6 Appleby Road, Albany, North Shore City
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.
ABC Albany Rua is licensed for up to 50 children over two years of age. Children move freely between the two separate rooms and make use of the large well-resourced outdoor play area.
The centre's philosophy values and respects children as learners. It recognises the importance of play as a vehicle for learning.
Since the 2015 ERO report, a new centre manager has been appointed and there have been other staff changes. ERO recommended improvements in the depth and quality of teaching, bicultural practices, appraisal processes, and the use of self review. Leaders and teachers have made very positive progress in each of these areas.
The centre is part of the BestStart Education and Care organisation. BestStart provides an overarching governance and management framework as well as personnel to support operations and curriculum in individual centres. A business manager and a professional services manager are highly involved in the staff professional development and strategic guidance.
This review was part of a cluster of seven reviews in the Upper North Island (UNI) BestStart region.
Children are supported to learn at their own pace in a well-resourced, calm and inclusive environment. They have meaningful conversations with each other and with adults, and are involved in complex and sustained play.
Teachers are responsive and respectful. They have a good understanding of the curriculum and of children as learners. Teachers integrate literacy, numeracy and science naturally within the programme. They are becoming more skilled at identifying children's learning dispositions in order to extend their understandings.
Teachers plan activities from observing children's emerging interests. While this approach helps teachers to provide activities that reflect these interests, teachers do not identify specific teaching strategies or learning goals to extend children's learning. Teachers would benefit from support to strengthen their understanding of their role in extending children's learning and supporting older children to develop critical thinking skills.
Ongoing teacher development is valued and supported by an effective appraisal system. Self review is well established and influences decision making. Centre leaders are aware that deeper reflection and evaluation would help to lift teaching practice and contribute to more positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing.
Centre operations are guided by a strategic plan, annual plan and a shared vision. These are linked to BestStart strategic goals, which promotes a sense of belonging to a wider learning community and supports more widespread collaboration amongst teaching teams. Continued revisiting of the goals of the centre's strategic and annual plans is enabling leaders and teachers to monitor quality and promote ongoing improvement.
Centre leaders agree that next steps for ongoing improvement include:
continuing to strengthen teachers' understanding of the shifts of practice needed to effectively implement Te Whāriki, 2017
further integrating bicultural practices through the curriculum
developing internal evaluation by involving deeper evaluative analysis, and focusing on the impact of teachers' practices on children's outcomes.
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Albany Rua 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 ABC Albany Rua will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
29 November 2018
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 |
Albany, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10348 |
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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 |
50 children over the age of 2 years |
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Service roll |
58 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 33 Girls 25 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
September 2018 |
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Date of this report |
29 November 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
January 2009 |
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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:
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.
ABC Albany Rua in Albany, Auckland is owned and operated by Kidicorp Ltd. The centre is licensed for up to 50 children over the age of two years. Two separate rooms provide age appropriate learning environments for children from three to four years, and four to five years. Flexibility in programmes and in use of resources and space ensures that children also have many opportunities to interact with all staff and children in the centre.
The cultural diversity of the local community is reflected in the children and families at the centre. Centre staff are committed to developing strong relationships and effective communication with families and whānau. Parents report positive feedback about the care and education their children receive.
Since the 2012 ERO report there have been changes in centre management. The centre manager appointed in 2013 has been well supported from Kidicorp personnel to initiate significant changes in operations, teaching and learning programmes and environment. The centre is now well placed to consolidate these improvements. The head teacher has recently been appointed to the position centre manager.
Positive relationships are evident between teachers and children, and between children of different ages. Children are settled and engaged in their play. They enjoy good opportunities for sustained and imaginative play. Teachers are responsive to and build on children’s ideas. They provide opportunities for both independent and collaborative play, and enhance children’s social skills through positive guidance and modelling.
Learning programmes are underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The notice, recognise and respond approach to planning builds on children’s emerging interests. Good foundations have been developed to build teachers’ understanding and implementation of this approach, including systems to document individual and group planning and assessment. Centre managers are continuing to develop strategies to further enhance assessment and planning practices and to increase the depth and quality of teaching and learning.
The centre is well resourced. The spacious environment is organised into discrete areas of play where children are able to play independently or co-operatively. Recent review and development of the indoor and outdoor learning spaces and resources has increased opportunities for exploration, choice and challenge. Teachers could now consider providing more opportunities for literacy and mathematics in the outdoor learning areas, and ensuring that wall displays are meaningful and accessible for children.
Staff are continuing to explore ways to extend learning partnerships with family and whānau. The planned introduction of an electronic system for sharing children’s learning has the potential to enhance communication and enable greater parent input into their child’s learning.
Well considered transition processes support children as they move into the centre and between rooms in the centre. Staff are building good relationships with local schools and recognise that extending this contact would be positive for children and their families.
Children’s cultural backgrounds are recognised and valued. These could be further reflected in centre resources and programmes. Managers have identified the need to review and strengthen ways in which the centre reflects the bicultural heritage of New Zealand. This next step should include reviewing the centre philosophy to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and seeking whānau and community voice in further development of bicultural practices.
Kidicorp governance and management systems, policies and procedures provide a strong framework for operations. Centre systems support and complement these overarching structures effectively. Managers continue to review and strengthen systems and procedures to ensure they are relevant to the centre context and are useful working documents to guide practice and build capability.
Good systems and structures continue to support a culture of reflection and review in the centre. Useful strategic planning and self review processes have been established and managers are continuing to refine and extend these. There is increasingly clarity and alignment of systems such as strategic and annual planning, teacher appraisal, and professional learning and development.
Managers are committed to ongoing improvement. They are developing strategies to maintain consistency through the current change of leadership and to continue to build leadership capability. The centre should now focus on maintaining momentum to embed and sustain recent positive developments.
ERO affirms the centre’s plans to:
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Albany Rua 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 ABC Albany Rua will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
25 March 2015
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 |
Albany, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10348 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
62 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 34 Girls 28 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Korean Indian South African Filipino Indonesian Samoan other |
1 17 15 11 5 3 2 2 1 5 |
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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 |
|
Review team on site |
January 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
January 2009 |
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:
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.