158 Holborn Drive, Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt
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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.
Holborn Kindergarten provides all-day education and care for up to 40 children, aged over two years. Sessions run daily from 8:30am to 2:30pm. At the time of this ERO evaluation, nine of the 35 children enrolled identified as Māori.
The kindergarten philosophy emphasise parents, whānau, caregivers and kaiako working together to build a supportive, stable environment that enables tamariki to develop a sense of belonging.
Since the September 2015 report, the teaching team has experienced significant changes.
Day-to-day operation of the centre is the responsibility of a relieving head teacher. All teachers are fully qualified.
Holborn Kindergarten is one of 19 services in the Lower Hutt region, governed and managed by Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Since the previous ERO review, a new senior leadership team has been appointed. This includes a general manager and two senior teachers, guided by a team leader. The governance board has also undergone significant changes.
The previous ERO report identified key next steps for this kindergarten. These included: developing good practice indicators based on the teaching philosophy; strengthening learning partnerships with whānau; and internal evaluation practice. Good progress is evident.
Practices requiring development were also identified for the association. These included: strategic planning; cultural responsiveness to Māori and Pacific families; evaluation; and the appraisal process. Good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was one of a cluster of nine kindergartens in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
Children participate in a play-based programme. A home-like environment promotes exploration, interactions, experimentation and fun. Positive and warm relationships between children and with teachers are highly evident. Older children work confidently and collaboratively with younger peers.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported. Teachers work collaboratively with families, whānau and outside agencies to support their full participation in the programme.
Te Ao Māori is valued in the kindergarten. Children have opportunities to share and celebrate their pepeha as well as use poi and rakau to enrich their learning. Teachers use aspects of kaupapa Māori in the curriculum. Leaders and teachers should consider how to weave a place-based curriculum that promotes and celebrates local places of significant to Māori. In addition, teachers should explore how best to engage with whānau Māori to deepen their understanding of what educational success looks like. Consultation should also occur with the Pacific community.
A new system for planning children’s learning, based on their emerging interests is currently being implemented. Teachers are working with parents and whānau to develop more meaningful learning goals for all children. Assessment builds children's identity as a successful learner. The kindergarten's philosophy and Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum are used to guide this process. Leaders have identified that teachers should enhance their approach by:
A well-considered internal evaluation framework is in place to support decision making. Leaders and teachers are very reflective and improvement focused. Teachers use evaluation to determine how well the curriculum and their practices impact on children’s learning. Enhancing the focus on outcomes for children, when developing good practice indicators, is a next step.
A comprehensive, well-considered appraisal process is in place. Teachers challenge themselves to continually improve their practice through strategic goal-setting and professional learning. Plans are in place to further strengthen teacher development by implementing an inquiry-based approach to appraisal. This should support teachers to better measure the success of improved practices in promoting outcomes for specific children and priority groups.
The governance board includes community representatives with a wide range of useful skills. The board and senior leadership team work well together, with a shared commitment to meeting strategic goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Resource allocation clearly aligns with this focus. Equitable and inclusive ways to eliminate barriers to children’s learning and wellbeing are actively sought.
The association's senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. Robust, linked systems and processes have been skilfully developed to guide and grow teacher capability and positively impact on children’s learning. Leaders are successfully fostering a collective sense of responsibility for the vision, values and mission of the association.
ERO and kindergarten teachers agree that their priority next steps are to:
ERO, the governance board and senior leaders agree that they should continue to build their effectiveness by:
Before the review, the staff and management of Holborn 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 Holborn Kindergarten will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
17 October 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 |
Lower Hutt |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5546 |
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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 aged over two years |
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Service roll |
35 |
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Gender composition |
22 Boys, 13 Girls |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
9 |
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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 |
September 2018 |
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Date of this report |
17 October 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2015 |
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Education Review |
August 2012 |
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Education Review |
March 2009 |
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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.
