4 Kids & Whanau Centre

Education institution number:
20169
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
17
Telephone:
Address:

46 James Street, Glenfield, Auckland

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4 Kids and Whanau Centre

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 4 Kids and Whanau Centre are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whakaū Embedding

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whakaū Embedding
Whakaū Embedding

2 Context of the Service

4 Kids and Whanau Centre is a community based, not-for-profit early childhood centre governed by a charitable trust. The centre has a Christian-based philosophy that promotes children’s love for learning, family and community. Teachers reflect the ethnically diverse backgrounds of the children and families that attend the service.

3 Summary of findings

Children explore, and become involved in, a variety of learning experiences in a well-resourced environment. Their learning is extended by teachers who carefully consider their interests and set up provocations and project-based learning. These experiences provide children with opportunities to develop:

  • knowledge of literacy, mathematical and science concepts

  • independence, confidence, and problem-solving skills

  • theories and understandings that help them make sense of their world

  • respect and care for the world around them.

Children’s learning is supported through responsive and respectful relationships with parents, whānau, and the community. Children benefit from tuakana | teina relationships in a mixed aged environment. Their languages, cultures and identity are acknowledged and respected. Making parents’ and children’s perspectives more visible in the curriculum is an ongoing focus for teachers.

Teachers implement good quality practices that demonstrate that care is an integral part of the curriculum. Interactions are calm, unhurried, and respectful. Teachers thoughtfully and intentionally give priority to children’s oral language development. They ask open-ended questions and recognise that oral language plays a key role in building children’s thinking and learning capability.

Good assessment practices make children’s learning visible. These practices provide children with feedback that recognises their efforts, challenges, and successes. The use of te reo and tikanga Māori practices are evident in planning and assessment documentation. Teachers are in the process of more consistently using this in their daily practice.

Leaders and teachers engage in evaluation processes that promote positive outcomes for children. Access to professional learning opportunities is building teaching capability and collective capacity. Everyone takes part in evaluation and inquiry practices. Strengthening evaluation practices to better support the service to ensure that equitable outcomes for children are measured and sustained over time is an area to further embed.

Leaders advocate for and alongside children, parents and whānau to ensure all children have access to quality, inclusive education and care. They align resources to the service’s philosophy, vision, goals and priorities for learning.

4 Improvement actions

4 Kids and Whanau Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Embed the continued use of te reo and tikanga Māori in daily practices.

  • Further include the perspectives of children, parents and whānau in the curriculum to demonstrate and recognise children’s languages, cultures and identity.

  • Further embed ongoing evaluation practices to ensure that improvement actions are both measured and sustained over time, specifically around equitable outcomes for learners.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of 4 Kids and Whanau 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:

  • 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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

16 August 2022 

6 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

4 Kids and Whanau Centre

Profile Number

20169

Location

Glenfield, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

22

Review team on site

June 2022

Date of this report

16 August 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, April 2015

4 Kids & Whanau Centre - 13/04/2015

1 Evaluation of 4 Kids & Whanau Centre

How well placed is 4 Kids & Whanau Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

The 4 Kids & Whanau Centre is located in the grounds of the Glenfield Baptist Church. It provides full day and part-time education and care services for children up to five years of age. The Pipi area caters for infants and toddlers, and the Paua area caters for older children.

The centre has a Christian based philosophy with a strong emphasis on family and community. Teachers work very effectively to ensure the programme is underpinned by Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum. The programme is also highly influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach that emphasises respectful relationships, and views children as capable, competent learners.

A charitable trust governs 4 Kids & Whanau Centre. Financial aspects of centre operations are overseen by a board. Day-to-day management of the centre is the joint responsibility of the centre manager and a team of three centre leaders. Eighty percent of teachers are qualified and registered.

ERO’s 2012 report recommended that building leadership capacity and developing shared, consistent team practices would help to enrich programmes for children. Centre leaders and staff have made very good progress in these areas.

The Review Findings

The programme provided for infants and toddlers in the Pipi area is a special feature of the centre. These children are very well supported to make choices about their learning. They have good access to outdoor spaces. Infants appear happy and settled. They experience individualised routines that respect their preferences. Toddlers have opportunities to challenge their physical skills and make their own discoveries. Teachers use te reo Maori in meaningful ways throughout the day.

Older children in the Paua area also experience a high quality programme. They confidently share their knowledge and ideas with teachers and other children. Children successfully manage their relationships and interactions with others. Flexible routines support their sustained participation in co-operative, imaginative play. Creative and thoughtfully presented indoor and outdoor areas prompt children’s exploration and investigation. In this environment, children are articulate and well supported to become confident, competent learners.

Teachers in Pipi and Paua interact respectfully with children. They use rich conversations that prompt children’s problem solving and independent thinking. Teachers skilfully integrate literacy, science and mathematical learning in meaningful ways. They provide resources to support children’s learning. Increasing the use of te reo Māori in group times and incidental situations in the Paua area could further enhance children’s experiences at the centre.

The curriculum is highly effective in promoting positive outcomes for children. Teachers value the information that parents share about their child’s home, community and cultural experiences. Whole team professional development has supported ongoing improvements to planning, assessment and evaluation systems. Children’s strengths, interests and participation in the programme are clearly shown in attractive learning records. Teachers skilfully identify the learning that happens in children’s play. They work together to identify children’s progress over time and to enrich their individual and group experiences at the centre.

The centre manager effectively promotes shared leadership practices. There is a culture of professionalism and high expectations in all aspects of centre operations. The three team leaders have worked with teachers to embed team understandings of high quality teaching practice. Effective self-review systems enable teachers to make positive changes that improve children’s experiences at the centre. The long-term plan includes relevant improvement-focused goals.

Key Next Steps

To enhance existing high quality practices centre leaders agree they could:

  • align teacher appraisal systems more clearly with the Registered Teacher Criteria
  • evaluate long-term goals to show the impact of improvements for children, parents/whānau and teachers.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of 4 Kids & Whanau 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:

  • 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 4 Kids & Whanau Centre will be in four years.

Dale Bailey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

13 April 2015

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

Glenfield, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20169

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

50 children, including up to 12 aged under 2

Service roll

70

Gender composition

Boys 51 Girls 19

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Asian

other

4

34

22

9

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

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

January 2015

Date of this report

13 April 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2012

 

Education Review

November 2008

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.