199 Muritai Road, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne, formerly called Barnardos KidStart Childcare - Eastbourne Early Learning Centre, is licensed for 25 children, including up to five aged under two years. Of the 37 children enrolled, four identify as Māori.
The service philosophy emphasises the values of embracing the wonder of every child, connecting with whānau, inspiring a love for Aotearoa, valuing early learning and engaging children through play.
Ownership of the service is shared by Barnardos New Zealand (the organisation) and the Eastbourne Community Childcare Group (the committee). The parent-led committee supports the service with fundraising, resourcing and events. The organisation is a national non-profit provider of community services for children and families which guides centre systems and operations. A regional operations manager, and a pedagogy and quality assurance advisor work together to support curriculum and operations with a range of strategies including regular visits to the service. The centre manager is supported by three registered teachers.
The June 2016 ERO report identified a number of areas requiring improvement, including teacher development, assessment practices, internal evaluation, quality assurance processes and centre alignment with the organisation's strategic planning. Very good progress is evident.
This review was one of four reviews in Barnardos Early Learning Centres, Wellington region.
Children confidently lead their learning in an environment that encourages opportunities for engaged and focused play. They are effectively supported to make good choices and solve problems. Teachers actively extend children's ideas and add purpose and complexity to play. They provide strong, effective support for children's growing independence and self-help skills. Children are empowered to take increased responsibility for the wellbeing of themselves, others and the environment.
A bicultural curriculum is actively promoted. Children are familiar with and participate in karakia, waiata and pepeha. Teachers use te reo Māori in learning conversations with children and in profile books. Te ao Māori concepts are evident in the environment. Whānau expertise is accessed to support centre practices. Continued development in this area is an ongoing focus for the service.
Leaders and teachers effectively establish a culture in which children and their families are valued. Individual children’s cultures, languages and identities are supported, promoted and celebrated.
The valued outcomes of the centre, as identified in their philosophy, are clearly evident in programme planning. Teachers demonstrate a good understanding of the purpose and process of assessment, planning and evaluation. Individual planning is informed by parent aspirations and children’s emerging interests. Learning stories document progress in relation to their development over time, based on clear, observable evidence. Teachers record strategies and decision making to promote learning and evaluate the impact of these using children's outcomes.
The centre manager has a good understanding of the organisation's expectations. These are strongly promoted, alongside consistent practice, which has positive impacts for children. A number of well-considered systems and strategies are in place. High expectations and professional engagement are effectively fostered.
Staff are reflective and highly improvement focused. Internal evaluations support team discussion, reflection and enhancements in a range of areas. Thoughtful analysis enables staff to measure their success against valued outcomes. Clearly articulating measurable quality indicators would streamline the process.
The service benefits from regular guidance, support and monitoring from regional management. Recent well-considered improvements to the organisations systems and policies are evident. Key strengths are:
clear expectations within guiding documents
opportunities to network with other services
strategically aligned annual planning frameworks
differentiated support based on centre needs.
A useful teacher appraisal framework is being embedded. Teachers are encouraged to research and reflect on key areas of practice. ERO and regional management agree that a next step is to more strongly focus appraisal goals on improved outcomes for children.
Staff, management and governance share a focus on the wellbeing of children and families.
ERO has confidence that this service has the capacity to self-identify next steps.
Before the review, the staff and management of Barnardos Early Learning Centre Eastbourne 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
11 May 2020
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 |
Lower Hutt |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
60291 |
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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 |
25 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
37 |
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Gender composition |
Male 20, Female 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 2020 |
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Date of this report |
11 May 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2016 |
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Education Review |
July 2013 |
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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:
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.
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.
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
With significant support from Barnardos KidStart Childcare management, this service should be well placed to sustain and improve practice.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Barnardos KidStart Childcare - Eastbourne Early Learning Centre is one of 23 childcare centres owned and operated by Barnardos New Zealand, a national provider of community services for children and families. The centre is jointly owned by Barnardos and The Eastbourne Community Childcare Group, which is made up of parents whose children attend the centre. Property maintenance and generous support for resourcing results from this alliance. It is licensed for 25 children, including up to five children under two years. There are 32 children enrolled. The centre provides a choice of full day, six or four hour sessions.
The new head teacher took up her position at the beginning of 2016. The three permanent teachers are qualified and registered. The service is about to employ a fourth teacher. Since ERO's July 2013 review the service has experienced four changes of head teacher and other staff movement.
