Kawakawa-Orere Road, RD5, Kawakawa Bay, Auckland
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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.
Kawakawa Bay Kindergarten is a well-established all-day service in a coastal community. It is licensed for 20 children two years of age and over and operates daily from 8am to 3.30pm.
The kindergarten is part of the Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association (CMKA) and operates under its policies and management framework. A CMKA education manager (EM) visits the kindergarten and provides leadership and curriculum support for teachers. The CMKA is currently in the process of reviewing its structures and operational framework.
The kindergarten has faced some challenges since the 2014 ERO review. In March 2017, the kindergarten relocated to the community hall for nine months while the building was repaired after severe flooding. There have also been ongoing staff changes during this time. The teaching team includes a head teacher, one other registered teacher, an administrator, and a teacher aide.
ERO's 2014 report noted that the kindergarten enjoyed high levels of community commitment, and that children were very well supported by skilled adults. These aspects of good practice remain consistent. Key next steps in 2014 included maintaining and building on current good practice through changes in the teaching team, and continuing to deepen self-review.
This review was part of a cluster of eight reviews in the CMKA.
Children are well supported to be confident and competent learners within this positive environment. They demonstrate a sense of belonging at the kindergarten. Children enjoy many opportunities to explore the well-resourced environment and lead their own learning.
Teachers encourage children to take responsibility for themselves and to care for others. Children play cooperatively with each other and have established friendships with their peers. They interact respectfully with teachers and other adults.
The teaching team works cohesively to implement a curriculum that is responsive to the interests of children and takes account of the aspirations of parents. Noteworthy aspects of the curriculum include:
a deeply embedded play-based, child-led approach
strategies to help children learn to self-regulate their emotions and build resilience
a focus on practising and instilling an understanding of environmental sustainability
thoughtful curriculum approaches that cater for children's different interests and developmental stages in a mixed age group.
Teachers maintain strong connections with the wider community. Parents and whānau provide invaluable support for the day-to-day kindergarten operations. Parents who spoke to ERO appreciate what the kindergarten provides for their children.
Teachers have established positive reciprocal relationships with the nearby primary school and local council. Regular small group excursions to a local reserve deepen the older children's understanding of nature and the link to te ao Māori. Teachers are considering ways to further enhance the relationship between the kindergarten curriculum and the local community.
CMKA strategic goals and the kindergarten's annual planning guide improvements in teaching practice, learning environments and outcomes for children and their whānau. Clearer identification of indicators at the outset would strengthen strategic planning and evaluation processes.
Well established CMKA management systems, policies and processes guide the kindergarten's practices. Embedding the practice of regular documented observations into CMKA appraisal processes would enhance the support provided for teachers' professional growth.
Leaders and teachers agree that their key next steps include:
making teachers' professional discussions, goal setting and decision making more visible in planning and internal evaluation documentation
continuing to develop the inclusion of te ao Māori by strengthening links between the curriculum, tangata whenua and local tikanga Māori practices.
CMKA leaders agree that their next steps are to continue:
providing consistent ongoing support for leaders and teachers that sustains leadership and improves teaching practice
implementing Te Whāriki, the revised early childhood curriculum, to identify priorities for learning and evaluation
supporting teachers to increase the visibility of children's cultural identity and continuity of learning in their individual portfolios
building capability and depth in internal evaluation across the association.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kawakawa Bay 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:
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.
To improve current practice, the service should take steps to ensure that all parents and whanau are well informed about how the risks associated with the swimming programme are managed.
The next ERO review of Kawakawa Bay Kindergarten will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
21 December 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 |
Kawakawa Bay, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5117 |
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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 |
20 children aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
23 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 13 Boys 10 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
October 2018 |
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Date of this report |
21 December 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2014 |
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Education Review |
April 2011 |
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Education Review |
May 2008 |
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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.
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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.
Kawakawa Bay Kindergarten is the only early childhood education service for the coastal and rural communities of Orere Point and Kawakawa Bay. It enjoys high levels of community support and commitment.
In early 2014, the community supported a change that enabled the kindergarten to offer a kindergarten day model. It now provides six-hour sessions on four days a week for up to 20 children, including some under three years of age. The teaching team now includes two registered teachers and a teacher aide. The team is supported very well by parent helpers and an administrator.
ERO’s 2011 review recognised the strength of community relationships in the kindergarten and identified a variety of good practices. ERO suggested improvements in planning and self review to support more complex learning. Good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association.
The Association’s values, strategic goals and mission statement provide clear guidance for the kindergarten. A sound governance framework, management systems and professional personnel support kindergarten operations. A professional practice manager (PPM) provides management, leadership and curriculum support for teachers, and the Association provides regular professional development opportunities.
Children and their families enjoy very good relationships with teachers and each other and have a strong sense of belonging in the kindergarten environment. Teachers actively promote a sense of community and partnership with whānau. They value the regular voluntary support that they receive from parents and other community members.
Child-led learning is very well supported by skilled adults. Children play cooperatively and are respected as self-managing, competent learners. They are creative and independent. Child-initiated imaginative role play, that mirrors the community and children’s life experiences, is a feature of the programme.
Children are capable communicators and have in-depth, meaningful conversations with teachers and each other. Teachers provide very good support for children’s language development and literacy learning. They respond appropriately to children’s ideas to foster thinking and increasingly complex, extended learning. The extension of a child-led interest in mathematics is apparent in children’s play and throughout the kindergarten.
Teachers recognise the capability of two-year-old children and have established effective strategies for including them in most aspects of the programme. Adults support these children well to settle in and to engage with learning activities. Older children model and care for the younger children in the kindergarten. These tuakana/teina relationships are promoted and appreciated.
The kindergarten’s richly resourced learning environment reflects its coastal and rural surroundings and teachers’ commitment to providing a bicultural programme. It provides very good opportunities for exploration, investigation and physical challenge. Displays celebrate the kindergarten community and feature children’s literacy and creative work.
Teachers have developed a useful new process to help them plan how they will support individual children’s learning. Well documented assessment provides very good information about children’s learning and their active engagement in the high quality programme. Programme implementation clearly reflects the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The head teacher models skilled teaching and provides effective leadership for other adults in the kindergarten. Teachers value the PPM’s support. Changes in kindergarten operations have been carefully managed. Teachers’ self review is thoughtful, well recorded and improvement focused. It is becoming better informed by research about best practice.
Association systems for strategic planning and self review are well established and effective. Teachers and whānau have opportunities to contribute to these processes. The PPM knows the kindergarten very well, provides responsive and professional support for teachers and continually promotes high quality teaching and learning. The PPM regularly reports to the general manager about the kindergarten’s progress. The Association’s performance appraisal processes are well established and have recently been adapted to enhance support for the ongoing growth and development of staff.
The PPM and teachers have identified appropriate priorities for ongoing kindergarten development including:
maintaining and building on current good practices, with an impending change in the teaching team
continuing to deepen their self-review thinking, and focusing their evaluation more clearly on how effectively their practices respond to the needs of children and the community.
To enhance its governance and management practices, the Association could now consider making more deliberate connections between the kindergarten’s and Association’s self review and longterm planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kawakawa Bay 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.
Association plans for upgrading bathroom and other facilities at the kindergarten will enable teachers to improve provision for children’s health and safety.
The next ERO review of Kawakawa Bay Kindergarten will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
17 September 2014
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 |
Kawakawa Bay, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5117 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
20 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
20 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 13 Boys 7 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Middle Eastern Samoan |
10 8 1 1 |
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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 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2014 |
||
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Date of this report |
17 September 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2005 |
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.