237 Kohimarama Road, Kohimarama, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre is part of the East City Community Trust and operates in the Barfoot and Thompson Stadium in Kohimarama. The centre provides all-day and sessional education and care for up to 38 children, including eight under the age of two years. The roll includes a small number of Māori children and other ethnicities.
The centre manager leads a team of six qualified teachers and two unqualified staff. The centre's management board includes members from the local Orakei board of the Auckland City Council, Selwyn College and a community representative. Management of the centre is largely delegated to the centre manager who reports regularly to the board.
The philosophy of the centre is based on the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The philosophy outlines the team's goals to guide teaching practice and centre relationships with children and their families.
Since ERO's 2016 report there has been a focus on strengthening the centre's bicultural practice and internal evaluation to continue to improve outcomes for children.
Infants and toddlers experience nurturing care relationships with teachers. They have many opportunities to make choices, explore and make discoveries as they engage in play. Teachers skilfully encourage children's independence and foster children's oral language development.
Children are supported to be capable learners and their sense of belonging in the centre is evident. Play is inclusive and friendly. The calm, unhurried pace and extended periods of uninterrupted play allow time for children to sustain an interest in their self-directed activities.
The teaching team works cooperatively and provides well for children, in particular for those with additional needs. Tuakana/teina relationships are encouraged in the mixed-age group of children. Literacy, numeracy and science are well integrated into the programme. Older children are supported appropriately as they prepare to transition to school.
The outside area provides good opportunities for physical play. Frequent local excursions allow children to explore and learn in their natural environment and the surrounding community. The sports arena environment offers further opportunities for extended physical activities.
Teachers are continuing to develop their planning and evaluation processes. Assessment and curriculum planning are responsive to children's ideas and interests. Children's assessment portfolios provide a good record of each child's learning journey at the centre.
Teachers are culturally responsive, and parents are encouraged to be partners in their children's learning. They value the diversity of cultures and languages in the centre. Children's cultures could be made more evident in the learning environment and individual children's portfolios.
Bicultural practices and the implementation of te reo and tikanga Māori are an integral part of the centre. Teachers have made a determined effort to embed te reo Māori in programmes and the learning environment. Karakia, waiata, and words and phrases in conversations enable children to develop an understanding of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Leaders promote a collaborative, professional culture based on high expectations and improving teacher practice. Targeted professional learning and internal evaluation has helped to maintain good quality provision. The centre has a sound policy and management framework. Strategic and annual planning guides centre operations.
Key steps include:
making children's cultures and languages more visible, especially in their individual portfolios
continuing to embed and strengthen programme planning and evaluation
further developing a local curriculum for the centre.
Before the review, the staff and management of Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
24 June 2020
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.
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Location |
Kohimarama, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20134 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
38 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 years |
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Service roll |
47 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 26 Girls 21 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2020 |
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Date of this report |
24 June 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2013 |
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Education Review |
April 2010 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre is part of East City Community Trust and operates in the ASB Stadium in Kohimarama. The centre provides all-day and sessional education and care, and caters for 38 children, including up to five under the age of two years. The centre operates with generous staffing so that very favourable adult: child ratios are maintained.
The management board for the centre is made up of members from the Orakei Local Board of the Auckland City Council, representatives of the sports groups who use the stadium, Selwyn College and a community board member. Management of the centre is largely delegated to the centre manager who reports regularly to the board through the stadium manager.
The philosophy for the centre, developed by the teaching team in consultation with parents, is strongly based on the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The philosophy clearly outlines aspirational goals to guide teaching practices and relationships. The sports arena environment offers further opportunities for extended sporting experiences.
ERO's 2013 report acknowledged the positive and caring relationships between teachers and children that remain evident. Teachers have continued to develop their bicultural knowledge and practice, and continued to work at deepening self-review processes.
Teachers are warm and welcoming towards children and parents. Good relationships are paramount in the centre. Children settle quickly and are comfortable in their surroundings. Teachers know and value the children and their parents/whānau.
The learning environment promotes the natural world and supportive relationships between children, whānau and teachers. Children have easy access to a variety of appropriate man-made and natural resources. Discrete areas are set up by teachers to offer children more choice of activities. Children have opportunities for individual, collaborative and parallel play. Mixed age play is encouraged and valued. The outside area is well used and children have good opportunities for physical challenge. Children experience uninterrupted play with unobtrusive centre routines.
Teachers are responsive to individual children's needs. They plan on the basis of observations of children's interests and learning dispositions, working collaboratively to follow up on children's interests and to extend their learning. Opportunities for creative, imaginative and dramatic play are included in the programme. Risky play is encouraged, and carefully monitored, to build on children's experiences and to challenge their thinking. Teachers make good use of the environment and its surrounds. Frequent excursions give children the opportunity to explore and use their natural environment and the surrounding community.
Teachers are building shared knowledge, resources and confidence in te reo Māori and the bicultural curriculum. These could now be integrated more naturally into the course of the day.
Teachers work alongside children and reinforce their efforts, encouraging them to have a go. Teachers engage with children very effectively with individualised respectful conversations. Some teachers use open-ended questions to extend maths and literacy concepts within the context of child-led play. The challenge for teachers now is to review how consistently they extend children's thinking, and to consider ways to engage boys more actively in the programme.
Teachers provide a specific programme for children over four. Consideration needs to be given to ensure that this programme relates to the principles and aims of Te Whāriki, and promotes learning in play contexts.
The centre manager is establishing an organisational culture that is conducive to ongoing improvement. The service has an up-to-date policy framework that guides practice. Self review for improvement is strategically and spontaneously implemented. Good guidelines are used to focus reviews. The next step in developing this process would be to be more evaluative in relation to outcomes for children, and identify a time to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the changes made.
The centre manager is introducing a new performance management system with an increased emphasis on professional practice. The appraisal and support system could be further strengthened by teachers more regularly reflecting on the impact of their practice, and by deepening professional collaboration through mentoring and coaching. This capacity building would enable the service to sustain quality and improve outcomes for children.
The centre managers agree that the priorities for centre development should include:
increasing the focus on Te Whāriki in the programme as part of their drive to respond to children's interests and enhance their learning
providing professional development to grow leadership capability and sustainability
further developing internal evaluation by using research and theory to support ongoing improvements
establishing long-term strategic planning to develop alignment with management processes such as annual plans
improving the quality of appraisal procedures.
Before the review, the staff and management of Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre 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 Eastern Bays E C (EBEC) Learning Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
27 June 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 |
Kohimaramara, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
20134 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
38 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
60 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 37 Girls 23 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Latin American Chinese South East Asian other European other |
2 44 3 2 2 5 2 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
27 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 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.