1 Ida Road, Kaiti, Gisborne
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 Cornerstone Pre-School are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Cornerstone Pre-School is governed by the Kingdom Kids Education Trust. The centre manager oversees strategic operations. She works closely with the head teacher who has responsibility for curriculum delivery and supporting teacher practice. The programme is based on Christian values and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Children’s sense of security and wellbeing as confident, capable learners are foundations for learning. Strong, respectful, reciprocal relationships and partnerships with whānau, parents, children and the wider community promote a sense of belonging. Leaders and kaiako collaborate to develop and progress the service’s philosophy, vision, values and priorities. Children are empowered learners.
A well-resourced environment is set up purposefully to encourage children’s exploration and inquiry. Kaiako work effectively alongside children to progress their ideas and thinking, and respond to their individual needs and interests.
Children’s learning is effectively supported through the intentional and culturally responsive curriculum. Their learning experiences include te reo me ngā tikanga Māori within an inclusive environment. Kaiako draw on a range of resources to inform planning for children that acknowledges Māori and Pacific cultures, languages and identities. Children experience equitable opportunities that enhance their learning.
Learning assessment stories effectively acknowledge children’s challenges and successes. Kaiako focus their planning from Te Whāriki and whānau aspirations to inform learning goals for individual children. Through these goals and use of the learning outcomes, they recognise children’s efforts and make their learning visible over time. Assessment practices enhance children’s mana and their learner identities.
Leaders are embedding learning conditions that enable collaboration for improvement. Ongoing professional development provides opportunities to build teacher capability. A shared leadership approach allows teachers to use each other’s strengths to develop practice.
Effective systems, processes and internal evaluation are positively impacting on children’s learning. Leaders are continuing to grow consistency of kaiako practice and implementation of professional growth cycles.
Cornerstone Pre-School will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
continue to strengthen internal evaluation to evaluate the impact of improvement actions on learning outcomes for tamariki
embed the professional growth cycle to support consistency of kaiako practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of Cornerstone Pre-School 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
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 | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
28 July 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Cornerstone Pre-School |
|
Profile Number |
55012 |
|
Location |
Kaiti, Gisborne |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
29 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 24, Pacific 5 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
28 July 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2018; Education Review, September 2015 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Cornerstone Pre-School is situated in Gisborne and provides education and care for up to 30 children, aged from two to five years. Six-hour daily sessions are offered five days a week, including school term holidays.
The service is governed by the Kingdom Kids and Education Trust and is supported by a management team consisting of the service provider, centre manager, teachers and parents. A centre manager was appointed in early 2017 and oversees the strategic operation. She is supported by a supervisor, who has responsibility for the delivery of the curriculum and supporting teacher practice. There have been a number of changes to the teaching team. The programme is based on Christian values and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The centre philosophy prioritises kaupapa Māori values of whakawhanaungatanga, manaakitanga, mana whenua and whakamana to inform curriculum decisions. A high number of Māori children attend the pre-school.
Children and whānau benefit from a warm, welcoming environment that promotes the service's philosophy. The Christian values and priorities for learning are integrated throughout the curriculum. A strong sense of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga underpins practice.
Children demonstrate a sense of security as they confidently participate in spontaneous play. They are encouraged to take on leadership roles and contribute to planned group times. Literacy and numeracy are appropriately integrated throughout the curriculum. Teachers access a range of suitable external services to support children with diverse learning needs.
A range of effective strategies support Māori children to achieve successful outcomes. In partnership with whānau, teachers provide learning experiences that are responsive to individual needs and aspirations for their children. Te ao Māori is an integral part of all children's daily experiences. Excursions into the community provide connections to, and within, the local area.
Teachers provide a culturally responsive curriculum that successfully fosters early language development. Te reo Māori, Tongan, English and sign language are effectively used to communicate with children and whānau. Pacific children's culture, language and identities are celebrated and affirmed.
Regular visits to local schools provide valuable opportunities for children to become familiar with the school environment. Parents are encouraged to be a part of the process.
Teachers know children's interests, preferences and needs well. Their participation and engagement in the programme are recorded within their learning portfolios, enabling children to share their learning with whānau. Processes are in place to support consistent assessment for learning practices. However, there is variability in the quality of these. Continuing to strengthen teachers' capability to better identify the learning that is happening, and progression over time, remains a key next step.
