293 Botany Road, Golflands, 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.
ABC Botany is licensed to provide four-hour sessions or full-day education and care for 104 children, including up to 24 children under the age of two. There are four age-specific groups, each with its own room. Children from the Fantail room transition to the Tuatara room at approximately two years of age. Three-year-old children move to the Pukeko room and then on to Koru when they are between three-and-a-half and four years.
The children and their teachers are from diverse cultural backgrounds. Approximately a third of the children identify as Māori or Pākehā, a third are Chinese and a third identify with a wide range of other cultures.
The centre is part of the BestStart organisation, which provides a strong management framework. It also provides a range of support services and personnel, including a professional services manager (PSM) and a business manager (BM), to support the operation of the centre. The centre is led by a centre manager and four head teachers. It employs a team of teachers and caregivers as well as a cook and an administrator. The experienced centre manager is relatively new to the centre.
The centre's educational philosophy is based on respectful relationships and the value of children learning through play. Teachers are expected to support children to lead their own learning. In the Fantail and Tuatara rooms teachers follow a 'primary caregiving' approach.
The centre's 2014 ERO report, acknowledged that teaching improvements were promoting a more child-initiated programme and that teachers were making progress with improving planning and assessment. The report also acknowledged that children had good opportunities to develop early literacy and numeracy skills and concepts. Centre leaders agreed that staff should continue to focus on individualising the programme, building a greater understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori, and strengthening assessment. The centre has made good progress in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of seven reviews in the BestStart organisation.
Children enjoy being involved in, and learning through, a wide range of play activities. They are keen to explore their environment and interact with one another and their teachers. A culture of care is very evident across the centre. The primary caregiving approach for the younger children is effective because it has established good communication between the teachers, children and families.
Teachers provide an engaging curriculum that is relevant to the children in each room. The educational programme is responsive to children’s individual and group interests, and developmental stages. The rooms and the outdoor areas are well resourced and spacious. Careful thought has been put into making the play spaces attractive and well organised. Children are able to play uninterrupted by other activities and centre routines.
Interactions between teachers and children are respectful. Teachers communicate well with the children, including during care activities, promoting children’s learning and supporting their wellbeing. Teachers often engage children in conversation, giving them time to process their ideas and contribute to the discussion.
There are many opportunities for children to develop their oral language. Literacy and numeracy learning are promoted in the context of play. A lot of resources in the centre support this learning, and conversations support literacy and numeracy concept development. Children confidently invite adults to share books with them.
Cultural diversity is valued and respected, and reflected in the centre environment. Aspects of Māori language and culture are integrated into the education programme. Some children who enrol at the centre are new to the English language. Teachers are often able to talk with these children in their home languages while they support them to learn English.
Relationships between parents and staff are inclusive. Teachers are responsive to parents, and are working on how best to reflect the cultures of the families in the curriculum. Communication with parents about children's learning is improving, especially through the use of electronic portfolios. Children's learning stories would be strengthened by teachers describing the learning of the child over time. This would require them to revisit earlier assessment and planning to show the impact of intentional teaching.
Transitions into and through the centre are well managed. Time is given for children and their families to get to know the teachers and the room environments. Teachers are flexible about children's move to the next room, taking into account each child's readiness and learning needs. Parents are purposefully involved in the transition decisions and processes.
The centre is well led by the manager, with regular input from the BestStart PSM and BM. Good use is made of regular review and reflection to inform the centre's strategic planning. The evaluation provided by BestStart professional services and business managers helps to identify strategic goals.
Staff work well together as a team. Managers have high expectations of the staff and work strategically for ongoing improvement. This improvement is supported by an effective appraisal system and ongoing professional development. There are plans in place to grow leadership within the centre.
BestStart continues to provide good support for centres through professional development opportunities, management documentation and a range of quality assurance processes. PSMs and BMs maintain positive relationships with centre personnel and have high expectations for centre performance. The challenge for PSMs is to use their current focus on teaching as inquiry and newly developed mentoring processes to help centre managers and teachers achieve the high quality practices that BestStart values. Recent work to establish goal-focused strategic plans in each centre should also help to facilitate meaningful improvements in teaching and learning.
Managers have identified relevant improvement priorities and are supporting teachers to:
Significant work is being done to support improvement in these areas.
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Botany 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 Botany will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
4 October 2017
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 |
Botany, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10003 |
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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 |
104 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
119 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 60 Girls 59 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
14% |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2017 |
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Date of this report |
4 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2011 |
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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 Botany offers full day education and care for children from six weeks to school-age. The roll reflects Botany’s multi-cultural community and includes five children of Māori descent and four with Pacific heritage.
The centre has undergone major change since the March 2011 ERO review, with new ownership later in 2011. It is now part of the Kidicorp organisation that provides administrative and professional support. The centre has merged the three licences into one. It now caters for up to 104 children, including 24 children under two. The centre is organised into four rooms to provide for different age groups.
Kidicorp has made changes to the management structure resulting in an expanded leadership team. Since the 2011 ERO review there has been significant roll growth and new teachers have been appointed to cater for the increased numbers of children throughout the centre.
The centre philosophy places importance on nurturing children's individual learning and promoting a strong sense of self. There is also a focus on partnership with parents and whānau.
Centre leaders have responded positively to ERO’s recommendations for ongoing improvement noted in the 2011 ERO report. These recommendations resulted in a focus on strengthening teacher’s reflections on their practice and approaches to programme planning.
Children are well cared for throughout the centre. They settle quickly into the programme and enjoy nurturing relationships with adults. Teachers support and value children's different cultural backgrounds and home languages. They are beginning to develop a greater understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori and ways to foster bicultural practices. Children freely choose play activities or select from a variety of planned learning activities. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging in the centre.
Teachers are increasingly encouraging children to take more responsibility for their learning and promote children’s input into the programme. Changes to routines have resulted in children enjoying uninterrupted play. Teachers now need to ensure that their interactions are extending children’s learning during play. Planning and assessment practices continue to be refined to focus more on children's individual strengths and interests.
Learning environments are inviting and responsive to children's interests. Good quality resources are easily accessible by children to extend their play. There is good provision to extend and develop children's literacy and mathematical concepts throughout the centre, including for infants and toddlers. The ready for school programme has identified appropriate skills and dispositions children would benefit from as they transition to school. These skills are developed within meaningful and responsive play contexts.
The centre manager is successfully building a professional team. The new leadership team benefits from appropriate administrative and professional support from the Kidicorp umbrella organisation. Robust performance management systems continue to focus on growing teacher capacity. It would be helpful for teachers to have a set of criteria about effective teaching practice to support their ongoing development.
Regular, formal and spontaneous self review is well implemented and informs ongoing centre developments. Leaders ensure that staff perspectives are reflected in reviews and shared ownership of outcomes is evident. Documenting the outcomes of self review and the centre philosophy could be strengthened by identifying the impact on children's learning.
ERO and centre leaders agree that the key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Botany 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.
The next ERO review of ABC Botany will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
30 April 2014
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 |
Botany, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10003 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
104 children, including up to 24 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
111 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 56% Girls 44% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese Indian South East Asian Pacific other Asian |
6% 34% 33% 9% 6% 5% 7% |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
January 2014 |
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Date of this report |
30 April 2014 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
This is the first report under the merged licence. Previously known as: ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Botany Tahi |
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Education Review |
March 2011 |
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ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Botany Rua |
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Education Review |
March 2011 |
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ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Botany Toru |
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|
Education Review |
March 2011 |
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.