Holborn Kindergarten is located in Stokes Valley and provides education and care for children aged from two to five years. Six-hour daily sessions are offered five days a week. The kindergarten is licensed for up to 40 children. Teachers are fully qualified and the programme is further assisted by support staff. The kindergarten has a positive reporting history with ERO.
The August 2012 ERO report identified areas requiring further development these included: promoting Pacific cultures; strengthening assessment, planning and evaluation and self review.
The kindergarten is governed by the Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Two professional practice managers (PPMs) are employed by the association to provide professional support and guidance to teachers. Since the previous ERO report there have been several changes of General Manager.
This review was part of a cluster of nine kindergarten reviews in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
Children participate in a child-led sustained play programme. Teachers provide a range of literacy and mathematics learning opportunities to support exploration and extend learning. Rich descriptive language and open ended questions are used in everyday conversations with children to help promote their oral language development and learning. Relationships are warm, welcoming and respectful.
The kindergarten’s philosophy has recently been reviewed in consultation with the community. It has a strong focus on, supporting Māori tamariki to be successful learners, respectful relationships with families and whānau and encouraging tamariki to work alongside each other in active exploration of their environment through meaningful play. Developing clear, specific and measurable indicators of good practice should help support the effective implementation.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported to enable them to participate in all aspects of the curriculum. The kindergarten has appropriate processes and systems in place to support children and their families for transitioning into school.
Positive relationships formed with families and whānau are reciprocal and respectful, and support children's sense of belonging. Strengthening these relationships for learning through capturing their aspirations for their children is a next step.
Te reo me ngā tikānga Māori is well promoted in the kindergarten. Te reo Māori is heard frequently and used in conversations between teachers and children. Waiata are popular activities. The annual kai and waiata evening has become an important community occasion.
Strategies to support success for Māori and Pacific children are in place. Teachers have identified the need to further consult with their Māori and Pacific communities to define what success looks like for their children in this context. This should help to guide teaching, learning and self review.
Children's learning stories provide a rich picture of their interests and learning experiences. Celebrating their culture, language and identity is clearly evident in their stories. Recently there has been an increased focus by teachers to show more complexity, challenge and progression in the learning stories. Planning is child centred and responds to children's emerging interests.
The head teacher demonstrates a collaborative and thoughtful approach to leadership. Teachers have a strong commitment to the philosophy, vision and direction of the centre. The kindergarten has an effective self review process in place to help them improve their practices and curriculum. Self review is valued and led in a collaborative way where teachers are fully involved. A next step is for teachers to include a clear focus on outcomes for children.
The association is part way through the implementation of a new approach to appraisal. Once fully established this should assist leaders to provide a robust, supportive and developmental process. The PPMs should then regularly monitor how well appraisal is implemented in each kindergarten.
The board receives a range of useful information. A key next step is for leaders to undertake more evaluative reporting to assist in decision making and ongoing resourcing. The strategic plan provides a vision and shared direction to guide development. Establishing clearer measures of success should strengthen evaluation of progress towards goals. In addition, strategies that promote cultural responsiveness to Māori and Pacific families should be highlighted in strategic documents.
The PPMs provide half-yearly written reports. These show how the kindergarten is meeting legislative requirements, and at times, make recommendations. The reports should be strengthened by providing critical feedback on the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving outcomes for children.
The association provides guidance and support to teachers for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. This includes:
At the time of this review, the association was involved in a process of a formal review to determine the future direction of Hutt Kindergartens. ERO identified that, within the current operating model, the capacity of senior staff to provide targeted support that promotes ongoing improvement to teaching and learning is limited.
ERO indentified priorities for improvement should include:
The association should:
Before the review, the staff and management of Holborn 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 Holborn Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
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 |
Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5546 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged over two years |
||
|
Service roll |
38 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 21, Boys 17 |
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|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific |
4 31 3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
July 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
14 September 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 2006 |
||
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.