A strategic plan provides clear direction for governance and management to achieve its vision and goals. A regular cycle of review has resulted in positive change. A number of policies and procedures are implemented to improve the delivery of the curriculum. It is timely for management to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies to better monitor the progress towards achieving strategic goals. This should support further decision-making and planning.
Managers and leaders continue to build their knowledge to lead effective internal evaluation and support teachers' ongoing professional growth. Leaders and teachers are reflective practitioners who work collaboratively to improve teaching practice. Leaders have identified that observations of practice are yet to be formalised within the appraisal process. Strengthening teachers' evaluative capability across all centre operation is a key next step to determine the effectiveness of actions on improving learning outcomes for children.
Leaders and ERO agree, that further strengthening evaluation capability across all centre operation is required to improve in the following areas:
determining the effectiveness of actions on the quality of outcomes for children and progress towards achieving strategic goals
the consistency of assessment, planning and evaluation practices
further strengthen teacher inquiry into the impact of their practice on learning outcomes for children
formalising observations of teachers' practice in the appraisal process.
Before the review, the staff and management of Cornerstone Pre-School 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 Cornerstone Pre-School will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services Central
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
3 September 2018
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 |
Gisborne |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55012 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
27 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 18, Girls 9 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
21 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
3 September 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2009 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Cornerstone Pre-School is situated in Gisborne and provides education and care for up to 30 children aged from two to five years. Six-hour daily sessions are offered five days a week.
The preschool is governed by the Kingdom Kids and Education Trust and is supported by a management team consisting of the service provider, office manager, staff and parents. It provides a programme based on Christian values and the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, with a particular focus on numeracy and literacy.
There is a commitment to building strong relationships with whānau and the community, and a culturally responsive and respectful environment of all. A high number of Māori children attend the preschool.
The teaching team is further assisted by support staff. The preschool has a positive reporting history with ERO.
Children engage in a programme that has a balance of child-led and teacher-directed learning activities. Routines provide a useful structure for the day, giving children a sense of security in knowing what will happen next. They experience positive and respectful relationships with teachers.
Children’s oral language is supported through teachers' use of effective and targeted strategies. Each child’s home language is highly valued and promoted at the preschool.
A collaborative model of leadership is in place in the preschool. Teachers have a strong commitment to the vision and direction of the service. Leaders have identified that it is timely to review the preschool’s philosophy. Developing indicators of quality practice related to the philosophy statements is a next step. This should further support the effective implementation.
The spiritual and physical development of children is valued, with a particular emphasis on health and wellbeing. Excursions into the local community and visitors to the centre preschool appropriate extensions to the curriculum.
Teachers provide a responsive curriculum that supports children with additional learning needs to participate in all aspects of the programme. Appropriate relationships have been developed with external agencies.
Positive relationships formed with whānau are reciprocal and respectful, and support children’s sense of belonging. Teachers have developed an appropriate range of ways to communicate with the community.
Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are strongly promoted and well-established. Te reo Māori is heard frequently and used in conversations between teachers and children. Planned whānau events are important aspects of the preschool.
Success as Māori and Pacific children is highly promoted through well established relationships. Teachers have drawn on the strengths of the community to support their developing understanding of how to reflect and celebrate Māori and Pacific cultures in the curriculum.
Children’s portfolios provide a record of some of the learning activities each child has engaged in. Teachers should strengthen these documents to include:
Planning is shared with whānau. It provides a useful focus for the programme. This can be strengthened through teachers identifying specific intentional teaching strategies to support the implementation. Regular evaluation against the stated goals of the programme is a next step.
Self review requires strengthening, particularly in relation to the curriculum. Teachers and leaders should build their capacity to evaluate the effectiveness of their practice in relation to outcomes for children.
Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed. They provide a good level of guidance for staff and whānau. The management team has identified the need to formalise their strategic plan to align it to other guiding documents.
A new approach to appraisal is being developed. Once fully established this process should include:
ERO identified priorities for improvement include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Cornerstone Pre-School 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 Cornerstone Pre-School will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
25 September 2015
|
Location |
Gisborne |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55012 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, aged over two years |
||
|
Service roll |
41 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 23, Girls 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
36 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
August 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 September 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 2006 |
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.