75 Everglade Drive, Manukau City, Auckland
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Connect Preschool is owned by a charitable trust. A centre manager and qualified head teacher provide governance and leadership support to a qualified teacher and one other staff member. Approximately a third of enrolled children have Pacific heritage. The service philosophy is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and includes Christian values.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning. They demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning and development and provide a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.
The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Next steps include:
building teachers’ knowledge about and use of the theories and research that underpin Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum
improving the extent to which assessment information shows children’s progress and learning over time.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Having a tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting hot water temperature installed (PF24).
Ensuring checking of hazards to children includes cleaning agents, medicines, poisons, electrical sockets, vandalism, dangerous objects, foreign materials, and the placement of learning, play and other equipment (HS12).
Ensuring water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C(HS14).
Ensuring records of excursions include the names of adults and children involved, evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular or special excursions (HS 17).
Having a procedure outlining the service’s response to injury, including the review and implementation of practices as required (HS27).
Maintaining an attendance record that meets the requirements outlined in the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook (GMA11).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
6 September 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Connect Preschool |
| Profile Number | 20496 |
| Location | Manukau City, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children over two years of age |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
27 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
6 September 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2020; Education Review, December 2016 |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a license to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety system
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Manukau Central Christian Preschool is licensed to provide education and care in four weekly all-day sessions. The centre caters for children from two years to school age, in response to parent and community need.
The centre operates under the Connect Baptist Church and is managed by a committee that includes church representatives and the professional leader. The centre’s Christian-based philosophy, and the integration of te reo Māori, are strongly evident in the programme.
The stable, long-serving staff team consists of two fully registered teachers and two unqualified staff who have worked in early childhood education for many years and who have significant experience and skills.
The 2013 ERO report noted children's confidence and progress being well supported through a philosophy of learning through play. Areas identified for improvement included strengthening the teacher appraisal system and developing a professional learning plan. Good progress has been made in these areas.
Children are settled in the inclusive environment. They are familiar with routines, develop friendships with peers and have good relationships with their teachers. Teachers promote social interactions between children, and listen to children respectfully. As a result children are supported to become independent learners. They are good self managers and play well with others.
Children have good access to a wide variety of resources that are purposeful and inviting and suited to their age and developmental stage. They are confident explorers who direct their own play. Children's creativity is encouraged and art and music are actively promoted. Children's curiosity is heightened as they are exposed to natural science learning contexts.
Teachers work alongside children during their play experiences. They make relevant early literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge available to children. Teachers support their vocabulary and oral language development by reading with children and engaging them in conversation. Mathematics is integrated into the daily programme. Children are interactive and very articulate.
Teachers regularly plan together to ensure they capture each child's observed emerging interest. They decide together how best to develop group and individual learning programmes. They actively promote a wide variety of learning opportunities through a well organised environment and high quality resourcing. Excursions and experiences are provided to extend children's interest, knowledge and skills.
Teachers regularly record children's learning and development, and collate learning stories and photographs in individual assessment portfolios. Parents can use these to see the development of their child's learning dispositions and skills over time. Teachers regularly inform parents of what is happening in the programme and about their children's development. Parents are offered formal and informal opportunities to discuss their child's progress.
Teachers confidently integrate te reo Māori into the programme and the learning environment. They support each other well to build their confidence and increase bicultural practices. These practices include activities, resources and events that reflect Māori values.
The centre leader, with the help of an external facilitator, is refining leadership and management systems so that the centre's direction is transparent and relevant to teachers, parents and the community. She recognises the benefits of more streamlined and aligned systems. The centre leader is appreciative of her team's contribution and their focus on continual centre improvement.
The centre leader agrees the priorities for centre development include continuing to:
review the consistency of practices to involve parents in learning partnerships
explore opportunities to recognise and celebrate other cultures
develop and consolidate the newly established management systems.
Before the review, the staff and management of Manukau Central Christian 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:
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.
The next ERO review of Manukau Central Christian Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
9 December 2016
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 |
Manukau, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20496 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 15 Girls 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Samoan Indian others |
3 10 6 4 3 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 December 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
September 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2007 |
||
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.