Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One

Education institution number:
83055
Service type:
Homebased Network
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
30
Telephone:
Address:

120b Leet Street, Invercargill

View on map

Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One - 18/02/2019

1 Evaluation of Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One

How well placed is Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Barnardo's Early Learning Home Based Southland One is well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One provides individual care and education for all children from birth to school age in the educator's homes. It is part of the Barnardos Early Learning organisation.

Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One is a quality funded network where all educators have the required qualification. The network works collaboratively with Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland Two to support its educators and children across a wide geographical area.

The Barnardos Early Learning organisation and this network have undergone significant organisational and management changes since the previous ERO review in 2012. The Barnardos Early Learning organisation was recently re-branded, it was previously known as Barnardos KidStart. A new leadership team has been in place since 2016. This includes a regional manager, practice advisor and a visiting teacher who work together to support and mentor the educators to provide positive outcomes for children. They have addressed all the areas identified for improvement identified in the previous ERO report.

In 2017 the vision and philosophy of the whole organisation was reviewed to create a stronger focus on the service's valued outcomes for children. It aims 'to have an Aotearoa New Zealand where every child shines bright'; 'create strong foundations for the future' and go from being 'credible to incredible'.

In 2018 the Barnardos Early Learning policies and procedures were updated and aligned to quality assurance and accountability processes.

This review was part of a cluster of five Early Learning Home Based Network reviews in the Barnardos Early Learning organisation cluster. 

The Review Findings

Children's learning records show that the individual interests, strengths and capabilities of all children (Māori, diverse learners, infants and toddlers) are well supported within a small group setting with a consistent educator. Children have many opportunities to be involved in a wide range of interesting learning experiences within and beyond the home-based setting. Regular playgroups and community outings promote children's social confidence through meaningful links with people and places in their local area.

Service leaders and the visiting teacher work effectively together to build the skills and experience of educators. They value and make good use of the expertise within the service, including educator knowledge and capability to lead and support others. Purposeful links are made to external expertise to advocate for and support the wellbeing and learning of each child.

The Barnardos Early Learning Home Based organisation has recently introduced and actioned a number of new initiatives. The purpose of these initiatives is to provide assurance of consistent, collaborative and professional approaches to promote positive learner outcomes. This includes:

  • clear alignment of key priorities to the vision, philosophy and valued outcomes for children
  • strong collaborative leadership and inclusive learner-focused relationships within and across the service and with relevant community experts and agencies
  • giving prominence to te ao Māori and culturally responsive practices across the organisation
  • developing initiatives to respond to the diverse needs of learners and to promote equity and social justice for children and families
  • high expectations and purposeful use of evidence-based internal evaluation and quality assurance processes to inform future directions and improvements
  • effective systems to identify, monitor and report on health and safety and legislative requirements.

Key Next Steps

Service leaders have identified, and ERO's evaluation has confirmed, that the key next steps for the Southland One network are to:

  • embed new initiatives, including annual planning and evaluation, policies, procedures and appraisal processes
  • align and personalise the organisation's philosophy to the network philosophy
  • make the language, culture and identity of children more visible in documentation and practices
  • further develop internal evaluation to include an explicit focus on the impact of actions on practices and outcomes for children and their whānau
  • further develop and build on consistency of best practice in assessment, planning and evaluation, and Te Whāriki (2017).

National and service leaders have identified, and ERO's evaluation has confirmed, that the key next steps for the organisation are to: 

  • embed new initiatives and evaluate the impact of actions on practice and valued learning outcomes for children and their whānau 
  • progress the monitoring, tracking and evaluation of key priorities
  • consolidate and build on reflective and evaluative practices. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One 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 Barnardos Early Learning Home Based Southland One will be in three years.

Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

18 February 2019 

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

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

83055

Institution type

Homebased Network

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2

Service roll

50

Standard or Quality Funded

Quality

Gender composition

Boys 25 : Girls 25

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā

18
32

Number of qualified coordinators in the network

1

 

Required ratios of educators to children

Under 2

1:2

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

September 2018

Date of this report

18 February 2019

Most recent ERO report

Education Review

May 2012

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.

