Herschel Street, Ngaruawahia
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Galbraith Kindergarten located in Ngāruawāhia, is licensed for 40 children. The kindergarten offers both full and part day education and care to children from two years to school age. At the time of this ERO review 48 children were enrolled, including 18 who identify as Māori.
The kindergarten is one of 29 kindergartens that operate under the Waikato Kindergarten Association (WKA), which is a charitable trust. The strategic direction of the association is guided by the overarching statement, ‘Our children are strong in heart, head and hand’. The WKA has a commitment to providing quality, inclusive services that effectively meet the diverse educational needs of all children attending. Advice, guidance and support is provided to the organisation by a kaumātua from Tainui.
All kindergartens in the WKA are involved in a ‘Cool 4 School’ transition programme and sustainable education, environment and health programmes such as Enviroschools and Sport Waikato 'Under 5 Energise'. The kindergarten's educational, operational and administrative responsibilities are supported by experienced association personnel.
The kindergarten's philosophy states that they have a commitment to working in partnerships with parents and whānau. They recognise and celebrate cultures and provide an environment where children are challenged and empowered to take ownership of their own learning. The kindergarten aims to promote holistic learning, 'by focusing on healthy mind, body and spirit.'
The leaders have made good progress in addressing the key area for development identified in the 2014 ERO about strengthening self review. Since the last review there have been significant changes to the teaching team with the appointment of two teachers, and a new head teacher in May 2018.
Positive and respectful relationships between children, teachers and whānau provide a strong foundation for learning. Teachers genuinely listen and respond to children. Their social competence is enhanced through the values of empathy and care. Teachers support children’s emergent dispositional learning through a range of effective strategies. Children with additional needs are well supported, and their learning is linked to individual education plans. Children experience a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing in an inclusive environment.
The curriculum responds effectively to the emerging interests and strengths of children. The recently upgraded outdoor area and regular excursions into the local community provide children with many opportunities to manage risks and experience challenge. Early literacy and mathematics are woven meaningfully through the programme, supporting children's growing oral language development. Consideration should now be given to reviewing the impact of the kindergartens routines on children's individual preferences and opportunity for sustained engagement.
Children's assessment portfolios provide parents and whānau with a valuable record of their children's engagement in the life of the centre. Individualised planning and goal setting for learning has been implemented and utilises aspirations gathered from parents and whānau. Further development is now needed to ensure learning outcomes from Te Whāriki inform individualised planning and evaluation to show progress and continuity of learning.
Māori children’s sense of belonging is enhanced through a bicultural curriculum including a strong connection to the Kingitanga and local iwi. Excursions into the local community provides many opportunities to share knowledge of local legends and landmarks of historical significance with children and whānau. Parent and whānau contributions are acknowledged and valued. This could be further enhanced with a stronger focus on children’s language, culture and identity in assessment and planning.
Transitions into the kindergarten and on to school are flexible and responsive to the needs of individual children and their whānau. Relationships with neighbouring primary schools have been fostered supporting children's successful transitions.
Leaders are recognising teacher’s individual strengths and are building a team culture that is focused on improvement. The recently appointed head teacher has created an environment that effectively enables the enactment of the kindergarten’s philosophy. Leaders strongly advocate for children and their whānau with a focus on establishing meaningful relationships. Systems for internal evaluation are implemented and aligned to kindergarten’s priorities. This is an area for further development to ensure a deeper understanding around what informs internal evaluation to further improve outcomes for children.
Education services managers (ESMs) work closely with the head teacher and provide well-informed professional leadership to support kindergarten operation. The WKA has recently reviewed its teacher appraisal process. Ensuring this new process is fully implemented is a priority for ESM's.
The WKA provides comprehensive systems, policies and procedures to guide kindergarten practice. Teachers have access to ongoing and targeted professional development to promote improved practice and contribute to positive outcomes for children. Effective governance by the WKA is contributing to inclusive and equitable services for children.
The key next steps for leaders and teachers is to continue to strengthen individualised assessment, planning and evaluation with a focus on:
deepening and increasing the complexity of children’s learning over time
reflecting the language, cultures and identity of individual children
ensuring learning priorities inform children's individualised planning and evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Galbraith Kindergarten 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 Galbraith Kindergarten will be in three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
20 December 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.
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Location |
Ngāruawahia |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5142 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
48 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 26 Girls 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
18 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2018 |
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Date of this report |
20 December 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2008 |
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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:
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.
