32 Marslin Street, Alexandra
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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Kopuwai Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
|
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whāngai Establishing |
Kopuwai Early Learning Centre is a small community-based service. It provides education and care in a mixed-age setting for children from birth to school age. A parent committee undertakes the governance role. Day-to-day operation is the responsibility of the manager. All teachers are qualified early childhood educators.
Children’s learning and development are well supported by the responsive, broad and play-based curriculum. Early literacy, imaginative play and science are curriculum strengths. Teachers provide targeted support to build children’s social and emotional competency and understanding of appropriate behaviour.
Children are encouraged to lead their own learning and investigate their ideas. The learning environment is thoughtfully resourced and organised to meet their needs. Children are calm, settled and show sustained interest in their play.
The bicultural curriculum requires further development for all children to deepen their knowledge of new Zealand’s dual heritage and to better reflect Māori children’s language, culture and identity. Children have some opportunities to hear te reo Māori and experience aspects of te ao Māori however these are not embedded practice across all areas of the curriculum.
Provision for infants and toddlers is well developed. Good support is provided for them to transition into the centre. They experience nurturing and respectful relationships with their teachers. Recent changes to the physical environment have resulted in a learning space which caters more specifically for their needs. Intentional teaching practices foster trusting and secure attachments.
Planning for learning is not yet well developed. Some teachers are beginning to show children’s progress in relation to the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers foster positive relationships with parents, however, learning partnerships with parents are not well established. While parents' aspirations are sought, records do not always show how teachers have used these to inform children’s learning pathways.
Children’s learning has been enhanced through teachers’ participation in professional development opportunities. That have resulted in shared understandings and improved practice. Self-review has prompted teachers to reflect on aspects of curriculum provision and led to improvements. The team’s understanding and use of effective internal evaluation is not yet well established.
Leaders and teachers are well supported by the parent-led committee and management. Sound systems, processes, and practices have been developed and implemented to ensure the smooth day-to-day operation of the service.
Kopuwai Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. These are to:
Strengthen leadership of learning to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kopuwai 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:
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
3 March 2022
| Early Childhood Service Name | Kopuwai Early Learning Centre |
|
Profile Number |
83000 |
| Location |
Alexandra |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
31 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
41 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 11, NZ European/Pākehā 30 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
3 March 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2016; Education Review, June 2013. |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kopuwai Early Learning Centre is a small community-based service in Central Otago. The centre is positioned close to local schools and has strong links with the wider community. It provides education and care for 31 children in a mixed-age setting. A competent parent-led committee works closely with a senior teacher and her team. All the teachers have a teaching qualification and have a shared approach to children’s learning.
Since the ERO visit in 2013, there have been improvements to the building, and planning is underway to redevelop the outdoor area. Leaders and teachers have made very good progress in addressing the recommendations in ERO's 2013 report. Self review/internal evaluation processes have supported the centre to further develop a number of aspects of the centre's operations. Teachers are making good progress building the bicultural content of centre programmes and there have been useful changes made to improve the curriculum and build consistency in teaching practice.
The clear centre vision and philosophy guide the centre. Caring, trusting relationships between teachers, children, whānau and the community are of key importance. Teachers have created a calm, settled, home-like environment inclusive of all and a place where everyone learns together. Parents are comfortable to stay and play with their own and other children.
Children are viewed as capable, competent learners. They:
confidently make their needs and wants known
play very well with and alongside each other
are encouraged to be independent.
The older children show care, support and respect for younger ones. These practices make the concepts of manaakitanga, ako and tuakana-teina very evident. Centre events and celebrations also help strengthen the ties between the children, the team, families and the community.
Teachers use effective strategies to ensure smooth routines and transitions between parts of the day. Very young children are settled and show a strong sense of belonging within the centre whānau. Teachers are highly responsive to their nonverbal cues and gently foster children’s oral language development. Teachers know when to stand back and allow children to freely explore and problem solve.
Teachers engage in conversations with the older children that:
are affirming
make links to their lives at home
extend their learning and thinking.
The programme provided for children is based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and is responsive to children’s strengths and interests. Children of all ages have access to a wide range of interesting activities and experiences. They show purpose in their play. They use the resources and equipment creatively to investigate things of interest to them, with the teachers offering support and guidance where needed. They learn concepts of early literacy and mathematics in meaningful ways through their play.
There are effective systems for planning, assessment and evaluation. The teachers have a clear understanding of the centre's main learning priorities and these are evident in practice. There is the potential to use these priorities for learning more meaningfully in group planning. They need to assess children’s progress against these and evaluate the teaching strategies used to support these.
The senior teacher, committee and teachers work collaboratively with a common purpose, focused on benefiting children. The senior teacher has high expectations for the service. She is an effective leader and manages the service well. She has established useful systems that support a culture of ongoing improvement. She uses the strengths and skills of the team well. She has also established networks in the community to access mutual support and mentoring, and to encourage collaborative sharing. Adults share centre responsibilities and support, and encourage one another to develop leadership capabilities.
The senior teacher uses a range of systems and practices to effectively monitor the quality of aspects of the service and to identify gaps and next steps for improvement. These include:
a useful self review/evaluation process focused on improving the quality of learning and teaching and how the environment supports this
an effective appraisal system that builds teacher capability
a useful strategic plan, developed collaboratively to guide the centre’s direction towards its vision.
ERO and the senior teacher discussed other ways centre systems could be refined to support the service further. The committee, senior teacher and teachers should find ways to:
refine the self review/internal evaluation system by making better use of indicators at all stages of the review and simplifying documentation
more clearly record how they monitor the strategic plan and show in the annual action plan the rigour of the actions already underway.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kopuwai 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.
The next ERO review of Kopuwai Early Learning Centre will be in four years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
18 October 2016
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 |
Alexandra |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
83000 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
31 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
41 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 21 Girls: 20 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
5 36 |
|
|
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 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
18 October 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
June 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
December 2005 |
||
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.