48 Buckland Road, Mangere East, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
A1 Kids Childcare provides full day education and care for children from two years old to school age. The service is licensed for 39 children and is part of the Evolve group of centres. It operates within the management structure and policy framework of Evolve and a philosophy that fosters biculturalism and developing positive attitudes to learning in children.
The centre caters for a multicultural community and welcomes family involvement in the service. Parents and whānau are encouraged to be partners in their children's learning and to share their aspirations with teachers. In response to community needs, a van is provided to transport children to and from the centre. Teachers reflect families' cultural diversity and encourage children to respect the values and culture of others.
The centre manager, who was appointed in March 2015, and three of her staff are registered teachers. They are a relatively new team and still developing strategies to implement effective teaching practices. The team has an extended professional development programme scheduled for 2017 to strengthen their management of the programme for children. The manager has worked collaboratively with Evolve to improve the environment and to replenish resources in most play areas.
In 2013 ERO identified several positive features of the services and recommended improvements in relation to the management of the service, self review, consultation with families and the quality of the provision for children. While several changes and improvements have been made, further work is needed in most of these areas.
Children are happy and settled in the centre. They have positive relationships with teachers and many are developing friendships with their peers. Children engage well with resources and cooperate well when playing together. They are encouraged to be self managing at snack and meal times and some are confidently developing leadership skills. Children benefit from opportunities to learn about their bicultural heritage and many can competently cite a brief pepeha. They enjoy frequent excursions into the community including regular visits to the library and the local rest home for the elderly.
Teachers consistently support children to engage with resources. They interact warmly with children and most use questions well to encourage ideas, engage children in conversations and foster their interests. Teachers could now more deliberately focus on deepening children's learning through their individual interests and the cultural knowledge they bring to the centre.
Teachers have begun to develop systems to guide the programme. They plan long term topics and share ideas about related resources and activities. Teachers informally discuss their knowledge of children and respond well to their emerging interests. Teachers are starting to take leadership responsibility for curriculum areas and are developing their skills to write more informative learning stories.
It may be useful for teachers to develop a shared understanding of the characteristics of effective teaching and leading so they could help each other to achieve these skills. A greater focus on integrating curriculum areas such as literacy, numeracy, science and technology could also help teachers to develop more complex learning experiences and provide meaningful contexts for enriching children's conversations.
The manager and teachers have created a welcoming environment. Recent improvements have included revitalised play areas and upgrading the outdoor space. While the playground is an attractive area, further development is needed to provide adequate physical challenges, especially to cater for the high proportion of boys enrolled in the centre.
The centre manager provides sound leadership for staff. She has created long term strategic and annual plans to guide centre development, begun staff appraisals and initiated internal evaluation processes. The centre is well supported by the Evolve area manager who visits often and provides guidance. As the leaders further streamline operational systems they recognise they could:
annually develop strategies to implement long term goals
establish clear links between the management plans, appraisal goals and teachers' professional development opportunities
The centre and area managers agree that the key next steps for centre development should include:
using the scheduled professional development programme to improve planning, assessment and evaluation processes in order to enhance learning outcomes for children
teachers becoming more deliberate in their teaching practices to provide more challenging learning experiences for children
strengthening internal evaluation processes to support more critical reflection on the quality of centre practices
Evolve management should consider a simpler format for area manager reports on centre visits. A framework that clearly identified and followed up actions for improvement would be a more transparent tool for quality assurance and a more explicit guide for centre managers to focus on priorities.
Before the review, the management of A1 Kids Care and Education 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 A1 Kids Care and Education Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
7 December 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.
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Location |
Mangere, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45911 |
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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 |
39 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
59 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 40 Girls 19 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Samoan Tongan Cook Island Māori Vietnamese |
16 1 25 9 4 2 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2016 |
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Date of this report |
7 December 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
September 2013 |
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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 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
A1 Kids Care and Education Centre is located in Mangere, Auckland in a house that has been renovated to serve as an early childhood centre. It is licensed for 39 children over the age of two years. There are 70 children on the roll and a waiting list is evidence of the growing need in the area for good quality early childhood education and care. This is the centre’s first ERO review.
The centre employs five qualified teachers, including the centre manager, an assistant and an administrator. The owners have established sound systems to oversee the operational and administrative aspects of the centre.
The centre’s vision is to provide a high quality curriculum that is responsive to the community and the multicultural families attending. Managers and staff have made a very good start to achieving this aim, especially considering they have been licensed for less than 12 months.
Children have a good sense of belonging in the centre. Teachers value children’s home language, culture and life experiences and support all children to feel successful in their learning. New children have a smooth transition into the centre and settle quickly. Routines provide a useful, flexible framework for the day, in which children’s preferences are respected.
Teachers’ respectful relationships with children and their whānau is a strength of the centre. Staff are welcoming and available for parents/whānau, and continue to seek ways to include them in the centre’s programme.
The learning environment is attractive and the well-defined areas of play encourage children’s engagement in the programme. Children can sustain their play for long periods with each other, adults or by themselves. They enjoy imaginative play and explore happily alongside each other.
Teachers provide a good variety of learning opportunities for children. The programme includes child-initiated learning, group projects and experiences linked to community and cultural events. Teachers intentionally weave literacy, maths, science, and technology concepts into the programme to extend children’s learning. Children benefit from the rich learning opportunities provided.
Children’s language development is well supported. They confidently initiate conversations with their peers and adults. Teachers sometimes use children’s first language to converse with them. Teachers skilfully engage children in ways that encourage them to discuss ideas and develop their thinking and reasoning.
Children respond to teachers’ use of te reo Māori and are familiar with waiata/song and karakia/prayers. Parents and whānau/aiga enjoy cultural events and festivals celebrated in the centre.
The process of creating individual development plans for each child is helping the teachers to identify children’s interests and abilities. The centre manager indicated that the teaching team will soon review the programme planning to focus more on children’s emerging interests. This is an appropriate direction to help further develop the centre’s curriculum.
Positive support from the centre managers and teachers helps to ensure a smooth transition for children when moving on to school. The centre manager is developing a strong partnership with the local schools to support families and children at this time.
The owners manage the centre well and have a passion for good quality early childhood education. They have developed efficient management and financial systems for running the centre. Teachers are well supported to develop a shared understanding of the centre’s vision through professional learning and development. Self review is used to ensure that practice is effective and that informed changes occur as a result of reviews by the teachers and by management. The centre is highly reflective and focused on improvement.
Managers, in consultation with teachers, have identified priority areas for centre improvement. ERO agrees that the next steps are to:
Managers agree with ERO that they should:
Before the review, the staff and management of A1 Kids Care and Education 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 A1 Kids Care and Education Centre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey National Manager Review Services Northern Region
23 September 2013
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 |
Mangere, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45911 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
39 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
70 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 37 Girls 33 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Indian Fijian Tongan Samoan Other Asian Cook Island Māori Other |
8 4 18 11 11 7 6 3 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
August 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
23 September 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
No previous ERO reports |
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.