BestStart Papanui

1 Evaluation of ABC Papanui

How well placed is ABC Papanui to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

ABC Papanui BestStart is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children. 

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

Background

ABC Papanui operates under the BestStart Educare Ltd management structure. BestStart is a large national organisation that owns a significant number of early childhood education centres across New Zealand. A professional services manager and a business manager work with the centre leader to manage the day-to-day operation of the centre.

ABC Papanui is licensed to provide care and education for up to 40 children, including 9 children under two years. The centre has a preschool room and a nursery. Both areas have separate outside play spaces. A new head teacher oversees the preschool. Most staff are registered and qualified early childhood teachers. 

The centre works with a number of other early learning services and schools in the Burnside cluster to share knowledge, skills and support for children's transitions. Centre leaders are exploring the benefits of joining a Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.

Since the previous ERO review in 2015 leaders and teachers have strengthened programme assessment, planning and evaluation, particularly for individuals. Internal evaluation is now well established. Significant improvements have been made to incorporating bicultural practices in centre programmes. Changes to strategic planning are progressing well.

The Review Findings

Positive relationships with children and their parents are highly evident across the centre. Teachers foster a respectful and inclusive culture.  Ako, where the role of teacher is shared between children and teachers, is clearly visible. Teachers take care in listening to children’s ideas and promote an environment of mutual trust. Teachers are highly reflective, engage in professional conversations and continually adapt their practice to better promote positive outcomes for all children.

Children have many opportunities to make choices and lead their own learning. Teachers value their opinions and see children as capable, confident learners. They engage in enriching conversations that extend learners and help them to make sense of their world. Transitions into and within the centre are capably managed. Dispositions that support transition to school are intentionally fostered in an integrated manner.

Infants and toddlers under two have their learning and wellbeing needs met in a calm, unhurried and nurturing environment. Teachers are caring, attentive and responsive to verbal and nonverbal cues. Learning is at the child’s pace and supported with appropriate resources and interactions. Home routines and partnerships with parents are respected.

Teachers plan collaboratively to specifically meet individual children’s needs and build on their interests. Children contribute to their learning goals and show confidence in their progress. Teachers actively seek parents' aspirations and readily incorporate these into the child’s learning goals.

Teaching strategies that support children's learning are purposeful and clearly identified. These strategies are shared amongst parents and teachers so there is a collective approach to proactively supporting children’s learning. Ongoing assessment, planning and evaluation successfully highlight children’s progress towards achieving their learning goals. The effectiveness of the teaching strategies used is also evaluated.

Teachers and leaders value and promote te reo and aspects of tikanga Māori. The centre has successfully engaged with professional learning and development to build their bicultural practice and understandings of te ao Māori. Children experience a well integrated bicultural learning environment and programme.

The centre’s vision, values and philosophy are clearly enacted through positive relationships and in the curriculum programme provided for children. Teachers use these documents, underpinned by Te Whāriki the Early Childhood Curriculum, to guide teaching and learning programmes and practices. The philosophy is regularly reviewed to ensure its ongoing influence on teaching practice and shared understandings amongst teachers.

The professional services manager, the business manager, centre manager and head teacher work collaboratively as a team. They have high expectations for the effective operation of the service and effectively monitor these expectations. Accountability processes are comprehensive and focus on constantly improving outcomes for children. Teachers benefit from a high level of professional support.

Strategic plans clearly set the direction of the centre. Centre leaders are consistently exploring ways to further refine strategic and annual plans. These plans bring together different aspects of the organisation and provide a more cohesive approach to enhancing provisions for children.

Internal evaluation is strong, well connected to the centre's strategic direction and focuses on important centre priorities. Multiple perspectives, current research and relevant evidence are successfully used to support a systematic, improvement-focused process of internal evaluation. Leaders and teachers make good use of outcomes to strengthen teaching and learning programmes and further promote positive outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

ERO and centre leaders agree that the key next steps to further enhance outcomes for children are to:

• continue refining and embedding the individual assessment, planning and evaluation cycle for children.
• further extend the use of information gathered from individual planning to more specifically plan for groups of children who share similar learning goals.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of ABC Papanui 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 ABC Papanui will be in four years.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

27 March 2018 

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

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.