- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
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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.
Huntsbury Preschool is a community-led early childhood service which provides education and care for children over two years to six years. It is located within the Huntsbury Community Centre. The teachers set up the learning environment on a daily basis.
The outdoor area provides children with a wide range of learning experiences, including opportunities to explore, interact with, and discover the natural world and learn about caring for the environment.
The preschool is well governed and managed by a board of volunteer parents and a long-serving, dedicated team of registered teachers.
The preschool has established close links with a local community cluster of schools. This has supported children's transition to local schools and provided professional development opportunities for teachers.
Since the 2013 ERO review, the leadership of the preschool has changed, the hours have been extended and a fourth teacher has been employed. The recommendations from the last report have been well met. (See findings below)
Children are actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences that promote and support ongoing learning. The centre programme has a wide range of activities that includes an itinerant music specialist and excursions into the local community.
Teaching practices and engaging activities extend children's interests. Learning experiences for children link closely with the preschool's values, philosophy, vision and Māori values. Teachers provide children with challenge, interest and stimulation that supports thinking and problem-solving skills.
Children and parents actively lead and contribute to the curriculum. Children's contributions, ideas and interests are encouraged, valued and shared. Parent feedback is enthusiastic, positive and well used.
Children's learning is well planned for and well informed by assessment. Teachers use very good systems to analyse children's learning and progress. Priorities for children's learning are effectively shared with the teaching team and reflected in children's learning stories.
Teachers know children and their families well. There are positive and collaborative relationships at all levels. Teachers and parents work together and seek advice from professional agencies to support individual children as a need presents.
Children also benefit from:
well-managed transitions into and out of the preschool
the well-integrated bicultural programme (including tikanga and te reo Māori) where concepts valued by Māori are shared and well understood
a natural outdoor learning area, equipment and resources that encourage physical activities, and creative play.
The preschool is well governed, managed and led. Governance board members, management team, teachers and parents are strongly committed, and have high expectations for teaching and learning. They work collaboratively to ensure that systems for smooth day-to-day running of the preschool are in place. A very effective strategic plan has been implemented which identifies key priorities and guides future developments.
A culture of ongoing reflection, self review and a new appraisal system for teachers have impacted on ongoing improved outcomes for children.
The licensee and head teacher have identified, and ERO agrees, that the preschool is in a stage of embedding and sustaining new practices. These include te reo and tikanga Māori; planning and assessment changes; appraisal and the refinement of the self-review process.
Before the review, the staff and management of Huntsbury Preschool Inc 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.
The next ERO review of Huntsbury Preschool Inc will be in four years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
27 June 2016
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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70373 |
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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, two years of age and over |
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Service roll |
37 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 23; Girls 14 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnicities |
3 28 6 |
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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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2016 |
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Date of this report |
27 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO reports
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Education Review |
May 2013 |
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Education Review |
June 2013 |
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Education Review |
October 2003 |
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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:
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.
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.