Union Street East, Dunedin Central, Dunedin
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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Otago University Childcare Association – College Centre is one of two services operated by the Otago University Childcare Association. A centre manager and a governing board manage both services. A new head teacher has recently been appointed. All teachers are qualified and registered. A small number of tamariki Māori attend, and also children of Pacific and other cultural heritages. Progress has been made in embedding the appraisal system as recommended in the 2019 ERO report, however, targeted observations of teaching practice are yet to occur.
Children of mixed ages play and learn within a broad, culturally responsive curriculum, based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The philosophy values of Whakamana (Empowerment), Kotahitanga (Holistic development), Whānau Tangata (Family and Community) and Ngā Hononga (Relationships) are evident in the ways teachers respond to the interests and needs of children. Children make choices and lead their own learning.
Infants’ and toddlers’ care and learning benefit from teachers’ specialist knowledge of approaches to teaching this age group. The needs of these children are carefully prioritised in all aspects of decision making. Teachers are respectful and attuned to children’s individual needs and verbal and non-verbal communication cues.
Effective assessment practice informs planning for learning. Teachers actively seek and respond to parent aspirations to plan intentional teaching practices. Te Whāriki learning outcomes are clearly visible when assessing children’s progress and continuity of learning. This learning is inclusive of children’s languages, cultures, and identity. Kāi tahu reo Māori and tikanga Māori, are incorporated into the curriculum and practices.
While the professional growth cycle focuses on building a teacher’s professional teaching and learning, leaders are yet to include formal observations of teachers’ practice to provide them with targeted feedback and feedforward. This is now a priority.
Leaders and teachers systematically engage in internal evaluation focused on strengthening aspects of the curriculum. An improved framework has been introduced following targeted professional development and learning for the leadership team. Ongoing implementation of the framework to build teacher capability is now required. Leaders and teachers are yet to critically analyse data and information, with a focus on what is and is not working for identified individuals and groups of children and the difference planned actions have made for those children.
Leaders and those responsible for governance foster a culture of collaboration and improvement. The committee is well informed about the management of the service. They allocate well-considered resources for professional learning and development, and the curriculum aligned to the association's strategic vision and goals.
Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Undertake formal teaching observations as a key element of the professional growth cycle .
Continue to embed the internal evaluation framework, to build collective capability to analyse data that inform actions, and monitor changes for desired impact on equitable outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring the daily hazard check includes glass and bodies of water (HS12).
Illness documentation records the time of illness (HS27).
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
20 June 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre |
|
Profile Number |
83065 |
|
Location |
Dunedin |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
25 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
20 June 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2019; Education Review, January 2016 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre Rōpu Tiaki Tamaiti is one of two centres governed and administered by a committee and a director appointed by the Otago University Childcare Association. The College Centre Rōpu Tiaki Tamaiti is situated on the University of Otago campus and is close to the Otago Polytechnic. The Otago University Childcare Association has an overarching Mission of 'A community of excellence in Early Learning', with objectives of 'celebrating te ao Māori, thriving learners, strong community and sustainability'.
The College Centre Rōpu Tiaki Tamaiti provides education and care for up to 32 children, with a maximum of 10 children under two years of age. The centre has a mixed age approach to learning and teaching, with all learning areas able to be accessed by all children. The attending families are from a diverse range of cultures.
The philosophy of the centre is 'We honour te Tiriti o Waitangi using te reo me ona tikanga Māori in our daily practice'. The values of the College Centre Rōpu Tiaki Tamaiti are respect, relationships and sustainability.
Since the 2016 ERO review the association has taken a strategic approach to implementing ERO's recommendations. The focus on ensuring consistency and continuity across all centres by strengthening systems and processes includes: leaders reporting on how well these systems and processes are enabling the associations vision and expectations to be met, planning for children's learning, strengthening the performance management system, and developing an understanding of rigorous self-review.
The College Centre Rōpu Tiaki Tamaiti has a strong focus on building strong relationships between staff, children and families/whānau based on meeting the learning needs of the children. There are many and varied opportunities for the families and whānau to engage with the centre and discuss the aspirations they have for their children. Teachers value and acknowledge parent and whānau aspirations for their children and take these into account when planning learning and activities assessment. As a result, teachers know the children, parents and community well and are responsive to individual needs.
The association ensures consistency of practice across the services with a clear and strategic vision and direction for the centre. Leaders have a strong commitment to its philosophy and goals. The importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is acknowledged through partnerships, policies and practices. Teachers use some te reo Māori and practice some tikanga, particularly within routines. Children have opportunities to learn about and participate in aspects of Māori culture. Teachers have identified their participation in on-going professional learning to support the development of bicultural practices.