KidStart Gore - 31/05/2012

1 The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

KidStart Gore provides individual care and education for children in educators' homes. It is part of the Barnardos KidStart organisation, operating under the Otago-Southland network. The service has undergone significant changes, including the appointment of a new team leader and business manager. The manager and team leader are currently reviewing the procedures and practices within the service.

A significant feature of the service is the nurturing and positive relationships evident among educators and children. Children show a strong sense of belonging in the homes of their educators. Educators provide children with a wide range of learning experiences in the home. Children’s learning is further enhanced by purposeful outings into the community, such as playgroups, library and shopping.

The visiting teachers provide effective support for children’s learning and care in educators’ homes. They have established positive working relationships with the educators, children and parents. The visiting teachers model effective practice and share ways of how to support children’s learning. They have continued to develop and promote the use of curriculum kits to support children’s learning across a range of areas.

Educators know their children well. They extend their learning by organising the play areas thoughtfully and offering appropriate resources. Educators listen carefully to children and follow their leads and interests. They actively encourage children to investigate and explore their surroundings.

Children’s learning is attractively recorded in profile books. Educators skilfully record children’s learning, possible next learning steps and what they will do to continue to develop children’s interests and skills.

The next steps for managers are to clarify the visiting teacher’s role for educators and parents, and continue to develop their understanding of, and practices for, self review.

Future Action

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

2 The Focus of the Review

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.

The Quality of Education

Background
Areas of good performance

Relationships. Children show a strong sense of belonging within their learning environments. ERO observed:

  • a warm and nurturing atmosphere where children and their families are made to feel welcome
  • positive relationships between educators and children
  • the high expectations of educators for how children will relate to each other
  • children playing and learning well together in a highly supportive environment
  • educators working and communicating well with their visiting teachers.

Focus on learning. Children benefit from the value educators and visiting teachers place on learning. Educators effectively identify children’s learning and extend children’s thinking. The visiting teachers skilfully support educators in identifying appropriate strategies to support children’s learning. This includes promoting the use of curriculum kits to support children’s learning across a range of areas.

Learning experiences. Children enjoy a range of learning experiences within and beyond the home. Educators generally follow children’s interests and needs. The outdoor environments observed by ERO allow children to play outdoor games, develop their physical skills and explore different surroundings. Children have many opportunities to solve problems and have their thinking challenged.

Learning environments. Children learn and play in appropriate play areas that sustain their attention. ERO noted:

  • the range of interesting resources that are easily accessible to the children
  • children’s work is valued and attractively displayed so that children can revisit previous learning
  • the opportunities for dramatic, creative and imaginative play
  • the affirming interactions between educators and children
  • children‘s high levels of confidence when asking educators for help and support.
Areas for development and review

In discussions between the teaching staff and ERO, it was agreed that the following areas need review and development.

Visiting teachers’ role. To help ensure a better understanding of the visiting teachers’ roles and responsibilities, the team leader needs to clarify the:

  • purpose of the monthly visits to observe individual children
  • expectations of records of the monthly visits.

There are useful guidelines outlining the visiting teachers’ role. It is now timely for these to be reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of how well they are carried out and understood by the relevant people.Self review. The team leader and visiting teachers recognise the need to continue to develop their understanding of, and practices for, self review. Self review should include how effectively the service’s philosophy is being implemented, including how well systems and curriculum guidelines are supporting the philosophy.

A better review process is likely to assist the service in identifying areas that are going well and areas that require improvement.

3 Management Assurance on Compliance Areas

Overview

Before the review, the management and staff of KidStart Gore completed an ERO Home-Based Education and Care Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

  • curriculum standard
  • premises and facilities standard
  • health and safety practices standard
  • governance management and administration standard.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they 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 will review the service again within three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

31 May 2012

About the Service

Location

Gore

Ministry of Education profile number

83055

Licence type

Home-Based Care

Licensed under

Education (Home-based Care) Order 1992

Service roll

94

Gender composition

Boys 52

Girls 42

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Other

Māori

72

16

6

Review team on site

April 2012

Date of this report

31 May 2012

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Accountability Review

November 2008

June 2005

November 2000