234 Bankwood Road, Chartwell, Hamilton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Home Grown Kids is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Home Grown Kids Central Districts Network is one of seven, privately owned home-based education and care networks now operating under the ownership of Edubase Limited. It is licensed to provide home-based education and care for 50 children. Currently there are nine children on the roll.
Since the April 2015 ERO report, there has been a change in ownership of the service. The service now operates under the ownership of Edubase Ltd, but continues to operate as Home Grown Kids. Two managing directors are supported by a senior leadership team who have oversight of the services policies, procedures and responsibilities and provide leadership support for the visiting teachers.
The geographical area of this network includes educators based in Whanganui, Palmerston North and Hawera. The recently appointed visiting teacher has responsibility for this network. As a qualified teacher, her role is to support educators to implement suitable early learning programmes for children in the homes of educators.
Through their recently reviewed philosophy, leaders and educators aim to provide a quality, home environment where children learn in mixed-age groups supported by respectful relationships. Play- based programmes are underpinned by a broad curriculum that seeks to empower children to learn and grow and to be inclusive of their cultural identity, heritage and language.
The previous ERO report identified a number of areas that required improving to promote and sustain good practice. These included: self review; educator development; parent partnership; bicultural practice; quality assurance; and planning, assessment and evaluation. Good progress has been made in these areas.
Children benefit from an extensive range of learning experiences in educators' homes and the wider community. Educators work alongside parents to provide relevant activities and practices that are responsive to their children's individual needs.
Educators provide inclusive learning environments to ensure infants and toddlers have full access to the programme. Tuakana teina relationships are fostered to enhance learning opportunities alongside older peers. Their sense of belonging is well promoted.
Video observations show children enthusiastically participate in a range of activities that represent te ao Māori. Te reo Māori, waiata and karakia are integrated throughout daily routines. The visiting teacher provides relevant information to build educators' understanding of tikanga in practice. This continues to be a priority to fulfil the service's vision and philosophy and uphold the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A deliberate focus on establishing relational trust with educators and whānau during a time of change is clearly evident. The visiting teacher has given priority to gathering parent voice to become better informed of the aspirations and learning goals they have for their children. These are valued to enhance their child's experiences at the educator's home.
Children's assessment narratives show their ongoing interests and their developing dispositions for learning. The visiting teacher provides practical support to strengthen educators' use of assessment practices to identify children's learning, next steps and progress. The inclusion of photographs, linked to Te Whāriki and various forms of research, guide educators in their understanding. Further supporting educators to make connections to children's culture, language and identity to inform planning is a next step.
Sound systems and processes guide operation. Health and safety in homes is sufficiently monitored during regular and robust checks by the visiting teacher. The visiting teacher effectively provides support and guidance to educators. Useful feedback and support is provided to maintain and improve practice to meet the expectations of the home-based licensing criteria.
A new appraisal process has recently been developed for the visiting teacher. Teaching as inquiry has been introduced and is supported by an external facilitator. This system now needs time to be fully implemented.
Self review contributes positively to organisational improvement. Leaders continue to develop their understanding and use of effective internal evaluation. A next step is to monitor, evaluate and report on the extent to which children's outcomes have been improved. This should include the effectiveness of the curriculum for specific priority groups, to inform further decision making.
Leaders should continue to strengthen:
their response to parents' aspirations and children’s culture, language and identity to inform assessment for learning
the use of internal evaluation to monitor the impact of processes and systems on improving outcomes for priority groups.
Before the review, the staff and management of Home Grown Kids completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
6 March 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 |
Manawatū (Central Districts) |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
30197 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 50 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
9 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
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Gender composition |
Girls 5, Boys 4 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
5 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
1 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
February 2019 |
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Date of this report |
6 March 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2015 |
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Education Review |
January 2009 |
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Education Review |
February 2006 |
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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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
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.
Home Grown Kids is one of nine privately-owned home-based education and care networks operating nationally under the umbrella of Home Grown Kids, based in Tauranga. This network covers Kapiti Coast, Horowhenua, Manawatu and Taranaki. A national team of three directors provides governance and management support for all Home Grown Kids services. A regional manager, based in Christchurch, supports the two visiting teachers working in this network.
The visiting teachers’ role is to support educators to implement suitable early learning programmes for children in their homes. Home Grown Kids offers two models of education and care: a Home Educator model, where an educator works in their own home; and a Nanny Educator model, where an educator works in a family’s home. A large proportion of the educators in this network are home educators. There are 47 children enrolled, of whom six identify as Māori.
