MyKindy Henderson

1 Evaluation of Bright Sparks Childcare Henderson

How well placed is Bright Sparks Childcare Henderson to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Bright Sparks Childcare Henderson is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Bright Sparks Childcare Henderson is licensed to provide education and care for up to 120 children, including up to 30 children under two years of age. It is one of three centres in the Auckland area that are privately owned by Bright Sparks Childcare Limited. The centres share the same philosophy, which is based on three pillars: Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, Reggio Emilia approaches, and Christian values.

The centre operates from a purpose-built facility located in the Lincoln Road business area. It serves a culturally diverse community. Teachers reflect the cultural diversity of the children who attend. The centre provides for children in two developmental, age-related areas. Each area has easy access to outdoor learning environments that provide for mixed-age play.

The centre is led by a manager and two head teachers. These were new appointments at the time of the last ERO review. Most teaching staff are registered teachers who have been employed in the centre for some time. Three provisionally registered teachers have been appointed since the last ERO review.

The 2016 ERO review identified many positive features that continue to be evident. The report recommended building leadership capabilities, strengthening planning, assessment and evaluation processes, and including parents and children in evaluation processes. There has been positive progress in these areas.

The centre is a member of the Te Atatu Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

The Review Findings

Children are welcomed into an affirming learning environment. Their emotional wellbeing is nurtured. They settle well into the programme and have good opportunities to connect with the local environment.

Children know their routines, play well alongside each other, are cooperative and collaborative, and show a willingness to participate in, and learn through play. Teachers make good use of the attractive, spacious rooms to promote a range of areas of play. The resources available give children access to a variety of learning opportunities. Children are confident to move to new activities and in approaching adults.

Care of children under two years of age is responsive and teachers' interactions are respectful. They develop close relationships with parents and take time to settle new children into the centre. Infants have access to a well-resourced play area. Toddlers should also have access to a well-resourced age-appropriate area.

Teachers continue to develop and refine ways to assess children’s learning, and plan and evaluate the programme. The introduction of an electronic recording and communication tool has increased opportunities for ongoing parent/centre sharing and partnerships. Teachers display written portfolios of children’s activities, progress and development for children to read and enjoy. Teachers are focusing on how they analyse observations of children, and of how they use this analysis to inform programme planning. This process is helping teachers increase how well the programme responds to children’s current interests and developmental needs.

Leaders and teachers show commitment to developing bicultural practice. Te ao Māori is included in the programme and environment. Teachers use te reo Māori in meaningful ways as part of the learning programme. Children are valued and affirmed for who they are and their cultural heritages.

Leadership professional learning is supporting leaders to adapt to their new roles. The new teaching team is building its collective capability.

Centre operations are guided by a strategic plan and a recently reviewed philosophy. The centre manager continues to revisit with staff the strategic goals and annual plans to promote ongoing improvement. To strengthen this process the manager could monitor progress and evaluate how well the goals have been met. The manager is working with the other Bright Sparks centre managers to rationalise policies and procedures. Consultation with staff, whānau and the community is included in this process.

Key Next Steps

The key next steps to build on developing good practices are for:

• leaders and teachers, as a new teaching team, to revisit Te Whāriki and focus on its implementation

• teachers to continue focusing on how to extend children's play-based learning

• leaders to include evaluation of progress toward achieving the centre's strategic and annual goals.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Bright Sparks Childcare Henderson 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.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)

Northern Region - Te Tai Raki

24 March 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.