Beach Haven Kindergarten - 14/12/2016

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of Beach Haven Kindergarten
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service 
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

How well placed is Beach Haven Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Beach Haven Kindergarten is a well established service, licensed to provide care and education for 40 children aged over two years. The Kindergarten Day Model allows children to attend sessions that are similar to school hours. The kindergarten is staffed by four qualified teachers, a teaching assistant, a teacher aide and an administrator. The head teacher, appointed to the role in 2013, has been working at the kindergarten for 10 years.

The kindergarten has a positive reporting history with ERO. The 2013 ERO report noted positive aspects in the curriculum and the good relationships between teachers and children. These positive aspects have been maintained. The report also identified areas teachers could continue to strengthen. These include building on the vision for the centre, supporting children's transition to school and using parent aspirations to extend learning and development. Good progress has been made in these areas.

The kindergarten's current teaching philosophy clearly outlines the team's commitment to providing a service that is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It values the provision of quality experiences and opportunities for exploration, the inclusion of all children and their families, and the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The kindergarten is part of the Auckland Kindergarten Association (AKA), which provides a governance and management framework, and support personnel to assist the kindergarten. The 2015 restructure of AKA leadership roles has been reviewed and has resulted in the further re-allocation of roles. There continues to be a period of transition for all AKA staff as they adapt to new systems and responsibilities.

This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Auckland Kindergarten Association.

The Review Findings

Children are confident and engage in self-selected activities and experiences provided in the programme. They settle well at the start of the day and parents stay awhile to play or read to them. Children are independent and play cooperatively. They know their role as kaitiaki, taking care of kindergarten pets and the flourishing garden.

The inside and outside environments are well resourced to support children and give them meaningful learning experiences and opportunities to explore and investigate. Teachers model appropriate ways for children to extend their thinking and take leadership roles.

The programme highly values children's cultural identities, and languages. These are visible in the learning resources, stories and displays around centre. Teachers are committed to a bicultural curriculum and are continuing to develop their knowledge and practice in te ao Māori values, beliefs and language. The 2013 ERO report highlighted teachers' collaborative work with Pacific Island whānau to enrich their children's cultures, languages and sense of identity. This has continued to be a strength.

Teachers develop a good quality curriculum that is inclusive and responsive to all children. They ensure that children with diverse learning needs are able to participate fully in all aspects of the programme alongside their peers.

Teachers have developed effective ways to plan, assess and evaluate children’s learning. Individual portfolios contain records of children’s interests and their involvement in the programme. Teachers engage children in complex discussions and encourage them to share news from home or things of interest to them at group mat-times. Recording these discussions could contribute positively to teachers' planning and evaluation processes and documentation.

Teachers know the importance of consultation and their partnerships with whānau are highly evident. Parents value opportunities to talk with teachers about their children. These strong relationships with whānau support teachers to build on the quality of the curriculum for children. Networking with local schools and agencies has resulted in a more streamlined transition to school process for children.

The highly experienced head teacher leads her team well and works with teachers to develop robust internal evaluation as a way of identifying and supporting ongoing improvements. Teachers share strengths and experience leadership opportunities.

AKA systems for monitoring and promoting improvement in kindergarten operations are well established. The AKA shared vision and a comprehensive strategic plan guide kindergarten developments. New AKA roles were established to provide more targeted support for head teachers in their leadership and management roles.

Key Next Steps

To further strengthen teaching practices and programmes for children, teachers should:

• include parent aspirations and other teacher contributions in children's portfolios so that they become a more useful record of the individual child’s learning journey

• develop the practice of setting goals with older children.

The AKA is continuing to review and refine its policies and procedures, including those for teacher appraisal and the endorsement of teachers’ practising certificates.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Beach Haven Kindergarten 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 Beach Haven Kindergarten will be in four years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

14 December 2016 

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.