255 Brockville Road, Brockville, Dunedin
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Brockville Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Brockville Kindergarten provides early childhood education for children from two years of age. The kindergarten is licensed for up to 40 children. Children participate in half or whole-day learning programmes, from 8.30am to 2.30pm. Children come from increasingly diverse cultural backgrounds. Most live in the local neighbourhood and some are English language learners.
The day-to-day operation of the kindergarten is managed by a head teacher, supported by two qualified early childhood teachers and a support person. Two of the three teachers have transferred to this kindergarten in the last three years. The kindergarten is located beside the local school.
The kindergarten's philosophy states that children will experience a rich literacy and bicultural environment and be supported to be socially competent and develop their oral language. Other priorities are expressed in their BROCKVILLE name. Key words are Bicultural, Respectful relationships, Opportunities, Community-centred, Curiosity, Knowledge filled Kete, Varied learning, Vision for the future, Inquiry learning, Language and Literacy rich, Live sustainably and Experience sound early childhood learning.
The kindergarten has made good progress against the recommendations in ERO's 2015 review. Areas that have been improved include: clarity about the kindergarten's learning priorities; aspects of group and individual planning; strategic planning and alignment of kindergarten processes to this.
Brockville Kindergarten is one of 24 kindergartens administered by Dunedin Kindergartens (DK). A general manager oversees the association, under the governance of a board. Senior teachers provide ongoing professional advice and guidance to each kindergarten on teaching and learning. This review was part of a cluster of five reviews in the DK.
Positive relationships and a welcoming culture help children and parents feel that this is their place. There are caring, respectful and supportive relationships between teachers and children, and with parents and extended whānau. Children play well with and alongside their peers. Older children are caring and helpful towards younger and less confident children.
Children show a strong sense of belonging. They confidently approach their teachers, initiate and lead their play and learning. They show high levels of engagement and have good opportunities to make choices, take responsibility and become leaders in the kindergarten. Well-established but flexible routines contribute to their sense of belonging.
Kaitiakitanga for self, others and the environment is very evident. Children have many opportunities to learn about healthy eating, caring for the environment, and sustainable practices. This includes regularly helping in the nearby community garden.
Te ao and te reo Māori are valued. Children are encouraged to have a reverence towards the Māori gods and learn about local legends. Core Māori concepts of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, tuakana teina and ako are very evident. Children who identify as Māori are valued and increasingly supported to share their culture and knowledge. Teachers want to continue to strengthen te ao Māori.
Children are very well supported in their learning. Teachers provide well-planned and engaging group learning that has a balance of adult provocation and child led. The intended learning and strategies to support children's learning are clearly identified. Diverse learners and children transitioning into the kindergarten or on to school are very well supported.
The teachers are a collaborative and improvement-focused team. Their individual interests and strengths are well used to enrich children's learning. They have built constructive relationships with the local school, kohanga reo and other groups. Initiatives are based on what is likely to make a positive difference for children and their families.
The DK board has made good progress in addressing the governance recommendations from ERO's 2015 reviews. The DK’s mission and strategic priorities are well known and reflected in each kindergarten's strategic and annual plans. The DK has a sound policy and procedure framework that provides guidance for kindergartens and sound systems to monitor health and safety. Leaders and teachers benefit from relevant professional development and leadership support. The DK actively supports equity of outcomes for all children by funding additional teaching resources to support children with additional needs.
The board has clearly identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps to further improve outcomes for children are to:
ensure that reporting and monitoring at all levels are evaluative to clearly show how desired outcomes for children have been improved in relation to the DK’s and kindergartens’ priorities for learning and other strategic priorities
ensure that a robust and systematic quality assurance framework is implemented to inform and monitor ongoing improvements in each kindergarten.
