All About Children - Titahi Bay - 27/02/2018

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of All About Children - Titahi Bay
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

How well placed is All About Children - Titahi Bay to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

All About Children - Titahi Bay, formally Bronwyn's Place, provides education and care for children from three months to five years of age. Of the 51 children, 16 are Māori and eight are of Pacific heritage. The centre operates five days a week.

Since the February 2014 ERO report, there has been a period of change. This includes ownership to Kids World Ltd in November 2015, a new centre manager and changes to the teaching team.

The centre received targeted support through a Ministry of Education (MoE) funded programme, Strengthening Early Learning Opportunities (SELO). The focus for this was on programme planning, self-review and revisiting expectations for high quality practice.

The February 2014 ERO evaluation identified areas requiring further development. These included: planning; self-review; appraisal; cultural awareness and knowledge of te ao Māori; and health and safety practices. Progress has been made in all areas.

The Review Findings

The revised philosophy emphasises building powerful relationships and connecting children with their natural environment. Further developing this to be inclusive of all aspects of te ao Māori and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori is planned. This should strengthen the curriculum and learning opportunities for children. A bicultural approach is developing. Leaders have identified the need to strengthen this. Planned implementation of whakapapa, mana whenua and mana atua should contribute to building success for Māori children as Māori.

Building relationships with whānau Māori and the Pacific community is a strength. Parents have opportunities to participate in their children’s learning. The use of an online assessment tool for recording children’s learning promotes closer links between home and the centre. To enhance learning outcomes for children, leaders should now explore more ways to value whānau expertise and aspirations as partners in learning.

Useful strategies are employed to effectively support the development of infants and toddlers and engage them. They have access to open spaces that encourages their interest in movement and a wide range of resources to promote their exploration and discovery.

Teachers know children well and use a range of effective strategies to provide choice and foster curiosity. There is a well-considered and inclusive approach to supporting children with additional learning needs. When appropriate, external agencies are accessed to support these children.

A well designed environment promotes opportunities for children to explore, using a range of strategies to learn and make sense of their world. Regular excursions are part of the weekly curriculum that encourage spontaneous interactions with the natural environment. There is a strong emphasis on extending the curriculum by using the surrounding community of Titahi Bay.

Leaders have introduced systems and provided suitable professional development that support teachers to improve their understanding of the purpose and use of assessment for learning. Children’s learning is well documented and celebrated through their portfolios which link to Te Whāriki. Leadersacknowledge the need to further strengthen the consistency of assessment, planning and evaluation practice.

The centre has recently redeveloped its appraisal system. It is child-centred and focuses on increasing teacher capability. The system includes regular observations of practice. Goals are aligned to strategic priorities and have clear links to the Practising Teacher Criteria. An urgent priority is to fully implement this revised approach.

Understanding and use of internal evaluation for improvement is at the early stages. Managers need to provide teachers with ongoing support to build their knowledge. This should assist better measurement of the effectiveness of programmes in promoting positive outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

Leaders and ERO agree that management and the teaching team should continue to develop, implement and evaluate processes and systems that support the consistency of practice and improve outcomes for children. These include:

• strengthening aspects of assessment planning and evaluation

• increasing responsiveness to children’s culture, language and identity, particularly Māori and Pacific

• internal review to systematically inquire into what is making the most difference for learners and where change is needed to improve outcomes for all children

• fully implementing the revised appraisal system.

Recommendation

The service will provide ERO with an action plan that shows how the key next steps will be addressed. ERO will request progress updates.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of All About Children - Titahi Bay 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 All About Children - Titahi Bay will be in three years.

Alan Wynyard

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

27 February 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.