Green Island Kindergarten

Education institution number:
5495
Service type:
Free Kindergarten
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
43
Telephone:
Address:

20 Howden Street, Green Island, Dunedin

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Green Island Kindergarten - 22/05/2020

1 Evaluation of Green Island Kindergarten

How well placed is Green Island Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Green Island Kindergarten is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Green Island Kindergarten provides early childhood education for children aged two years to school age. It is licensed for 44 children and currently has a roll of 50. It operates from 8.30am to 2.30pm.

The kindergarten philosophy aims to provide a warm, welcoming environment that reflects respect for people, places and things. The valued learning for children is focused on wellbeing, belonging, contribution, communication, exploration (including being physically active) and being confident in their cultural identity. Teachers are committed to achieving these outcomes through building respectful relationships with children, whānau and the wider community, active engagement in learning activities, and children experiencing a sense of fun in an inviting and challenging environment.

The teaching team has made very good progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the December 2015 ERO review report. These included aspects of internal evaluation, reviewing the philosophy, continuing to build Māori perspectives in the programme, strengthening assessment and planning for learning, reviewing the programme for two year olds and long-term planning.

Green Island Kindergarten is one of 24 kindergartens governed by Dunedin Kindergartens (DK). Day-to-day operations are led by a head teacher, who is new in the role since the kindergarten's last review. She works with four experienced, qualified teachers. A senior teacher from DK provides support for professional and operational practice.

This review was part of a cluster of seven DK kindergartens reviewed at the beginning of 2020.

The Review Findings

Children are warmly welcomed and settle quickly into the rhythms of the programme. They are empowered by teachers to be engaged, active, curious, exploratory and confident. They play well with and alongside each other in the thoughtfully resourced environment. Children make good use of the many opportunities they have to be absorbed in sustained play. They respond well to teachers' questions and rich conversations.

Children, parents and whānau benefit from respectful, reciprocal relationships teachers' forge and foster. There are strengthened learning-based partnerships with parents. Teachers have built these through valuing and responding to information in a variety of ways. They enact the philosophy which reflects their teaching beliefs. This positive culture supports learners.

Children's learning is extended through planned intentional teaching which is focused on their interests and needs. Interactions between children and teachers support children's social and emotional competence and exploration. Teachers use the environment, daily routines and planned activities well to extend children's learning. Children with additional needs are very well provided for. They benefit from the way in which teachers are organised to support them individually.

The curriculum is broad and responsive to children's learning. Teachers' foster children's independence and care for the environment. Some key curriculum features include purposeful use of external specialists/parents to provide learning opportunities linked to the philosophy. Some Māori whānau have worked productively with teachers to strengthen the bicultural curriculum. Many aspects of te ao Māori are part of children's learning. This supports Māori children to see that their language, culture and identity are valued. There is further scope to extend and deepen this.

Teachers use effective systems to assess and plan for children's learning. All teachers know children's interests, dispositions and learning pathways and plan in meaningful ways. They use relevant processes to gather and respond to parents' aspirations for their children. Children's learning is clearly recorded and intentional teaching is well documented. Planning for groups is intentionally focused on the needs and interests of children. It is frequently reviewed and updated, and systematically evaluated against indicators identified to achieve the desired learning for children.

Internal evaluation is meaningful and leads to positive outcomes for children. Teachers make good use of evaluation frameworks and prompts provided by DK to guide this process. Research and resources are well used to source information about best practice. Teachers gather relevant information from multiple perspectives. They engage in purposeful appraisal inquiries that contribute to changing teaching practice and support of children's learning.

Leadership is highly effective and distributed. The kindergarten's vision is shared and reflects sound understanding of what matters most in learning and teaching. Comprehensive systems have been established and are supporting all aspects of its operations. A feature of these is the accountability that has been incorporated within them. Teachers work very well together to align processes to priorities. The head teacher is fostering and modelling a respectful, positive culture which contributes to strong relational trust.

The board of DK has made good progress in addressing the governance recommendations from ERO's 2015-2016 reviews. DK's mission and strategic priorities are well known and reflected in each kindergarten's strategic and annual plans. It has a sound policy and procedure framework that provides guidance for kindergartens and sound systems to monitor health and safety. Leaders and teachers benefit from relevant professional development and leadership support. DK actively supports equity of outcomes for all children by funding additional teaching resources to support children with additional needs.

Key Next Steps

Teachers have identified and ERO's evaluation confirms, that:

  • the documentation for extension of children's learning could be reviewed and evaluated
  • continue to extend the incorporation of Māori perspectives, knowledge and history within curriculum planning.

The DK board has clearly identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for DK to further improve outcomes for children are to ensure that:

  • reporting and monitoring at all levels are evaluative, to clearly show how desired outcomes for children have been improved in relation to DK's and kindergartens' priorities for learning and other strategic priorities

  • a robust and systematic quality assurance framework is implemented to inform and monitor ongoing improvements in each kindergarten.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Green Island 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

22 May 2020

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

Dunedin

Ministry of Education profile number

5495

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

44 children over the age of 2

Service roll

50

Gender composition

Female 25, Male 25

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Other ethnicities

9
37
4

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

January 2020

Date of this report

22 May 2020

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

December 2015

Education Review

July 2012

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

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.

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.

Green Island Kindergarten - 09/12/2015

1 Evaluation of Green Island Kindergarten

How well placed is Green Island Kindergarten 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

Green Island Kindergarten provides education and care for children aged from two years to school age in a modern purpose-built building. Recently more two year olds have begun to attend. The kindergarten is open for school-day hours. Some of the younger children go home at lunchtime, so forty children attend in the morning and thirty in the afternoon.

All the teachers are qualified. A parent committee supports the kindergarten with fundraising and improvements. The teachers have made good progress on the recommendations from the 2012 ERO report.

The kindergarten operates under the Dunedin Kindergartens (DK) umbrella. DK provides management and professional support for the teachers. This review was part of a cluster of 24 kindergarten reviews in the DK.

The Review Findings

The children have warm and trusting relationships with their teachers. Children develop good friendships and the teachers encourage them to care for one another. The children know the routines well and act independently, making their own decisions about what to do. They are encouraged to take on leadership and learn how to care for themselves.

The children play in a settled way, often for quite long periods at one activity. This allows the teachers to devote uninterrupted time to small groups of children. The teachers have conversations with children that foster their curiosity and build their oral language skills and confidence. Children frequently take part in dramatic play that also builds their oral language. Throughout the day there are many other opportunities for early-literacy learning.

As more two-year olds have started attending the kindergarten, the teachers have adapted their programme and resources. For the younger children they emphasise establishing a strong sense of belonging. It would now be worth reviewing how well the programme and practices cater for two-year olds. In the kindergarten philosophy children are valued for their uniqueness. The kindergarten philosophy statement would be more useful if it set out clearly what is valued learning at this kindergarten.

The outside play area is imaginatively designed and offers plenty of scope for different levels of physical challenge. It includes a bike track, climbing wall, vegetable garden and native plantings. The inside area is also attractive and well thought out. There are a wide range of activities available to children and they have independent access to resources and equipment.

The teachers have sometimes used kaupapa Māori concepts such as whanaungatanga (connectedness and relationships) to help guide their group plans. This year the older children have attended the Polyfest. The children’s profile books show that the teachers value the culture and identity of Māori and Pacific children. Parents are encouraged to bring their own cultural knowledge into the kindergarten. The teachers have noted that they will continue to strengthen Māori perspectives in the programme.

Teachers build trusting relationships with parents in order to support their children’s learning. They work with specialist agencies where this is needed. The kindergarten is directly opposite Green Island School. The kindergarten and school have developed a close relationship in order to help children transition to school smoothly. The kindergarten teachers are continuing to make closer connections with other local schools.

The teachers have developed a very successful system for planning for children’s learning. They regularly discuss children’s learning with parents and incorporate parents’ wishes into the individual plans. The children’s profile books are an attractive record of their experiences at the kindergarten and often show the progress of children’s learning over time. Clearer definition of teaching strategies would strengthen planning further.

Under the leadership of the experienced head teacher, the teaching team has developed strong systems to ensure the smooth operation of the kindergarten. The teachers share responsibilities and contribute their own strengths. They have a useful format for self review and self review has led to some positive changes. They can now pay greater attention to the use of indicators for effective self review.

The kindergarten’s long-term plan concentrates on property issues. It would be valuable for the kindergarten community to identify goals for the kindergarten’s future related to learning and teaching, and detail and monitor the actions to achieve these.

The vision of the DK is to provide excellence in early childhood education for all children. The DK is governed by a board and managed by a long-serving general manager. The kindergarten teachers told ERO they appreciated the support they receive from the association and the advice and guidance of the senior teachers.

The board, general manager and senior teachers:

  • provide appropriate opportunities for parents and staff to contribute their ideas about matters in the association
  • are responsive to identified needs of children and families within the association and provide funding and support to enable these to be met
  • have developed a useful framework to guide their work
  • take all reasonable steps to ensure safe environments for children, teachers and other staff
  • maintain their professional learning and provide ongoing professional learning for teachers in the association.

Key Next Steps

Teachers and ERO agree that a key next step for teachers, with the support of the senior teacher, is to clearly articulate what is valued learning in this kindergarten. They should involve the kindergarten community in this process and then write it into the philosophy statement. In time, they should then review their programme and practices against the philosophy statement.

They should also strengthen self-review practices by making more effective use of indicators and developing a schedule for review that covers all aspects of teaching and learning over time.

Other next steps are to:

  • continue to build Māori perspectives in the programme
  • strengthen their planning for children’s learning by clearly articulating teaching strategies and learning experiences
  • review how well the programme and practices cater for two-year olds
  • identify long-term priorities for the kindergarten relating to learning and teaching, and detail and monitor the actions to achieve these.

Next steps for the board, with the support of the general manager and senior teachers, are to:

  • continue to define what excellence in education looks like in the DK
  • further develop strategic planning to better show future goals and priorities and how these will be achieved in the association and in the kindergartens
  • ensure that the reports they receive are evaluative, show how well the DK’s vision and goals are met, and inform future planning
  • continue to strengthen the appraisal process and be assured that appraisals are rigorous and consistent throughout the kindergartens.

With the appointment of a new senior teacher it is timely for the board and general manager to review the role of the senior teachers and strengthen systems to ensure consistent, high-quality practice across all kindergartens within the DK.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Green Island 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Green Island Kindergarten will be in three years. 

Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

9 December 2015 

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

Dunedin

Ministry of Education profile number

5495

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

44 children over two years of age

Service roll

51

Gender composition

Boys:     30
Girls:      21

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Other

  6
42
  3

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49%       50-79%       80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

Not applicable

 

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

October 2015

Date of this report

9 December 2015

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

July 2012

Education Review

November 2008

Education Review

February 2006

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.