Galbraith Kindergarten is located in Ngāruawāhia. It provides both all day and sessional education and care for tamariki from the township and surrounding rural areas. The kindergarten is licensed for 40 children from two years to school age at any one time. At the time of this review, 17 of the 43 children attending were Māori, including many of Tainui descent. The head teacher and one other teacher also identify as Māori.
The kindergarten operates under the umbrella of the Waikato Kindergarten Association (WKA), which is a charitable trust, and does not operate for profit. The strategic direction of the association is guided by the overarching statement, ‘Every child reaching their full potential’. The WKA has a commitment to providing quality, inclusive services that effectively meet the diverse educational needs of all children attending. All kindergartens provide an Enviroschools’ focus as a key curriculum feature to encourage children to better understand caring for the environment.
The Educational Service Manager (ESM) monitors and reports to the association on the kindergarten’s quality of education. A kaumātua from Tainui provides advice, guidance and support about Māori language, culture and identity. The kindergarten’s administrative responsibilities are well supported by association resource personnel. It also benefits from the WKA's clear guidelines and expectations for practice and the availability of good self-review processes for monitoring and evaluating the quality of education and care it provides for children.
The teaching team of four includes the head teacher and three other qualified early childhood teachers. Two of these teachers have joined the team since the previous review in 2011. Since that time, the team has strengthened bicultural perspectives and whānau input into assessment practices. The learning environment has also been substantially upgraded.
The kindergarten’s philosophy reflects the team’s strong commitment to:
This review was part of a cluster of 12 kindergarten reviews in the Waikato Kindergarten Association.
Galbraith Kindergarten is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Children are capable and competent learners and communicators. They are very settled and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. Children of mixed ages play well with and alongside one another, and engage in sustained cooperative learning. They confidently direct their own play and share interests and ideas with others. Tuakana-teina relationships are very evident, as older children support their younger peers with their learning. Children have fun in a spacious and well-resourced environment that caters well for their different developmental levels.
Teachers’ interactions with children are gentle, respectful and caring. They skilfully foster development of children’s language and social skills, and promote the virtues of interacting peacefully and respectfully with others. Teachers listen carefully to children, encourage them to plan their play, and make effective use of questions to challenge children’s thinking. They have a holistic approach to building children’s confidence and self esteem, and developing self-help and care skills.
Teachers provide a high-quality, child-initiated learning programme that promotes positive outcomes for all children. The team has significantly increased the integration of te reo and tikanga Māori, and te ao Māori concepts underpin all aspects of the learning programme. Teachers are highly responsive to children’s emerging strengths and interests, and make good use of these to integrate literacy, mathematics and science learning in meaningful ways. They could consider further ways to reflect the languages, cultures and identities of individual children in their portfolios and the learning environment.
The teaching team has established effective partnerships with parents, whānau and the wider community. Teachers share a deep understanding and connection with the Ngāruawāhia community and tangata whenua. They place a strong emphasis on establishing positive relationships with new parents and whānau. Teachers keep families and caregivers well informed about their children’s learning and progress. They value highly the expertise that families and community members bring to the kindergarten for children. The centre is very responsive to parent/whanau aspirations and ideas. A feature of the kindergarten is the high level of parent, whānau, kuia and kaumātua participation in programme planning and the life of the kindergarten.
The head teacher provides high-quality professional leadership. She strongly models the principles of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga with families, staff and tamariki. The collaborative and reflective teaching team is highly focused on ensuring equitable outcomes for all children. There is a high level of trust amongst all members of the kindergarten community. The team also makes effective use of professional development and self review to sustain ongoing improvement and improve teaching practice.
The teaching team has identified, and ERO agrees, that the next step for teachers is to strengthen documentation of self review by identifying measurable strategies and using these to evaluate success of meeting goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Galbraith Kindergarten 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 next ERO review of Galbraith Kindergarten will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
6 November 2014
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 |
Ngāruawāhia |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5142 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
43 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 25 Boys 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Pacific Indian Other European |
17 20 3 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
6 November 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
December 2004 |
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.