed understandings of tikanga Māori concepts and values.
Van Asch Deaf Education Centre is currently in the process of merging with Kelston Deaf Education Centre. Part of this process involves a nation-wide review of deaf education service delivery.
The service philosophy is highly evident in practice. Strong, reciprocal and respectful relationships are formed with each family, supporting children's sense of wellbeing and belonging. Rich purposeful interactions between adults and children promote the valued outcomes for children. Aspects of te reo and tikanga Māori are meaningfully integrated.
Teachers actively foster learning partnerships with parents to improve and enhance the learning of children. Parents spoken with by ERO value the opportunities for parent education (including regular access to New Zealand Sign Language tutors), parent-to-parent support, and the access to specialist support.
The localised curriculum places emphasis on language acquisition, effective communication and responsiveness to the individual interests, strengths and needs of children. Teachers work collaboratively to provide detailed planning and assessment of children's learning to show progress of learning.
Teachers are reflective practitioners who critique their own practices through a process that is ongoing and intentional. They engage in robust appraisal and inquiry practices to build leadership capacity and teacher capability.
Leaders value and make good use of staff skills within and beyond the service. Skilled teachers work closely with staff from the Van Ash Deaf Education Centre, other health and education specialist agencies and early learning services.
Leaders purposefully align the service's annual goals to the Deaf ECE Trust Board and the Combined Board of Trustees' strategic priorities. Trustees are building their collective capability as governors and streamlining systems and processes. There is a clear focus across the service on the ongoing improvement of outcomes for children and families.
ERO has identified, and the service leaders agree, that the key next steps are to:
The service leaders have also identified, and ERO's evaluation has confirmed, that teachers need to continue to strengthen:
Before the review, the staff and management of Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention 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.
In order to improve practice, leaders and teachers should regularly implement and document earthquake drills.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
19 June 2019
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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70495 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
21 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
31 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 18, Girls 13 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2019 |
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Date of this report |
19 June 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2014 |
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Education Review |
January 2012 |
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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 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention operates as an integrated part of the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre.
The centre runs morning sessions for deaf children and their parents who live in Christchurch. Many of these children also attend local community-based early childhood centres.
Children take part in both individual programmes and group sessions that focus primarily on promoting their language development. They usually attend the centre for between two to five hours a week.
The centre places a strong emphasis on supporting parents/whānau to become effective communicators and first teachers of their deaf children.
The centre’s teachers of the deaf are also actively involved in the regular residential courses run by Van Asch for preschoolers who are deaf and their parents/whānau who live beyond Christchurch.
The nature of the services provided by the teachers continues to evolve as they thoughtfully respond to parent feedback, changing needs and opportunities.
The teachers make good use of a range of specialist services to support them to work effectively with parents and children.
Since the January 2012 ERO review, the manager and teachers have successfully retained and built on the strengths evident at that time. They have made very good progress towards addressing the identified areas for improvement. These included further developing aspects of the programme and self review.
The centre is currently seeking relicensing under the (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
The centre’s philosophy is very evident in practice. It is well governed and effectively managed.
Teachers are supportive, respectful and affirming of children and their families. A strength of the centre is its welcoming and inclusive environment and the quality of relationships at all levels. A strong sense of partnership exists between teachers and parents. Children benefit from adults working together to enhance their communication skills, social development and wellbeing.
A feature of the centre is the way relationships and networking among parents is successfully promoted. These supportive relationships foster the sharing of knowledge, experiences and resources amongst parents in ways that benefit children.
The centre’s curriculum serves students and their parents very well. It is based on the principles and goals of Te Whāriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum and meeting the specific needs of children who are deaf. Aspects of te reo and tikanga Māori are successfully integrated into the programme.
Well-planned and evaluated programmes provide children with experiences that incorporate their interests, strengths and needs. Programmes provide children with appropriate opportunities to develop and practise their language skills. There is a good balance between individual teaching, exploratory play and group sessions. The group programme includes regular musical experiences, trips into the community and a variety of literacy and mathematical activities. Teachers make effective use of regular and in-depth assessments of children’s strengths, progress and needs for planning and evaluating programmes.
The centre successfully promotes biculturalism (the culture of both deaf and hearing communities) and bilingualism (supporting children to communicate through both New Zealand Sign Language and English).
Teachers work with children in ways that successfully foster language development. They observe and listen carefully to children and respond effectively to support and extend their learning. They continue to expand the range of strategies they use to promote children’s learning and development.
The centre is effectively led. Leadership practices promote collaboration and teamwork amongst teachers and other professionals. Good use is made of staff strengths. There is a strong focus on ongoing centre improvement. This focus is supported by reflective practices, collegial feedback and a variety of well-implemented self reviews. The manager and teachers are responsive to feedback and review findings. Ongoing professional development and support is fostering improvements to teaching programmes and practices. The Deaf Education Centre’s principal actively supports the day-to-day operation of the centre.
Annual plans that are linked to the overall centre’s strategic plan, provides a clear focus for development.
At the time of the ERO review, the governance structure for the early intervention centre was being reviewed as part of the Ministry of Education relicensing process.
ERO agrees with the areas the manager and staff have identified as future priorities. These include:
exploring other ways of supporting deaf children who are under two years old and their families
looking at further supporting children and parents who attend residential-based courses during and upon completion of these courses
continuing to build on initiatives such as developments in fostering biculturalism and bilingual education, as well as staff appraisal practices.
Before the review, the management of Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention 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:
administration
health, safety and welfare
personnel management
financial and property management.
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 Van Asch Deaf Education Early Intervention will be in four years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
18 December 2014
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 |
Sumner, Christchurch |
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|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70495 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
22 children, including up to five aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
21 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 11; Girls 10 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Other Ethnicities |
0 18 1 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
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Date of this report |
18 December 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
January 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2004 |
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.