Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave

Education institution number:
45441
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
27
Telephone:
Address:

114 Cotter Avenue, Arrowtown

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Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whāngai Establishing

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
Organisational Conditions

Whāngai Establishing

Whāngai Establishing

2 Context of the Service

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave is one of two community-based services governed by the same board. A centre manager oversees both services. A small number of Māori children attend. Since the 2019 ERO report, the service has reviewed provision for children aged under two years as recommended in that report. Acknowledging children’s languages, cultures and identity in documentation is still an ongoing priority.

3 Summary of findings

Children experience a wide range of curriculum experiences inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, where they work together to develop knowledge and learn from their environments. Opportunities include creativity and exploration in nature. The service’s values and learning priorities are well embedded in practice and in learning documentation.

Learning and care for infants and toddlers are fostered through responsive interactions with teachers who actively support their language development. Relationships with parents are well established. Teachers know children well. They support collaborative and supportive transitions within and through the centre.

Children have regular opportunities to experience their own and other cultures through hearing home languages at the preschool. However, their cultural identity could be made more visible in documentation.

A bicultural curriculum is increasingly evident within the service. Te ao Māori is valued and meaningfully integrated into the older children's learning programme. Children have opportunities to hear, speak and see te reo Māori. The service is beginning to explore local cultural narratives.

Assessment documentation shows evidence of children's progress in relation to their growth and development. However, this is yet to consistently and clearly:

  • make visible children’s languages, cultures and identity

  • show how teachers gather and respond to parent aspirations

  • integrate the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to show children’s learning and progress over time.

Governance is well informed about the programme and daily operations. Children’s learning and wellbeing are primary considerations in all decision making. Leaders and teachers are collaborative and reflective, and they undertake regular professional development aligned to the service priorities. Teachers’ understanding and use of internal evaluation requires further development to better show what is working, or not and for whom. The system for appraisal is at the early stages of implementation. Leadership appraisal is yet to be fully implemented.

4 Improvement actions

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • Build teachers’ shared understanding and use of Te Whāriki learning outcomes to better guide assessment and planning for children’s learning and to show progress over time in relation to the learning outcomes.

  • Make visible children's languages, cultures and identity, and parent aspirations in children’s individual learning documentation.

  • Further embed leaders’ and teachers’ understanding and use of effective internal evaluation practices processes.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

  • relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

6 Actions for Compliance

ERO identified the following area of non-compliance:

  • ensuring regular appraisals are undertaken for all staff

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008, GMA7.

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

  • A list of hazards that aligns with the licensing criteria (HS12).

  • Records are kept for all category (i) and (ii) medicine (prescription and non-prescription) administered to children (HS28).

7 Recommendation to Ministry of Education

ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure non-compliances identified in this report are addressed.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

15 June 2023 

8 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave

Profile Number

45441

Location

Arrowtown

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 9 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

100%

Service roll

32

Review team on site

February 2023

Date of this report

15 June 2023

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, December 2019
Education Review, June 2015

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave - 13/12/2019

1 Evaluation of Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave

How well placed is Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave is one of two preschools owned by an incorporated society and governed by a board of governance. It is licensed for 30 children, including eight under two year olds. The service's current roll is 44 children. Since the June 2015 ERO review, the service has been relicensed twice to allow for children under two years. This service works in partnership with Arrowtown Preschool Durham Street. Cotter Ave takes infants up to age three years, nine months then children progress to the Durham Street service.

Children at Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave play and learn in two main areas; the Teina room for children under two years and the Tuakana room for children over two years. Plans are in place for future extension of the centre's building.

The centre's philosophy for children includes the learning priorities of belonging|tangata whenuatanga, developing independence|motuhaketanga, respectful relationships|whakawhanaungatanga, risk taking and exploration|whakawhara and mana aotūroa, and resilience|manawaroa.

The centre is managed day-to-day by a professional leader and head teacher. The head teacher and teaching team are all new to this centre. Good progress has been made in the key next steps identified in the June 2015 ERO report. Documentation to support governance practices has been strengthened and teachers continue to focus on the impact of intentional teaching on children's learning.

The Review Findings

Relationships between teachers, leaders, parents and children are respectful, welcoming and inclusive. Parents are fully informed about their children's learning and progress, and centre programmes and operations. Children's care and learning are well supported by teachers. Their oral language is deliberately fostered, contributing to children's developing communication skills. This empowers children and promotes their increasing confidence.

Children's social competence is very well supported by teachers. Children are highly engaged in their play, cooperating positively with others and respecting their environment.

Children benefit from a wide range of resources which support and extend their interests and promote learning across a broad curriculum. The curriculum strongly reflects the Reggio Emilia approach and beliefs, and the centre's philosophy. The nature-based programme is providing well for older children. Through the programme that includes regular excursions, they discover and learn about the world around them and environmental sustainability. The well-established priorities for children's learning are well linked to the practices and programmes children experience and participate in.

Teachers have useful processes to assess and plan for children's learning. This includes regular updates about children's interests and learning, collaboration with parents and the teaching team. Children's interests are well supported and extended through group and individual learning programmes.

Children enjoy many opportunities to learn about and experience te ao Māori. Teachers are actively building their knowledge and skill in te reo Māori. Their use of te reo Māori with children is a growing strength. As a result, all children are learning more about Aotearoa New Zealand's bicultural heritage and Māori children can see that their culture is valued and celebrated. It will be useful for teachers to evaluate the extent to which children's language, culture and identity are reflected in children's profile books.

Children under two years are thoughtfully provided for. Their care and routines are consistent with home life are carefully managed by teachers. This supports their wellbeing and sense of belonging. With an increase in licence allocation for the number of children under two, it is timely to review how well the environment and practices are supporting the desired outcomes for these children.

Children's transitions into, through and onto the Durham Street service are well managed. These are flexible to meet children's needs. The many similarities in the learning programmes, approaches and teaching strategies between the two centres, support children's wellbeing, sense of belonging and 'seamless progression'.

Comprehensive internal evaluation leads to positive outcomes for children and teachers. Some key features of these evaluations include their range and depth, use of good practice indicators, inclusive data collection and collaborative completion. A culture of inquiry and responsiveness is well embedded and promoted by leaders and the management team.

The head teacher and professional leader have capably built a cohesive, collaborative and reflective teaching team. Leadership roles are deliberately shared. Newer staff benefit from the professional learning and support from more experienced teachers. Effective, strategic governance practices contribute to centre sustainability and improvement. Teachers and children benefit from the significant board resourcing. This is well used to enhance professional dialogue including planning and evaluating children's learning.

Key Next Steps

Managers and leaders agree with ERO's findings that that the key next steps are to continue to:

  • reflect on the way children's language, identity and culture are acknowledged in planning, assessment and evaluation

  • review the provision for children under two years.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Arrowtown Preschool Cotter Ave 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

13 December 2019

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

Location

Arrowtown, Central Otago

Ministry of Education profile number

45441

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 8 aged under 2

Service roll

43

Gender composition

Male 24

Female 19

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Other

6
33
4

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

November 2019

Date of this report

13 December 2019

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

June 2015

Education Review

April 2012

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

The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

  • Very well placed

  • Well placed

  • Requires further development

  • Not well placed

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.