6B Western Springs Road, Kingsland, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland is one of two Childsplay Unlimited centres. It operates three separate rooms for children of different ages. The philosophy places priority on acknowledging and incorporating bicultural practice into the programme. Families are culturally diverse, and many children, families and teachers speak more than one language. A small number of children are of Māori or Pacific heritage.
Children up to the age of two years, experience a calm and nurturing environment. Teachers know the families well. Respectful care practices foster children’s oral language and social skills. Older children have opportunities to play cooperatively and freely select from a variety of learning and play activities. They enjoy friendships and are encouraged to be independent and develop self-management skills. Separate rooms provide age-appropriate care and learning activities. The curriculum provides opportunities for children to learn early numeracy and literacy.
Inclusive practices are evident in the centre. Teachers have positive relationships with parents, whānau and the wider community. Children’s and families’ sense of inclusion and belonging is nurtured through supportive transitions into and within the centre. Children’s cultures and home languages are valued. Teachers are building their knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori and tikanga Māori. This is evident in the individual pepeha, and wall displays.
Teachers are continuing to build their understanding of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to extend children’s learning. They are developing their planning and assessment processes and need to develop a shared understanding of assessment for learning practices. Current practices are in the early stages of:
Review processes are in place that support teachers to reflect on, and revisit, their practices. These processes are beginning to contribute to positive changes for children. Building teachers’ shared understanding of evaluation for ongoing improvement is in an early stage of being established. Once
well established, teachers should use evaluation findings to determine how well teaching practices and the curriculum support improved learning outcomes for children.
An external mentor supports the owner and the service. Building a strong leadership model is an important focus. Engaging in ongoing professional learning is required to ensure that the centre’s appraisal process continues to grow teachers’ practice. Centre operations are guided by a useful framework of policies and procedures. and the recently updated strategic plan outlines the centre’s goals.
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland 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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
22 September 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland |
|
Profile Number |
45285 |
|
Location |
Kingsland, Auckland. |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
61 children, including up to 14 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
45 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
22 September 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akarangi | Quality Evaluation, May 2019, Education Review, May 2015 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland is one of two Childsplay Unlimited centres. The centre provides full-day and part-time education and care for up to 61 children, including a maximum of 14 under two years of age. It operates three separate rooms for children of different ages.
The centre's roll reflects the increasingly diverse local community. The teaching team is also culturally diverse. Teachers value and encourage children’s home languages. A significant number of teachers are qualified.
The centre's philosophy promotes respectful relationships, with a focus on valuing each individual child and their family. The philosophy also places priority on acknowledging and incorporating bicultural practices in the programme.
The strengths identified in the 2015 ERO report remain evident in the centre. These included respectful, positive relationships, and ongoing internal evaluation.
Children are confident and articulate. They freely access resources and play independently with each other and by themselves. Teachers know children and their families well.
Infants are especially well cared for in a warm and welcoming environment. Teachers, children and parents have a strong sense of belonging. Teachers nurture and stay close to infants as they engage in sensory exploration. Bringing displays of children’s work down to child height would enable infants to revisit their learning experiences more easily. It would be worthwhile for staff to review the quality and availability of resources in the infant room that support a variety of learning experiences.
Toddlers are encouraged to develop independence and self-management skills. There is a focus on science, particularly around factual information on dinosaurs. The toddler environment is inviting and literacy rich.
Older children’s oral language is fostered through opportunities in science, maths and literacy. They have positive relationships with their teachers and each other. The spacious outside area for the older children provides opportunities for physical challenges.
The service’s curriculum links to the strands and principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Colourful and informative individual assessment records provide parents with insight into their children’s progress, learning and development.
The bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand is celebrated and promoted well throughout the centre. Children confidently sing waiata and join in karakia at meal times. Children’s individual cultures and languages are celebrated and valued.
Leaders have established a philosophy, strategic plan and annual plan. Aligning these documents and continuing to strengthen internal evaluation would improve the extent to which they guide the centre’s ongoing development.
