1 Te Arakura Road, RD 5, Feilding
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 Country Kindy Ltd are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Learning Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing |
Organisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing |
Country Kindy Ltd is a privately-owned early childhood centre, located between Feilding and Palmerston North and situated on a farm. The centre owner oversees centre operation, supported by a team of qualified and non-qualified teachers. The centre philosophy emphasises the specific rural context of the service.
Children benefit from consistent routines and rituals that foster their sense of security. They have opportunity to lead their own learning within the special character of this rural centre. Children are well supported to take care of themselves and the wellbeing of others. Children’s experiences are enhanced by positive relationships and clear communication with parents and whānau.
Children experience a responsive curriculum, enhanced by enjoyable experiences within the farm setting. Their holistic learning is regularly assessed and evaluated. Newly established individual planning for learning forefronts the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children’s learning and development is enhanced by teachers supporting their connection to their environment.
Affirmation of children’s individual culture, language and identity is not yet consistently reflected in the curriculum. Children have access to some cultural artefacts and resources that reflect their own culture and those of their peers. Partnerships in learning with tamariki and whānau Māori are not clearly evident, and the service has not yet made clear progress in line with previous ERO recommendations in this area.
A process for inquiry is established, but it is not clear what is working, why and for which groups of children, particularly for the priority learners in the centre. A system for inquiry is aligned to the centre philosophy and strategic goals. There is some evidence of the positive impact of professional learning in supporting outcomes for children.
Country Kindy Ltd will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
establish culturally responsive practices throughout the centre curriculum, in partnership with all whānau
ensure that te reo and tikanga Māori are valued and an integral part of the curriculum to support all children’s ongoing learning, and further promote educational success for tamariki Māori
develop a collective understanding of effective internal evaluation, particularly in relation to recent assessment changes, to understand how these promote positive outcomes for individuals and groups of children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Country Kindy Ltd 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.
The service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
consideration of hazards must include cleaning agents, medicines, poisons; windows and other areas of glass (HS12)
evidence of parental acknowledgement that medication has been administered (HS28).
Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
5 April 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Country Kindy Ltd |
|
Profile Number |
45768 |
|
Location |
Feilding |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
50 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
57 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 6, NZ European/Pākehā 39, Other ethnic groups 12 |
|
Review team on site |
January 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
5 April 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, March 2017 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Country Kindy Ltd is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Country Kindy Ltd is a privately owned, purpose-built early childhood service situated between Feilding and Palmerston North on 3.6 acres of land. The service is licensed to provide full day education and care for 50 children over two years of age. Of the 55 children enrolled, 10 are Māori.
All four teachers are qualified and have current practising certificates. There are three support staff, one is currently in the second year of teacher training.
The services philosophy acknowledges the importance of supporting children to grow into confident and competent learners.
The March 2014 ERO report identified the service’s systems and practices required further improvement to promote positive outcomes for children. The March 2017 ERO evaluation of the service found progress had been limited and some centre processes has lapsed. ERO recommended the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education (MoE), develop a plan to rectify the issues identified in the report.
Centre personnel received support from the MoE. A development plan and framework to guide practices was put in place. Professional learning support was accessed through MoE funded professional development to build teachers’ and leaders’ practice and to implement and improve the service’s systems and processes. Evidence shows processes have improved and steady progress has been achieved.
Children’s interests suitably inform planning to meet individual learner needs. Teachers respond well in promoting the interests, wellbeing and dispositional learning of children. Assessment practice, through narrative learning stories, recognises significant learning moments for children and documents their involvement in activities, experiences and celebrations.
The physical environment is designed to match the interests of children and reflects the unique rural setting. Children access the wide open spaces promoting physical skills. They have opportunities to interact and learn about a variety of animals.
Māori and all children experience an increasingly culturally responsive curriculum. Contexts for learning, planned activities and experiences acknowledge Māori learners' culture and affirms their unique identity.
Children identified with additional learning needs are well supported. Parents, whānau and caregivers are suitably included in discussions in relation to the aspirations and goals they hold for their child.
Relationships with families and whānau are positive. Their aspirations and ideas are acted upon in the design of curriculum experiences that match to the individual needs of their child.
Centre leaders promote the agreed goals of the service and manage daily operation well. Strategic and annual planning guides operational management, curriculum planning and policy review. Involvement of staff in professional learning and development is aligned to their identified priorities. Collaborative practice between staff encourages an increasingly cohesive response in meeting the learning and wellbeing needs of children.
Internal evaluation is beginning to purposefully contribute to ongoing improvement. Evaluation is undertaken by some staff to understand the effectiveness of curriculum actions and inform ongoing improvement.
Teachers should collectively review how effective the agreed intentional teaching strategies respond to and promote the ongoing learning of children. Further use of these strategies should strengthen all teachers' responses to the emerging learning needs of children.
Leaders should continue working with staff to further develop their assessment practice. Building capability should strengthen the consistency of teacher practice in documenting children’s learning.
Planned professional learning to extend bicultural practice in the centre is well considered. Improving teachers' capability should enhance the use of te reo Māori and the purposeful inclusion of te ao Māori across the curriculum.
Leaders and teachers should further develop their knowledge and use of effective evaluation to enhance current practice and inform decision making that leads to ongoing improved outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Country Kindy Ltd 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
12 March 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 |
Feilding |
|
|
MoE of Education profile number |
45768 |
|
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, aged over 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
55 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 32, Girls 23 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2019 |
|
|
Date of this report |
12 March 2019 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2017 |
|
Education Review |
March 2014 |
|
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.