6 O'Neills Road, Swanson
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Pineapples Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing |
Pineapples Early Learning Centre is a privately owned and operated service. The owner manages daily operations and is supported by three qualified head teachers. The teaching team includes an additional eight qualified teachers and six unqualified staff. A quarter of enrolled children are of Māori heritage. The service has changed ownership and has been rebranded since ERO’s previous report in 2018.
Children engage in play of their choosing in a settled, calm environment. Their preferences are respected, and they benefit from predictable and consistent care routines. Children’s play is imaginative, and they use a range of strategies for reasoning and problem solving. The natural outdoor environment helps to enhance children’s learning experiences.
Leaders have established positive relationships with parents and acknowledge the aspirations they hold for their children’s learning. Relationships with external agencies support teachers to provide a curriculum that enables all children to fully participate. Children benefit from a sense of security through familiarity and continuity of staff.
Service leaders and teachers are beginning to consider te ao Māori world views and have used these to rebuild their philosophy. A shared understanding of this philosophy is not yet evident in teaching practices.
Planning and assessment for infants highlights children’s learning aligned to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Service leaders now need to refine planning for children over the age of two years and use consistent approaches to assess older children’s learning.
A newly developed strategic plan clearly identifies service priorities and is supported by a recently reviewed system for internal evaluation. Ongoing monitoring of strategic goals and evidence of the impact of improvements made over time are not yet documented.
Children’s learning and wellbeing underpin decision making. The positive working environment facilitates reciprocal relationships and cohesion amongst the teaching team. Leaders engage purposefully with external evaluation seeing it as an opportunity to validate practice and support their improvement actions.
Pineapples Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Develop shared teacher understandings of practices that are consistent with the revised philosophy. This should include the provision of a curriculum that promotes success for Māori children and enables all children to experience a bicultural curriculum.
Continue to refine the planning processes for older children aligned to the aspirations of Te Whāriki.
Systematically monitor strategic priorities to show the impact of improvements on teaching practices and children’s learning over time.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pineapples Early Learning Centre completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Having a sleep policy that ensures sleeping children are checked for breathing, warmth and general wellbeing and records maintained for the sleep checks made by adults for the duration of children’s sleep (HS9).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
27 January 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Pineapples Early Learning Centre |
|
Profile Number |
10323 |
|
Location |
Swanson, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 14 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
79 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
27 January 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as Kids Express: Education Review, April 2018; |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kids Express is a well-established private kindergarten in Swanson, West Auckland. The centre is licensed for 45 children aged two to five years, and offers both all-day and sessional care and education.
One of the two experienced owners/managers is a fully qualified early childhood teacher. A team of qualified and long serving staff members work together to provide education and care for children. Māori children make up 25 percent of the roll, which includes smaller groups of Asian children and a few from other ethnic backgrounds.
The centre's philosophy recognises children as curious, confident and capable learners. It promotes an environment that incorporates bicultural practices and celebrates diversity in the community. Partnerships with families and the community are valued.
The centre has a positive reporting history. Managers have responded well to ERO's 2013 recommendations to strengthen strategic planning and opportunities for sustained play.
Children are supported well to become capable, confident learners with a strong sense of belonging. They benefit from a calm, unhurried pace to the day, and have good opportunities to develop sustained play. Children play cooperatively and purposefully in the spacious and attractive environment. They engage in rich conversations about their play and enjoy extending their ideas and curiosity. Children are encouraged to develop their independence and self-management skills.
High quality teaching practices are underpinned by teachers' warm and respectful relationships with children and parents. Inclusive practices ensure that children with additional learning needs are well supported. Teachers work collaboratively and facilitate opportunities for children's language development, inquiry and problem solving.
Well-considered play spaces and a wide selection of learning resources invite children to make choices about their play. Natural materials and artefacts reflect children's cultural backgrounds. The spacious outdoor area provides opportunities for physical challenge, imaginative and creative play, and exploration about the natural world.
Children experience a highly responsive curriculum that includes authentic learning, science and numeracy. Transitions into the centre are thoughtfully managed. Learning opportunities that build children's capability to be ready for school are promoted through the centre programme.
The programme aligns well with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Individual portfolios record and inform parents about their children's learning. Documentation about recent learning is visible and informative.
