Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre - 21/07/2015

• On this page:

• 1.Evaluation of Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre
• 2. Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3. General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

1.Evaluation of Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre

How well placed is Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre is located in Hamilton East, adjacent to Catholic schools and the Catholic cathedral. It is a community-based centre that is available to all families seeking Christian values for their pre-school child. It is a full-day licensed facility that caters for up to 30 three and four year old children. At the time of this ERO review there were 44 children on the roll, of whom two identify as Māori and six have Pacific heritages.

The centre operates within the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton. A board of directors provides oversight of strategic direction, financial management and personnel matters. The management committee, consisting of board representatives, centre supervisor, administrator and parent-elected members, supports the daily management of the centre.

Since the 2012 ERO review, staffing has remained consistent. All teaching staff are fully qualified and experienced in early childhood education. A large covered deck has recently been added to the building to provide increased space for learning and play. Centre personnel have responded positively to the agreed priorities for development identified in the last ERO report. Considerable progress has been made in developing staff appraisal to improve outcomes for children.

The centre philosophy continues to be strongly underpinned by the strands and principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and the New Zealand Catholic Curriculum. Centre leaders and teachers maintain close connections with the local Catholic parish and neighbouring primary school. These relationships promote well being and belonging for children and families, and facilitate smooth transition to school. Cultural diversity is acknowledged and celebrated, as is the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. A welcoming family atmosphere is evident throughout the centre.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from very respectful, reciprocal, trusting relationships with teachers. These positive interactions are fostered amongst children. A feature of the centre is the established kaiawhina role for older children, which promotes leadership and tuakana-teina relationships within the centre. Teachers provide a highly supportive and inclusive learning atmosphere for all children and families, including those requiring extra support. Each child is recognised as an individual with ‘God-given’ gifts and potential to be developed collaboratively by educators, families and the community.

Teachers build strong, supportive relationships with parents, whānau, Catholic schools and the parish community. The induction process is well established and enables parents to fully participate in settling their children into centre routines. Parents have many opportunities to discuss their child’s learning and development and to participate in the programme. Parents spoken with by ERO appreciate many aspects of the service. These include education evenings, which explain centre practices that prepare children for school according to the principles and expectations of Te Whāriki.

Planning and assessment processes are based on children’s emerging interests, and are made visible to parents in portfolios, wall displays and the daily diary. Explicit teaching and celebration of centre values are spontaneously integrated into the daily programme. Planned and incidental opportunities for te reo and tikanga Māori are well integrated in teachers’ conversations with children. There is an appropriate emphasis on developing children’s creative expression, along with literacy and numeracy skills and concepts.

Children have access to a wide range of high quality resources that support them to be actively involved in play of their choice. Learning and play areas are very attractively presented. Displays effectively promote literacy, numeracy and te reo Māori, and celebrate children’s work. The outdoor area provides physical challenges and resources that promote investigation and social competencies.

The supervisor is a highly effective professional leader. She promotes collaborative leadership and keeps up to date with best practice and current theory in early childhood education. She models reflective practice and is continually refining the centre’s self-review processes. The strategic plan gives clear direction for the future development of the centre. The philosophy is regularly reviewed in consultation with the community, and reflected in the positive culture and high quality practices evident throughout the daily programme.

Key Next Steps

Managers and ERO agree that as a focus for continuing review, the centre staff should continue to:

• explore further ways to develop educationally powerful partnerships with parents as participants in their child’s learning
• build on existing processes for recording child and parent voice to explicitly plan and extend individual learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre 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 Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre will be in four years.

Graham Randell Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

21 July 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

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.