174 Far North Road, Awanui
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 Kahu Kiwi are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
Kahu Kiwi, previously known as Kids Kingdom, is one of two services under the same ownership. The owners provide governance and management support. One of the qualified owners is part of a teaching team comprising of a head kaiako, four qualified kaiako and five kaimahi. Most tamariki enrolled are of Māori heritage. The service philosophy is based on the values of whanaungatanga, manākitanga, māramatanga, and kaitiakitanga.
Tamariki experience attentive and caring interactions with kaiako. They are confident and interact respectfully with others, showing respect for kaupapa Māori. Kaiako strongly promote and enact the values of whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. They encourage tamariki to be independent and to care for the environment and other tamariki. Younger tamariki experience responsive relationships with adults. Their play is valued, and they participate in unhurried routines.
Whānau appreciate the engagement and connections formed over two generations with the service. Tamariki with special rights are supported well to engage in the curriculum and enjoy positive outcomes.
The environment and resources reflect kaupapa Māori concepts. Kaiako intentionally integrate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in the curriculum. Tamariki experience te ao Māori in the curriculum and use kupu Māori naturally and authentically.
Kaiako respond to the interests and dispositions of individual tamariki. Kaiako document the learning and progress of individual tamariki. They now need to document group planning and evaluate the curriculum. This should include evaluating and documenting the effectiveness of teaching practices in creating improved outcomes for tamariki.
Leaders and teachers are working towards embedding some established systems and practices. These include:
monitoring of processes to ensure regulatory requirements are consistently maintained
the recently established professional growth cycle
developing the strategic plan
building internal evaluation capability to identify, enact and evaluate strategic goals and priorities.
Kahu Kiwi will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning for leaders and kaiako to:
improve assessment and planning records to show how these guide both individual and group learning, and regularly evaluate how well the curriculum and teaching practices promote learning
evaluate and document the effectiveness of teaching strategies to identify what works and what doesn’t work for individual tamariki to guide improved kaiako practices
grow their understanding and use of internal evaluation for improvement.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kahu Kiwi 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.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following
non-compliances:
A written procedure for safety checking all children’s workers before they have access to children that meets the safety checking requirements of the Children’s Act 2014 (GMA7A).
A record of the time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time (HS9).
A record of the written authority from parents for the administration of medicine in accordance with the requirement for category iii medicine. Records include name of the child; name and amount of medicine given; date and time medicine was administered and by whom; and evidence of parental acknowledgement (HS28).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
3 October 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Kahu Kiwi |
|
Profile Number |
10057 |
|
Location |
Awanui, Northland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
28 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
3 October 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as Kids Kingdom: |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kids Kingdom in the Far North is a well-established early learning service next to Awanui Primary School. The centre is licensed for 30 children, including eight up to two years of age. The majority of children have siblings and whānau who have previously attended the centre.
The centre is one of two privately owned services in the local area. The owners have a range of skills that support the service's strategic direction. One owner provides daily management support. A supervisor oversees curriculum management and mentors teachers at the centre. The teaching team includes five registered teachers who are supported by two student teachers and a cook, who also relieves teachers on their break.
The service is founded on a philosophy that promotes cultural respect and positive partnerships with whānau. It is committed to supporting children to become confident learners. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, guides the daily programme and teachers' practice.
The 2013 ERO report highlights many positive practices that promote children's learning. The key next step in relation to teacher appraisal has been addressed.
Children are confident and competent exploring the programme. They have a strong sense of belonging. Teachers greet children and their whānau when they arrive to discuss children's wellbeing and stories from home. As a result, children settle quickly into the centre.
Children enjoy imaginative play and explore happily alongside each other. They choose their play, based on their own preferences and interests. Teachers encourage children to engage in activities. They also use children’s first language in the context of their play. Children are engaged and can sustain their play for long periods with their peers, adults or by themselves.
Children with special needs have individual programmes, and teachers maximise their participation and learning. Children’s portfolios record their participation in the programme and their learning and development over time. Parents contribute to learning plans for their children. Literacy, mathematics, science, and technology concepts are woven through the programme. Teachers' strategies for supporting children to extend their learning could be more explicitly planned and documented.
Teachers are caring and attentive towards children. They provide culturally responsive care that fosters a strong sense of belonging in the children. Infants and toddlers benefit from good periods of uninterrupted play, and they make independent choices from accessible resources. Increasing children’s access to a greater variety of open-ended resources would more effectively support and sustain children’s learning and development.
Teachers value children’s home languages and cultural and life experiences. Children’s work is valued and displayed attractively on the walls. Effective transition processes support children as they move through the centre and on to school.
Routines provide a useful, but flexible framework for the day. Tikanga Māori is evident at 'Whāriki Time' and includes karakia, waiata, storytelling about te ao Māori, and children's mihimihi. Children enthusiastically respond to teachers’ use of te reo Māori and are familiar with waiata and karakia.
The indoor and outdoor environment is attractive, and the well-defined areas of play support children’s engagement in the programme. The cultures of children and teachers are acknowledged through the display of whakapapa in play areas. Whānau enjoy cultural events and festivals that are celebrated in the centre.
Teachers’ respectful relationships with children and their whānau are a strength. