BestStart Prestons

1 Evaluation of BestStart Prestons

How well placed is BestStart Prestons to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

BestStart Prestons is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

BestStart Prestons, previously known as Edukids Prestons, operates under the BestStart management structure. BestStart is a large organisation that owns early childhood education services across Aotearoa New Zealand. The centre is licensed to provide education and care for 115 children, including 25 aged under 2 years. Of the 136 children attending the centre, 14 identify as Māori.

The service operates out of a purpose-built facility. There are four age-related rooms with designated staff, resources and outdoor areas, a nursery room for infants and toddlers, preschool room, prep room and senior room for older children.

BestStart Prestons (which opened in October 2015) has undergone a period of significant roll growth. The experienced centre manager and most of the staff are qualified early childhood teachers who have been at the centre since its opening.

The vision “to support children to become lifelong learners, through partnerships with the local community” is underpinned by a philosophy that promotes valued outcomes for children through fun, independence, nurturing, connections with the community, respectful attitudes and family partnerships.

The May 2017 ERO report identified next steps that prioritised strengthening: assessment, planning and evaluation; teachers' understanding of effective evaluation processes; learning about the natural world; bicultural practices; and appraisal processes. There has been progress towards some of these. Assessment, planning and evaluation, bicultural practices and appraisal remain ongoing areas of focus for the service.

The Review Findings

Children are supported to be focused, calm, and confident learners. Staff create an environment that promotes children's social interactions and relationships. Leaders and teachers are purposeful in resourcing the centre. This is supporting children's opportunities for learning. They have free access to inviting spaces and choose from a range of equipment, including natural and recycled resources. Displays support children to see themselves and their families reflected in the centre.

Leaders and teachers share a commitment to the local community and the well-being of families. They purposefully build positive relationships.

There is a strong focus on sensory exploration and messy play appropriate to the learning needs of infants and toddlers. Close liaison with families about care routines supports a tailored approach to care. Children’s preferences are respected. Calm and unhurried interactions promote a sense of belonging. Warm relationships between teachers and young children are clearly evident.

Teachers closely observe and monitor the progress of children with diverse learning needs. The centre appropriately liaises with families and external agencies to support these children.

Individual assessment, planning and evaluation has been an area of focused review and improvement. Leaders have used targeted strategies to build teacher practice and understanding in this area. This is still in the early stages. BestStart should support the team to continue developing their approach. Improving this should include:

• documenting how teachers plan and implement specific strategies that positively impact children's learning

• focusing assessments on clear evidence of children's progress, related to targeted strategies

• showing how parent aspirations are used to guide planning processes

• more consistently highlighting children's cultures, languages and identities in their learning portfolios

• clarifying the use and effectiveness of strategies within the individual education plans of children with diverse learning needs.

The centre has acknowledged that further developing their bi-cultural curriculum is a priority. ERO’s evaluation agrees with this.

Children’s sense of belonging is nurtured throughout transitions into the service, when moving to new rooms and when going on to school. Useful, flexible systems are well embedded into centre practices to successfully support children’s confidence at these times.

A comprehensive policy and procedures are in place to guide appraisal and development. BestStart is in the process of embedding a new appraisal system for teachers. A key next step is to ensure that this is consistently implemented and clearly documented.

Staff are reflective and highly improvement focused. Collaborative internal evaluations support team discussion, reflection and enhancements in a range of areas. Identifying measurable, quality indicators would streamline the process and should assist more clearly evaluating the impact of practices on children's outcomes.

The centre leadership team work collaboratively. Consistency, and ensuring shared understandings are prioritised in leadership decisions. A range of good strategies are used to promote improvements and support teachers’ development and understanding of centre practices. Positive team dynamics are evident.

Leaders and teachers are appropriately supported by BestStart managers and systems. BestStart has a well-established management structure. Policies and procedures provide clear guidance to centre managers and teachers for the operation of the service and maintaining health and safety for children and adults.

Key Next Steps

ERO and the centre agree that their priority next steps are to continue to strengthen:

• assessment, planning and evaluation practices

• the bi-cultural curriculum

• the response to individual children's culture, language and identity

• a consistently implemented, documented appraisal system.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of BestStart Prestons 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

2 June 2020

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

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.