Dunstan Educare

1 Evaluation of Dunstan Educare

How well placed is Dunstan Educare to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Dunstan Educare is a privately-owned, standalone, mixed-age early learning centre. The centre was based on two properties until 2017 when the two amalgamated, bringing the infants and toddlers to the current site. It provides a full-day service for up to 35 children including up to 10 children under two years old. Learning areas are used flexibly to provide age-specific and mixed-age learning programmes. Over recent years the proportion of Māori children attending has increased. This has prompted teachers to become involved in a Ministry of Education contract to further develop bicultural planning and practices.

The centre has a good mix of very experienced teachers (seven qualified ECE teachers) and those in training.

The shared philosophy for children's learning is that they develop holistically and learn through self-initiated play in an environment that provides challenge and stimulation.

The manager and teachers have responded well to ERO's recommendations in the 2015 review. This response includes:

• developing and implementing a long-term plan to show the strategic direction over the next three years
• developing and implementing planned internal evaluation
• improving and extending the physical environment (indoors and outside).

Some fine tuning to internal evaluation is still to be done and the property development is ongoing.

The centre belongs to the Dunstan Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from caring, responsive and respectful relationships that are clearly evident at all levels of the centre. There are very good ratios of teachers to children (1:3 for under two year olds and 1: 7 for older children) and children receive high levels of 1:1 attention.

Children's interests and parents' wishes form the basis for the programmes provided. Teachers place a strong emphasis on building children's social competency and extending their oral language, communication skills and knowledge of the world. Good quality sustained interactions and conversations support this. Teachers are committed to enriching all children's ability to communicate. This commitment has led them to all learning sign language and some te reo Māori.

Leaders and teachers implement a useful system to ensure all children's learning is regularly planned for and promoted. This system enables goals to be set for children using information gained from parents and teachers. Assessment stories show a focus on children's dispositional learning, as well as skill development. These also show how teachers value and support Māori children to grow as Māori.

Teachers intentionally provide programmes and activities that encourage children to wonder, think critically and be creative. Four year old children experience a more structured programme in readiness for their transition to school. Teachers make good use of the local environment and community expertise to enrich children's learning. The learning environment provides children with choice, variety and challenge. Children are becoming aware of New Zealand's rich heritage through the bicultural dimension within the curriculum. Children's culture, identity and language are valued and teachers seek ways to encourage children's connections with their culture. The manager models a commitment to bicultural practice.

Infants and toddlers gain a sense of security and predictability from a consistent relationship with a primary caregiver. They learn alongside their older siblings and friends. The environment and interactions with teachers are calm and nurturing, while providing opportunities for exploration and challenge. There is close communication between teachers and parents about children's routines, preferences and interests. Appropriately trained staff provide responsive interactions which are sensitive to children's verbal and non-verbal cues.

The centre has a well-developed vision, values and philosophy which underpin teaching practices and acknowledge the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi. The manager recognises and makes good use of teachers' strengths. She supports teachers to build their professional practice and to grow leadership skills. She has built a culture of collaboration and collective responsibility for positive outcomes for children, and for ongoing improvements. Through the Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning, the manager is making useful connections to benefit the learning and transitions of children.

Key Next Steps

ERO has identified, and the manager agrees, that useful next steps are to:

• include in the philosophy the valued outcomes for children
• build teachers' understanding of effective evaluation and strengthen internal evaluation through the use of a specific, evaluative question
• develop greater consistency in the quality of assessment and planning information by stating clearly what teachers plan to do to extend children's learning
• strengthen and formalise aspects of the appraisal process.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Dunstan Educare 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Dunstan Educare will be in three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

19 March 2018 

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 Early Childhood 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 ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.

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.