Creators @ Home - Waikato Quality

1 Evaluation of Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality

How well placed is Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality, previously known as Bizzy Buddyz Waikato, provides education and care for children from birth to school age. The service was purchased by Creators Education Trust in September 2015. Creators Education Trust, a not-for-profit organisation, operates a network of home and centre based services throughout New Zealand. This service is licensed for 60 children and at the time of this review had a roll of 55, including 24 Māori children.

Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality is licensed as a quality service where all educarers hold an early childhood education qualification.

The service's philosophy states a belief that 'love is all you need, children are uniquely created full of wonder and potential, constructing their own knowledge. A culture of innovative learning in homes will provide a rich educational experience for tamariki'.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from participating in a rich and varied curriculum programme. They have many opportunities to explore the local and wider community including participating in weekly playgroups organised by the service. Individual portfolios, which are also available in electronic format, provide children and parents with an attractive and meaningful record of their involvement in the programme. Children with special learning and health needs are well catered for within an inclusive environment. Educarers have developed respectful and nurturing relationships with children.

Priority is placed on extending children’s literacy, mathematics and oral language skills through meaningful play. Children under two benefit from being in environments where educarers closely follow the preferences of parents for the care of their children. The service is yet to fully develop and implement systems to promote Māori children’s language culture and identity.

Educarers have a well-managed approach to supporting children's transition to school and are working in close partnership with parents. They provide daily opportunities for parents to share important information about their child. Children’s learning and wellbeing are well supported by participating in meaningful programmes.

Visiting teachers are highly responsive to supporting educarers to promote positive outcomes for children. They regularly provide meaningful feedback and guidance to educarers. Visiting teachers implement robust quality assurance processes to ensure that educarers provide a safe environment for children. Some visiting teachers model effective assessment practices and provide high quality feedback for educarers. Promoting the consistency of these practices is an ongoing priority for leaders.

Service leaders are knowledgeable, well-informed, and experienced early childhood educators. Leaders are reflective and focused on providing positive outcomes for children. They have developed high levels of trust with visiting teachers and provide them with relevant support and guidance. Leaders work with visiting teachers and educarers to regularly review policies. Useful processes are being established to review the effectiveness of service operations. Effective leadership contributes to positive outcomes for children

The trust provides strong governance for the service. A clear vision and strategic plan guides the ongoing development and improvement of the service. A well-developed policy framework underpins the service's operations. The trust provides generous support for visiting teacher professional development. Well-developed governance processes support the service to provide positive outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

ERO and service leaders agree that a key next step is to build consistency of effective visiting teacher practices. Consideration should be given to;

• developing agreed and shared expectations for educarers continued professional learning

• providing visiting teachers with regular feedback about the effectiveness of their practice

• strengthening the current teacher appraisal process.

Leaders and visiting teachers should give priority to supporting educarers to implement programmes that support Māori children’s language, culture and identity and promote New Zealand’s bicultural heritage for all children.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Creators @ Home-Waikato Quality will be in three years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato/Bay of Plenty

29 June 2017

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 Home-based Education and Care 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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.