The previous ERO report identified the need to review and strengthen provision of care for infants and toddlers in a mixed age setting; improve the performance management system and provide staff with clear feedback and feedforward; and strengthen internal review through establishing clear indicators of quality to guide teachers’ practice and against which teachers could be evaluated. These areas continue to be the focus of ongoing development.
The new head teacher plans to lead review of the philosophy in the light of staff changes and to ensure that it reflects the values that underpin teaching and learning.
Day-to-day management of the centre is the responsibility of the head teacher. The regionally based practice leader supports curriculum. A newly appointed early learning manager oversees the operation of a cluster of Wellington centres, including this one. Responsibility for centre-based services is delegated to a national operations manager, who reports to a general manager and the Barnardos board through the Chief Executive Officer.
Since the 2012-2013 ERO reviews of Barnardos early learning centres, significant restructuring of the national organisation has been undertaken.
This review is one of a cluster of five reviews of Barnardos KidStart Childcare Learning Centres.
Teachers are caring and respectful in their interactions with children. For much of the day children control their play choices. The service is well-resourced with a good range of learning materials freely accessible.
The tone of the environment is homely, comforting and nurturing. At free play times children sustain their interest and engagement for long periods. They show trust in the environment and their teachers.
Children enjoy the opportunities and experiences offered. They are enthusiastic, friendly and confident. The outdoor area provides a range of challenging physical learning experiences.
Infants and toddlers are well provided for in the mixed age environment. Key teachers work closely with them, promoting their wellbeing and communicating with parents. Younger children are happy and confident learners.
The key teacher approach is continuing to develop to be available to all children new to the service.
Teachers are working collaboratively to make planning more visible for parents. They endeavour to notice, recognise and respond to children’s learning and strengths, linked to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and developmental milestones.
Portfolios record children’s participation in the life of the centre and aspects of their learning. Best examples show some linked narratives, and revisiting of strong interests. Literacy, mathematics and science are integrated into the programme. These could be more evident in learning records.
The head teacher agrees that assessment requires development. Further work is needed by teachers to:
strengthen the focus on individual children’s significant learning and show how teachers are extending children’s learning over time
identify and plan to meet parents’ aspirations for their children’s learning.
Consideration should be given to reviewing some of the routine-driven aspects of the programme to better reflect values and support children’s engagement in learning.
The quality of learning conversations varies. Examples of good quality conversations occur throughout the day.
A flexible and inclusive approach supports children’s transitions into the service, based on the child's and their family's needs. Next steps for assisting children’s transition to primary school should include:
Barnardos provides a range of carefully-considered operational and administrative support for the centre. This includes constructive visits and reports from the practice leader and quality assurance through the annual audit. Work is underway to strengthen the use of these tools for promoting improvements to teaching and learning. Understanding and use of internal evaluation continues to need development at centre and management level.
The appraisal process is not yet providing effective support for teacher development and endorsement of satisfactory performance in meeting professional teaching requirements. The Barnardos ‘Goals and Growth’ system should be fully implemented.
Strategic initiatives at management level have recently been identified to support improved outcomes under the new operational framework. While a strategic plan has recently been developed at centre level, this should be reviewed once new staff have settled into the service, as further work needs to be done to support understanding and embedding of Barnardos' operational changes. Guidelines and policies, whilst comprehensive, continue to need updating to reflect new ways of working.
Barnardos KidStart Childcare management will develop an action plan for ERO that shows how it will address the key next steps to improve teaching and learning across this cluster of services, including:
developing the quality of assessment, programme planning for learning, and evaluation
strengthening the bicultural curriculum and te ao Māori understanding
implementing improvement-focused appraisal for all staff
strengthening assessment for learning practices
increasing the understanding and use of internal evaluation
developing transition to school processes
gathering and responding to parent aspirations
ERO will monitor the progress Barnardos KidStart Childcare managers make in relation to the action plan.
Before the review, the staff and management of Barnardos KidStart Childcare - Eastbourne Early Learning Centre 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.
In order to improve practice Barnardos should ensure that appropriate hazard management practices are implemented, especially in relation to securing objects that may cause harm in the event of an earthquake.
The next ERO review of Barnardos KidStart Childcare - Eastbourne Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
10 June 2016
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 |
Eastbourne, Wellington |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
60291 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
32 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 23, Girls 9 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
1 29 2 |
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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 |
March 2016 |
||
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Date of this report |
10 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
July 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
July 2004 |
||
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.
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.