Garden Grove Montessori Preschool

Education institution number:
65031
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
52
Telephone:
Address:

20 Barnes Street, Timaru

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Garden Grove Montessori Preschool

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Garden Grove Montessori is a privately owned education and care service, supporting children from two years to school age. It is managed by the owner and a centre manager. Children attending the service are from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Summary of Review Findings 

The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki and is underpinned by the Montessori philosophy. The service’s beliefs, values and attitudes underpin the provision of early childhood education and care and the daily routines. Adults provide meaningful and positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children experience respectful relationships with kaiako and are affirmed in their achievements and efforts.

The premises and facilities are well maintained and resourced. The design and layout of the premises includes quiet spaces, areas for physically active play suitable for individual and group learning experiences appropriate to the ages, and abilities of children. There is a system in place that gives parents and whānau opportunities to contribute to the development and review of operational documents.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • strengthen assessment information to consistently show children’s language and cultures and identities
  • increase opportunities for kaiako, parents and children to work together to develop the local curriculum.

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

18 February 2021 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name Garden Grove Montessori
Profile Number 65031
Location Timaru

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

39 children aged over 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80%+

Service roll

52

Ethnic composition

Māori 4, NZ European/Pākehā 26, Indian 5, Other ethnicities 17.

Review team on site

December 2020

Date of this report

18 February 2021

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2017; Education Review, September 2013.

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
  • previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
  • that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
  • that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
  • where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)
  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

  • discussions with those involved in the service
  • consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
  • observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.

Garden Grove Montessori Preschool - 22/03/2017

1 Evaluation of Garden Grove Montessori Preschool

How well placed is Garden Grove Montessori Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Garden Grove Montessori is a small, privately-owned centre that follows the Montessori philosophy. It is licensed for 34 children over two years of age.

Since the 2013 ERO review, there have been significant staffing changes, including a centre manager and teachers. There are also new owners. The recommendations from ERO's last report to strengthen strategic planning, assessment and the bicultural programme have been worked on but remain a work in progress.

The new owners have improved the outdoor environment. These improvements have added interest and enhanced safety.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from caring relationships with their teachers. Teachers know children and their families well. Families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Parents' ideas are sought and incorporated into planning learning programmes for children. Children play and learn in well-resourced, attractive environments. Materials children need for learning are easily accessible for them to select.

Children work cooperatively together. Through the carefully prepared Montessori programme, children are supported to develop independence and self-managing skills. Aspects of mathematics, literacy, and mastering motor skills feature strongly in children's activities. Children are gaining an awareness of New Zealand's bicultural heritage through waiata, te reo and the natural world. A next step is for leaders and teachers to continue to build their own capability in things Māori and to ensure Māori perspectives are included in assessment, planning and evaluation for individuals and groups of children. 

The leader and teachers have extensively redeveloped the centre philosophy. They have created useful indicators of what this looks like in action. A next step is for them to further develop indicators that show how the Treaty of Waitangi will be implemented. They should also use relevant indicators against which to evaluate programmes and practices.

Leaders and teachers have made good use of professional learning to improve their planning, assessment and evaluation for groups and individuals. Useful systems are in place to ensure all children are planned for over time and for parents' wishes for their children's learning to be included. A next step is to ensure children's language, culture and identity are reflected in records of learning. This needs to be consistently implemented.

Teachers have recently developed group plans that help parents understand the learning that is happening for their children in the centre. Leaders have identified and ERO agrees, that group and Montessori planning of the curriculum needs to be better aligned to the principles of Te Whāriki (Early Childhood Curriculum) and more specific to show the intended learning. The leaders have established useful systems and expectations to ensure the smooth running of the centre in times of change. This includes:

  • planning to support the new manager in her leadership role

  • strengthening communication between owners, staff and parents

  • building teachers' capability and knowledge of the Montessori philosophy and practice.

There is a strategic plan with well-defined actions for the owner, staff and parents to follow. This plan contains everyday business as usual. A next step is to better reflect current priorities in the plan. The manager needs to report to the owners on the progress made towards the strategic goals.

A new approach to appraisal has been adopted. To further improve this the Education Council requirements should be included in documentation, purposeful observations held and cultural competencies included. They also need to show evidence of how well teachers meet the requirements.

Internal evaluation carried out by the leader and teachers is focused on making improvements. It follows a useful process and has led to positive changes. A next step to improve the quality of internal evaluation is to use an evaluative question and relevant indicators of what good practice looks like.

Key Next Steps

The leaders and teachers have agreed that the key next steps are to:

  • build a shared understanding about robust internal evaluation

  • continue to develop and refine planning, assessment and evaluation

  • strengthen bicultural practices

  • further develop a rigorous appraisal process

  • ensure the major priorities for the centre are reflected in the strategic plan. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Garden Grove Montessori Preschool 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 Garden Grove Montessori Preschool will be in three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)

22 March 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 Early Childhood Service 

Location

Timaru

Ministry of Education profile number

65031

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

34 children over 2 years

Service roll

58

Gender composition

Girls: 32

Boys: 26

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Other

4

47

7

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

December 2016

Date of this report

22 March 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

September 2013

Education Review

April 2010

Education Review

April 2007

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.