The teaching team and ERO agree that the next steps are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Brockville 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:
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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
7 May 2019
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 |
Dunedin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5491 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children over two years of age |
||
|
Service roll |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 15, Boys 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
March 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 May 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2008 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Brockville Kindergarten is one of 24 kindergartens operating under the Dunedin Kindergarten Association (DK). It is located in the Dunedin suburb of Brockville next to the school. It provides learning experiences for up to 40 children aged two-to-five years. Children may attend for part or all of the daily six-hour session. Children come from diverse family backgrounds.
Teachers at Brockville Kindergarten aim for children to be confident, competent, lifelong learners. They aim to do this by providing a fun, nurturing learning environment.
The qualified teaching team is experienced. Since the June 2012 ERO review, there have been improvements to the building and playground and a new teacher has joined the team. Teachers have addressed the recommendations in the 2012 report and made improvements, particularly in the areas of planning, assessment and evaluation (self review).
This review was part of a cluster of 24 reviews in the Dunedin Kindergarten Association.
Children benefit from the nurturing and respectful relationships they have with their teachers. They develop friendships with one another. They play well together and have fun.
Teachers recognise and value the importance of building positive relationships with families in children's early learning years. This is evident in the way they:
The parent committee has recently become inactive. The teachers identified that they should continue to explore other ways to involve families.
Children learn in well-organised and well-resourced indoor and outdoor play areas. The outdoor area provides children with opportunities to explore and develop their physical skills.
The teachers have identified what the important things are for children to learn at Brockville Kindergarten. Some of these things are stated in the kindergarten philosophy. It would be useful for the teachers to make other priorities more visible. This may help parents to better know what learning is valued. In addition this would better support teachers to evaluate how effectively their programme and practices support the desired learning.
Teachers provide a well-planned programme to meet children’s interests and needs. Children’s learning and wellbeing is supported by:
Teachers are continuing to strengthen the way they include Māori perspectives in the programme. They have identified that this is an upcoming area of planned review and agree it is an area of ongoing learning for them. They should include their commitment to New Zealand’s bicultural heritage in the kindergarten philosophy.
The teachers have developed useful systems for planning for individual and groups of children’s learning. The focus for the group plan arises from children’s interests and particular learning that the teachers wish to support. Records show children have benefited from rich and interesting experiences and additional resources that are likely to stimulate and extend their learning. Learning experiences include imaginative and dramatic play, learning about science and developing their physical skills. All children’s learning is regularly planned for. The profile books are attractive records of children’s learning at the kindergarten.
Teachers work well as a team. Through a process of self review they are reflecting on the quality and breadth of the programme they provide. For example, teachers have planned to enrich the music programme after identifying they could do better in this area. Self-review practice could be strengthened by having a very clear focus to investigate and by ensuring the indicators of good practice relate to the focus. Teachers should then identify how well their practices match those outlined in the indicators.
The vision of the DK is to provide excellence in early childhood education for all children. The DK is governed by a board and managed by a long serving general manager. The kindergarten teachers told ERO they appreciated the support they receive from the association and the advice and guidance of the senior teachers.
The board, general manager and senior teachers:
Next steps for the teachers, with the support of the senior teacher, are to deepen the philosophy and individual and group planning. This includes strengthening the way they record:
Teachers have some ideas about what they want for the future of the kindergarten. Their ideas could be developed into a strategic plan that shows the priorities and actions to achieve the desired outcomes. Related systems such as professional learning, appraisal, self-review topics and senior teacher support could then be aligned to strengthen the strategic focus.
Next steps for the board, with the support of the general manager and senior teachers, are to:
With the appointment of a new senior teacher it is timely for the board and general manager to review the role of the senior teachers and strengthen systems to ensure consistent high-quality practice across all kindergartens within the association.
Before the review, the staff and management of Brockville 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:
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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Brockville Kindergarten will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
27 October 2015
|
Location |
Dunedin |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5491 |
|
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
40 children over two years of age |
|
|
Service roll |
30 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 18 Girls: 12 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 7 Pākehā 20 Other 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
N/A |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
|
|
Review team on site |
September 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
27 October 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review November 2008 |
||
|
Education Review March 2005 |
||
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:
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.