Teachers have made good progress integrating bicultural perspectives into the programme and strengthening their use of te reo Māori. Centre practices and the environment celebrate the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Teachers are continuing to improve their understanding of tikanga Māori and purposeful approaches for supporting for Māori children's success. The use of Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, should support this goal.
Internal evaluation is used well to help teachers enhance learning outcomes for children. Leaders have built a strong team culture of ongoing improvement and openness to learning. Progress towards centre goals is well monitored. Professional learning and mentoring support teachers' development and emerging leadership. Leaders continue to adapt and refine personnel management and appraisal systems to meet Education Council expectations. A next step is to strengthen teachers' individual inquiries about the effectiveness of their practice.
Robust systems, policies and procedures contribute to the effective management of the centre. The centre vision and philosophy are enacted through a shared commitment to high quality provision for children.
Centre leaders agree that priorities to continue sustainable improvements include internal evaluation to enhance:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Express 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 Kids Express will be in four years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
16 April 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.
|
Location |
Swanson, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10323 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
45 children, over 2 years of age |
||
|
Service roll |
72 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 41 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
18 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 April 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2007 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kids Express is a privately owned kindergarten located between Ranui and Swanson in West Auckland. The service caters for children from two to five years of age and offers both all day and sessional care and education.
Two experienced co-owners, one of whom is a fully trained and qualified early childhood teacher, form the management team. They work closely with the other teachers, who are fully qualified and several are also long-serving staff members.
The centre has children from a diverse community and wide geographical area. Centre owners and teachers have maintained their strong commitment to cater for children with additional needs.
The centre has a very positive ERO reporting history and has sustained many of the areas of strength noted in previous reports. Centre leaders have responded well to external review to implement a new performance management system and improved review systems.
Children’s wellbeing is well supported by positive, caring teachers. Respectful relationships between children, teachers, parents and whānau contribute to a settled and calm atmosphere. Effective routines at the beginning of sessions create a sense of belonging between families and the centre.
Children benefit from a spacious, well designed learning environment. They have very good access to a wide range of learning materials. The programme promotes many opportunities for children to develop early literacy, science and numeracy skills in meaningful ways.
Children develop as capable and confident learners, making decisions about their learning for parts of the programme. Opportunities for collaborative learning are evident. Time for this could now be extended to encourage more sustained, complex play.
Māori children are supported by teachers who are developing their use of te reo Māori in the programme. Teachers know these children well and provide opportunities for them to explore their culture and identity in the programme. Finding ways for all teachers to extend their understanding of te reo Māori, te ao Māori and tikanga could enhance outcomes for all learners.
Teachers recognise the diverse backgrounds of children. Assessment records show some opportunities for children to share their culture and identity. Cultural artefacts are valued by the centre and teachers are continuing to make connections to a wider range of cultural contexts in the programme. To further support Pacific children, centre staff could consider ways to learn and promote the languages of the Pacific, as part of their commitment to inclusive practices.
Children with additional needs are very well supported. Leaders are committed to providing access to education and high quality support for these children. Trusting partnerships with families are evident, and teachers are engaged in ongoing professional development to ensure they have the skills to best support learners.
Consistently high quality assessment practices are used by teachers to document children's learning and development. They evaluate children’s learning skilfully and are well positioned to encourage children to evaluate their own learning in greater depth.
Communication with families is frequent and open. Families appreciate the centre’s proactive approach to supporting their children, especially during transitions to the centre, to school and through any difficult times. Further opportunities for parent education could enhance parents’ understanding of high quality early childhood education and be of use in children’s home settings.
Centre leaders continue to provide very good professional learning and development opportunities for teachers. Links with external providers are well used to inform centre development and to sustain improvements. A new centre philosophy is undergoing consultation with families, and a new performance management process, with closer links to centre strategic goals, is now in place.
The centre is well led and effectively managed. Leaders are consultative and collaborative which encourages effective teamwork. There is a focus on continual improvement and evidence of high quality self -review systems.
ERO, centre leaders and teachers agree that the key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Express 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 Kids Express will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
6 September 2013
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 |
Swanson, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10323 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
45 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
96 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 54 Boys 42 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other European Bangladeshi India Niue Cambodian |
16 67 5 3 2 2 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
July 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
6 September 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2004 |
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.