Due to the large geographical area covered by the network, the two visiting teachers are unable to work closely together to manage daily operations. They are fully registered, experienced early childhood practitioners. One is a long-term employee while the other was appointed early in 2014.
The philosophy of Home Grown Kids emphasises the importance of valuing and supporting families’ cultures, building partnerships, and reciprocal, responsive relationships with parents and whānau.
This review is one of two home-based network reviews of Home Grown Kids services. The previous ERO review was in 2009.
Children benefit from being able to participate in a variety of learning experiences in educators’ homes and the local community. Many attend Home Grown Kids’ playgroups and organised excursions which provide new challenges and opportunities to socialise.
A wide range of learning materials is provided by the service and visiting teachers to support educators to develop learning experiences for children in their care.
Provision for children aged up to two years is carefully considered. Matching of children to educators is undertaken collaboratively with families, with sensitivity to their needs. Useful professional learning and development has been undertaken by visiting teachers to support their approach.
Parents’ input and feedback is valued. A recent focus on strengthening relationships between visiting teachers and families and whānau has resulted in improved communication after each home visit. Teachers agree they need to continue to:
The learning programme does not yet reflect the intent of Home Grown Kid’s cultural policy. The support of educators fluent in te reo Māori has aided one of the visiting teachers to integrate a bicultural perspective into children’s learning journals, documentation and playgroups. However, more development is needed at management level. Leadership that supports shared understanding across the team of Treaty-based practice and promotes the participation of Māori in the service is a next development step.
A broad policy guideline, website information and an individualised approach provide good support for children’s transitions into and out of the service. Visiting teachers should continue to seek up-to-date information and research links between early childhood and school programmes to support their approach.
Children with additional learning needs are welcome at Home Grown Kids services. Visiting teachers are aware of appropriate community support and resources to aid these children’s participation in learning programmes.
Home visits are used well to ensure health and safety requirements are met and suitable experiences are in place for children. A focus on child-led learning in homes is encouraged. Literacy, mathematics, science and physical play are integrated into learning programmes. Educators regularly record information about aspects of children’s learning and special happenings, some linked to the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki. Visiting teachers also record children’s emerging interests and suggestions for development steps. Photographs and emails about children’s wellbeing and progress are regularly shared with parents.
Assessment practice needs strengthening. Teachers require support to develop good-quality models of assessment to share with educators. Visit notes would be improved by including ideas about educators’ next development steps as learning facilitators. A continued focus on helping educators understand and describe children’s learning should also be useful.
Visiting teachers demonstrate high levels of commitment to their roles. Good relationships and open communication are evident between them and management. They are proactive in seeking professional learning and development opportunities. Feedback from educators, parents and whānau is sought and valued to support development planning.
A revised appraisal process promotes teachers’ reflection on their professional requirements. When fully implemented, this should help to identify priorities to strengthen practice. Management agrees that a next step is to set goals for each teacher’s development linked to their own and the service’s priorities. Their progress should also be supported through the provision of regular constructive feedback and observations of their practice by the appraiser.
Visiting teachers are in the early stages of developing their understanding and use of self review to promote improvement. More direction is needed from management to support their practice and decisions about development. The directors should increase opportunities for face-to-face meetings between the regional manager and visiting teachers to enable this to happen.
Considerable investment has been made to resource communication across the services and visiting teachers and educators to undertake their roles. However, systems that support sustainable practice and improvement require development at management and governance level. Some guidelines for curriculum and operation need updating and clarifying. Strategic and annual planning, and regular review at governance level that support continual improvement, is not yet in place.
While there are suitable procedures for children’s wellbeing and safety in homes, a more rigorous quality assurance process linked to managing the visiting teachers’ roles, is necessary. A collaborative review of practice in relation to the overarching philosophy that guides teaching, learning and operation should also be a useful next step to assist decision making about priorities for development.
Management needs to focus on improving systems that promote and sustain good practice. This should include:
Visiting teachers should focus on continuing to improve their:
Before the review, the staff and management of Home Grown Kids 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 Home Grown Kids will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
16 June 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.
|
Location |
Kapiti Coast, Horowhenua, Manawatu, Taranaki |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
30197 |
|
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
47 |
|
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 26, Boys 21 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
6 35 6 |
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
2 |
|
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
|
|
Review team on site |
April 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
16 June 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.