Kew Kindergarten

1 Evaluation of Kew Kindergarten

How well placed is Kew Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Kew Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Kew Kindergarten provides education for up to 40 children from two years old and currently has a roll of 29 children. All teachers are fully certified and early childhood trained teachers. A head teacher is supported in her leadership role by a senior teacher who also supports the professional practice of the teaching team. The Kindergarten South Association (KS) oversees the governance and management of the kindergarten.

Kew's whakataukī 'he waka eke noa: we are all in this together' is used to guide the practices of the kindergarten. Its philosophy sets out how positive outcomes are delivered. This includes 'pā harakeke (bucket filling), taiao tuhura (bush kindy), te ao Māori, pakiawaitara (story telling), and enviro-schools kaupapa'.

Kew Kindergarten's aspiration is that every tamaiti (child) leaves 'with a strong sense of ūkaipōtanga (belonging), knowing where they belong, and where they can contribute. The kindergarten's culture is based on Māori concepts and language, and whānau that are actively involved.

This review is one of two reviews in the Kindergarten South Association.

The Review Findings

Kew Kindergarten provides a learning environment that is welcoming to all children, their parents and whānau. Children settle quickly on arrival into activities that respond to their interests and needs. Children have respect for each other, for their kindergarten and the environment. There are caring relationships between teachers, children and their whānau.

Children are empowered to make choices and take on leadership roles. They are supported to be confident learners and enabled to make decisions about their learning, and for the wellbeing of themselves and others. The kindergarten's whakataukī ensures that all children, including those with additional needs, are carefully planned for. The kindergarten treaty and philosophy are evidenced by children and teachers having respectful, caring and responsive interactions.

Children’s learning is supported by the kindergarten's curriculum priorities which are evident in practice. Children are involved in deciding what resources are used and how their environment is set up. This provides for a range of rich experiences for the children. Visual displays are thoughtfully presented and used to enable children to revisit prior learning while also providing useful information for parents about learning.

Kew Kindergarten has a strong focus on providing a Treaty of Waitangi-based curriculum. Māori concepts and te reo Māori are incorporated in the day-to-day programme by both children and teachers. Children learn about kaitiakitanga (guardianship of papatuanuku), taiao tuhura (sustainability of the environment), and are independently, and collectively learning through the strategies of pā harakeke (bucket filling/pro-social play).

The best examples of assessment and planning for children show that whānau and tamaiti goals are being sought and recognised in ongoing learning stories. Learning stories could be further strengthened by having explicit learning outcomes and teaching strategies used, with a clear link to Kew Kindergarten learning priorities.

Leaders and teachers are improvement focused and engaged in internal evaluation. They are building their capacity to strengthen this practice across the kindergarten. Through this, leaders and teachers will be able to lift their practice in providing positive learning outcomes for children.

Since ERO’s 2017 reviews of KS kindergartens, there have been significant changes within the association management and leadership team. Many of the good practices in place to support the kindergartens have been sustained. However ERO found that the board needs better information to know how well kindergartens are improving outcomes for children. The board also needs to review its own performance and review the roles and responsibilities within the association leadership and management team.

Key Next Steps

For the association:

The association and board have clearly identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps to further improve outcomes for children are to:

• further develop the vision, values, philosophy and goals to better reflect the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori perspectives
• ensure reporting and monitoring at all levels is evaluative and shows how outcomes for children have been improved, especially for priority learners, and in relation to the association’s valued outcomes, vision and philosophy
• ensure there is a clear process for consulting with all parents and whānau Māori within the association
• monitor the effectiveness of new initiatives
• review the roles and responsibilities of leadership positions within the association, and review the performance and effectiveness of the board
• review and update the complaints policy and procedure.

For the kindergarten:

To ensure the sustainability of good practice and recent developments, leaders and teachers need to further develop, embed, monitor and evaluate the following:

• internal evaluation, to know the effectiveness of what has been done and what needs to be improved
• planning, assessment and evaluation of children's learning, to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to promote this
• the philosophy, to capture desired learning outcomes
• long term planning, to align to KS's strategic plan
• building leadership capability, to implement and sustain improved systems.

Regular monitoring and reporting of these key next steps will ensure that further developments will be followed through to completion. This will strengthen the good practice that is happening.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kew 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.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

14 May 2019

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

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.

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.