Bunnies Childcare and Preschool - 05/04/2019

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of Bunnies Childcare and Preschool
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

How well placed is Bunnies Childcare and Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Bunnies Childcare and Preschool is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Bunnies Childcare and Preschool is a purpose built, privately owned centre located in Cambridge. It is licensed to provide education and care for 100 children, including up to 24 under the age of two years. At the time of this review 103 children were enrolled. The centre continues to operate three aged-based units. Almost all of the teachers in the centre hold early childhood qualifications.

Since the previous ERO review in 2015 the owners and long-standing centre manager have remained the same. There have been some changes to the teaching team, including new supervisors in the babies' and toddlers' units.

The centre's philosophy is reviewed annually and states the intention to recognise and respect each child as an individual, with their own interests, needs, and cultural backgrounds. The service aims to provide this through a purpose built, rich learning environment that is safe, inclusive, responsive and empowering.

The Review Findings

The experienced centre manager provides effective professional leadership. She is well supported by the centre owners and supervisors. Together they provide clear strategic direction for the centre and prioritise staff professional learning and development. Leaders have robust systems and processes to communicate regularly with staff and parents. A strong focus for management and staff is the in-depth self-review of centre programmes and operations for ongoing improvement. Centre personnel work effectively and collaboratively in the best interests of children and their families.

Teachers have positive, sensitive and responsive relationships with children. They are very reflective practitioners who regularly critique their practice. Teachers work cooperatively and actively encourage children to help and support each other. They provide a calm and settled environment for children up to the age of two years. Teachers have developed strong relationships with parents to provide nurturing care for infants and babies.

Literacy and mathematics are well integrated into play and learning. Children are engaged in sustained play with opportunities to persevere, use their imagination and play independently or alongside others. Effective respectful relationships are formed with each child and their whanau, which supports children’s sense of belonging.

The centre has improved its cultural awareness since the last review. Time is taken to gather parents and families aspirations about their culture. Teachers have recently undertaken professional learning about tikanga and local areas of significance to iwi. Planning programmes that place more focus on children's language, culture and identity continues to be an identified area for growth. Teachers are continuing to strengthen the Māori dimension to allow children to develop an appreciation of New Zealand's bicultural heritage.

The service's curriculum is well designed to promote positive learning outcomes for all children. Teachers have aligned programme planning to the principles and strands of the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki providing high quality education and care to children. Leaders and teachers regularly and effectively evaluate the impact of curriculum decisions on infants, toddlers and young children. Assessment practices provide parents and whanau with many ways to contribute to their children’s learning. The centre programme and learning environment is inclusive of all children with diverse learning and behaviour needs. Children benefit from the many opportunities the rich curriculum provides.

Key Next Steps

ERO and management agree that strengthening the teaching-as-inquiry process continues to be an ongoing priority to further build teacher capability.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Bunnies Childcare and Preschool 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.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services Central

Central Region

5 April 2019

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 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.