The owner supports the centre manager and the service. The manager is proactive in promoting positive outcomes for children. More effective implementation of the teacher appraisal system, in line with Teaching Council requirements, would help to increase collective capacity in the centre.
The manager agrees that the key next steps for the centre are to:
strengthen child-led learning that builds on children's interests and strengths, and promotes more complex play
continue to build educational partnerships with parents and whānau to promote the learning and interests of each child
develop plans for each year that identify specific actions to achieve the centre's strategic goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance. The service needs to regularly appraise the performance of all staff.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7.
Steve Tanner Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
22 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 |
Kingsland, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45285 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
61 children, including up to 14 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
66 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 34 Boys 32 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
19 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
22 May 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
||
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.
Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland is a privately owned centre in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The centre is one of two Childsplay Unlimited centres. The centre provides full and part-time education and care for up to 61 preschool children, including up to 14 infants and toddlers. It operates three separate rooms for children of different ages in an extensively renovated building. This is the second ERO review of the centre.
Day-to-day management of the centre is delegated to an experienced centre manager who is a fully registered teacher. The teaching team comprises of fully and provisionally registered teachers. While staff turnover has been high since ERO’s 2012 review, the owner and centre manager are focussed on building a strong professional teaching team.
The centre’s 2012 ERO report identified some good features in centre practices. Respectful relationships and the many opportunities children have to be creative continue to be evident in the centre. Centre leaders recognise further work to strengthen programme planning, assessment of learning and self review are key next steps for centre improvement.
The centre has a positive and welcoming tone. Children are valued and have a strong sense of belonging in the centre. Infants and toddlers benefit from a programme in which responsive and trusting relationships ensure their daily needs are met by teachers with care and sensitivity. They have easy access to a spacious outdoor learning environment that encourages exploration.
Older children work cooperatively in small groups and particularly enjoy imaginative play. They quickly settle into play and make deliberate choices about resources they need. Many persist at activities for prolonged periods. There are good levels of social interaction amongst children and they approach adults confidently. Some children clearly enjoy conversations about their play or home experiences. Fostering relationships with local primary schools to support children’s transition to school is a priority for centre leaders.
Teachers establish warm and trusting relationships with children and their whānau. They encourage children to learn at their own pace. Teachers recognise children’s cultures and ensure the environment reflects the languages and values of these cultures. Teachers are beginning to establish Māori concepts to underpin learning. Visual displays support teachers’ use of te reo Māori.
The curriculum is underpinned by the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers plan separately for each age group, incorporating children's interests and responding to younger children's developmental needs. Individual children’s portfolios provide an informative record of their developmental milestones and participation in the programme. Teachers could now consider ways to further document individual children’s learning progress over time.
Programme evaluation is at the development stage. Teachers reflect on and review programmes collaboratively. However, programme evaluations are mainly descriptive and do not yet include reflection on the learning that has occurred for children or the extent to which programme goals have been achieved. Centre leaders recognise that further professional learning would help teachers to develop a shared understandings about what makes for high quality assessment, planning and evaluation processes. Developing understandings in these areas should enable teachers to further extend children’s learning and support the development of more complex play for older children.
The centre manager is a good role model for teachers’ professional practice. She is committed to ongoing centre improvement and works collaboratively with the centre owner to build on practices that promote positive outcomes for children. Self review is well established and focused on improving centre practices.
The owner, centre manager and ERO agree that key next steps for centre improvement should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland 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.
To improve practice the owner should ensure that a sense of privacy is provided for children in toilet facilities and that centre documentation for excursions is strengthened.
The next ERO review of Childsplay Unlimited Kingsland will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
20 May 2015
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 |
Kingsland, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45285 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
61 children, including up to 14 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
55 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 35 Girls 20 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese South East Asian Samoan Indian other European other Pacific |
6 25 6 6 3 2 5 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
20 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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 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.