Teachers provide a curriculum that is responsive to infant's toddlers and young children's deep interests. Children play in a mixed age group setting that encourages the building of tuakana/teina relationships. A range of teaching strategies and practices are used to respond to their cultures, identities and languages.
Children under two years of age are well supported by strong systems and practices. They benefit from strong attachments with teachers. There are high levels of care and respect. Children are very settled in their environment.
Effective transition practices support children's language culture and identity. Children's sense of belonging is nurtured during and after transitions into and within the centre by honouring the cultural uniqueness that Māori and other children bring with them. Teachers foster children's friendships to enhance their security and confidence at settling in and transition times. These successful transition practices are supported by the effective partnerships the centre has built with families.
Teachers are responding well to the revised appraisal process. Regular appraisal meetings with the head teacher ensure that teachers continue to work towards their learning goals and teaching as inquiry. Leaders and teachers have identified that formal observations of teaching are needed to strengthen and embed the appraisal process.
The next steps to improve outcomes for children, are to continue to strengthen and:
embed aspects of the appraisal system (teaching as inquiry and formal teaching observations)
build on current bicultural practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of Otago University Childcare Association - College 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
12 April 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.
|
Location |
Dunedin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
83065 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
32 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 13, Boys 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
February 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
12 April 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
January 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
October 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The College Childcare centre is situated on the university campus and close to the Otago Polytechnic. It provides education and care for up to 28 children in a mixed-age setting.
The College Childcare Centre is one of two centres under the umbrella of the Otago University Childcare Association (OUCA). The head teacher is responsible for the day-to-day running of the centre. The two centres are governed and managed by a committee and a director. At the time of the ERO visit the long-serving OUCA director was completing her last week in the role and a new director was due to start the following week.
Leaders and teachers have made some progress on the recommendations in the 2012 ERO report, however, most are still work in progress.
Teachers know the children, parents and their community well. Children have a strong sense of belonging and some have formed strong friendships with one another. The centre philosophy identifies working in partnership with parents as one of its key beliefs. Teachers encourage parents to share information and to participate in the programme, bringing their knowledge and skills. They ensure interactions with families are accepting and respectful of who they are.
Teachers support children with particular needs well. They value the diverse cultures of the families in the community. Children work together and help each other. They are encouraged to be independent, develop self-help skills and make choices. Teachers support children to explore things that interest them.
Children benefit from a range of learning experiences. These include:
Children are encouraged to lead their own learning. Teachers use a range of strategies to respond to children and make use of the teachable moment to build oral language and social competence. Teachers should assure themselves of the quality of their interactions with children by reviewing their practices and strategies from time to time.
Teachers use some te reo Māori and practice some Māori tikanga particularly within routines. Children and teachers celebrate Matariki and perform at Polyfest. Teachers participate in on-going professional learning to support bicultural practices in the centre.
Teachers whose primary responsibility is to work with the infants and younger children carefully guide and support them throughout the programme. They plan regularly and evaluate progress. Teachers have a well-developed system to plan for individual children. Children’s profile books are an attractive record of their time and experiences at the centre. Best examples in profile books show the teachers’ role in promoting and extending learning and how parents’ wishes have been responded to.
The head teacher is part of a strong association-wide leadership team. The leaders have begun to introduce organisation-wide expectations for curriculum implementation including assessment, planning and evaluation. Documentation in this centre shows that teachers are working to develop shared understandings on what effective assessment, planning and evaluation for groups of children could look like. Leaders need to take a more active role in supporting this development.
The OUCA leaders have a strong focus on continual improvement and regularly consult with their community. A useful strategic plan provides guidance around priorities for the future. The centre has an annual plan to show how it will be implemented. This plan requires ongoing monitoring, evaluation and regular reporting on progress from the head teacher. It also needs to include an evaluation of the effectiveness of curriculum, teaching and learning. The head teacher and teachers’ appraisals need to be strengthened to ensure consistency and alignment with the centre’s future vision.
The leaders and ERO agree that the next steps in the OUCA improvement journey are to strengthen systems and processes to bring consistency of practice across the two centres. Leaders at all levels should monitor and report on how well these systems and processes are enabling the association’s vision and expectations to be met.
Leaders should ensure the centre implements robust planning for groups and individuals in ways that meet the association’s guidelines and desired outcomes for children. This includes leaders monitoring the quality of planning to be assured that:
The effectiveness of the association’s strategic plan and goals would be strengthened by:
Leaders and teachers also need to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Otago University Childcare Association - College 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.
The next ERO review of Otago University Childcare Association - College Centre will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
14 January 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 |
Dunedin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
83065 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 16 Girls: 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Asian African European |
3 21 1 1 1 2 |
|
|
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 |
November 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 January 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2007 |
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. 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.