1292 Glenbrook Road, Waiuku
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.
Glenbrook Kindergarten is a well-established kindergarten licensed for 30 children two years of age and over. The service has recently changed its opening hours to 8am to 5pm.
The kindergarten is part of the Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association (CMKA) and operates under its policies and management framework. A CMKA education manager (EM) visits the kindergarten and provides leadership and curriculum support for teachers. The CMKA is in the process of reviewing its structures and operational framework.
The recently reviewed philosophy of the kindergarten emphasises learning through play and enhancing teachable moments. Teachers have a focus on promoting environmental sustainability. The kindergarten's new teaching team includes an experienced head teacher, two other registered teachers, an administrator, and a teacher aide.
In 2015, ERO identified a variety of good practices. Areas for improvement included planning, assessment and self review. Some good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of eight reviews in the CMKA.
Children are supported to be confident and engaged in their learning. They demonstrate a sound sense of belonging and are friendly and communicative as they approach friends, teachers and visitors. Children move freely within indoor and outdoor play spaces. They choose from a wide variety of relevant, interesting and accessible resources in a well-prepared environment.
Teachers support children's learning and wellbeing by:
ensuring routines are non-intrusive and flexible, providing time for children to engage in uninterrupted play and exploration
respectfully monitoring and talking to children about their needs
empowering children to take increased responsibility for themselves and their wellbeing
encouraging children's verbal communication.
Teachers promote tikanga Māori in consultation with local iwi. They are developing their bicultural practices and continuing to gain confidence in using te reo Māori.
Teachers welcome all children, their whānau and visitors. Parents enjoy opportunities to stay and settle their children. Parents who spoke with ERO talked about their satisfaction with children's experiences and participation in the kindergarten programme.
Leaders and teachers are engaging with Te Whāriki, the revised early childhood curriculum. They are exploring learning priorities at the kindergarten, and with parents, whānau and children. Children's learning experiences are based on enquiry learning, bicultural practice and the 'enviro-schools' kaupapa.
Teachers regularly assess children's learning. Some assessments reflect children's backgrounds. Teachers have improved assessments to include more of a focus on individual learning, analysis of observations and identifying children's dispositions for learning. Teachers acknowledge that building further on dispositional learning could help them to make children's continuity of learning and progress more visible.
Teachers plan the curriculum collaboratively, and value children's voices and their contributions to the programme. Leaders and teachers are working to establish and embed a new planning process.
A useful framework guides collaborative internal evaluation. Teachers discuss and reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching practices. They regularly engage in review and access relevant professional learning to improve their practice. To further evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching practice, teachers could measure the extent to which their practice reflects the recently developed philosophy and the Education Council's standards for teaching.
CMKA strategic goals and the kindergarten's annual planning guide improvements in teaching practice, learning environments and outcomes for children and their whānau. Continued support by CMKA personnel for the further development of the head teacher's leadership skills would help her to lead improvements in teaching practices.
Well-established CMKA management systems, policies and processes guide the kindergarten's practices. Embedding the practice of regular documented observations into CMKA appraisal processes would enhance the support provided for teachers' professional growth.
Key next steps include continuing to strengthen:
the extent to which teachers support children to increase the complexity of their play, and extend and challenge children's thinking
evaluation of learning and teaching to show the impact of teaching practice on children's learning outcomes
teachers' effectiveness in promoting the kindergarten's learning priorities.
CMKA leaders agree that their next steps are to continue:
providing consistent ongoing support for leaders and teachers that sustains leadership and improves teaching practice
implementing Te Whāriki, the revised early childhood curriculum, to identify priorities for learning and evaluation
supporting teachers to increase the visibility of children's cultural identity and continuity of learning in their individual portfolios
building capability and depth in internal evaluation across the association.
Before the review, the staff and management of Glenbrook 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 Glenbrook Kindergarten will be in three years.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
17 January 2019
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 |
Glenbrook, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25111 |
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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 |
30 children aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 23 Boys 22 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
34 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
17 January 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2015 |
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Education Review |
August 2011 |
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Education Review |
August 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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Glenbrook Kindergarten is a rural service that provides education and care for children over two years old in Waiuku to the south of Auckland. For several years it has operated the kindergarten day model (KDM), which enables children to attend sessions that match school hours. The centre is part of the Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association and operates within the policies and management framework of this organisation. A professional practice manager (PPM) provides leadership and curriculum support for teachers.
The kindergarten has a stable teaching team, which has established strong relationships with families. The teachers, who are all fully registered, participate in a variety of professional development opportunities. This has recently included an extensive programme to help strengthen teachers’ skills and knowledge in te reo Māori. Teachers are committed to Enviro Schools practices.
In 2011 ERO identified several positive features of the kindergarten that supported children to develop as confident learners and communicators. ERO recommended teachers further develop their self-review and assessment processes, improve their consultation with parents, and increase their confidence in using te reo Māori. Teachers have responded well to these challenges.
The kindergarten’s commitment to providing authentic learning experiences and responding to diverse learning pathways is thoroughly supported by teachers.
Children are happy, interested and articulate learners. They enthusiastically engage in activities on arrival and quickly reconnect with friends. Children work confidently in collaborative groups and often sustain their play for prolonged periods. They benefit from the teachers’ growing focus on environmentally sustainable practices and the variety of resources they can independently access.
Children communicate well, having meaningful conversations with teachers and their peers. Many are also becoming confident to naturally integrate words in te reo Māori when they speak. Children show a strong sense of belonging in this environment and the small group of children with special needs is supported very well.
Teachers encourage children to be independent learners. They use open questions effectively to prompt new ideas and foster problem solving. Teachers engage children in ongoing projects that enable them to deepen their thinking and use early literacy and mathematics skills for real purposes. Teachers recognise that they could now more effectively document their strategies for extending children's individual interests.
Teachers are a collaborative team who value each other’s individual expertise. They communicate well and use their complementary skills to share responsibilities. Teachers informally reflect on the programme each day and document children's current interests each week. They acknowledge that more deliberate planning and evaluation of some curriculum areas would provide better assurance about children's progress and achievement. Teachers have made significant progress in developing their knowledge of te reo Māori and their capacity to support the success of Māori children as Māori.
Families support the kindergarten very well. An active parent support group organises many events that involve families. Teachers value parents’ input through surveys, informal discussions and parent-help rosters. Teachers have recently become more responsive to parents’ aspirations for their children’s learning and are considering ways to encourage more feedback. Parents who were interviewed by ERO enthusiastically endorsed the kindergarten and the experiences that their children enjoy.
The kindergarten is well managed. The systems in place for centre operations, ongoing self review and Association support contribute to efficient kindergarten management. Teachers are guided by their teaching and learning statement, the Association’s strategic goals and their own annual planning to sustain developments. Current Association initiatives to enhance appraisal processes and annual planning in kindergartens should contribute well to teachers’ goal setting for further improvement.
The teachers and the PPM agree that key next steps for kindergarten development should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Glenbrook 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:
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 Glenbrook Kindergarten will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
11 February 2015
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 |
Waiuku |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25111 |
||
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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 |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
53 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 28 Boys 25 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā British/Irish Dutch others |
4 44 2 2 1 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
NA |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
December 2014 |
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Date of this report |
11 February 2015 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2005 |
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.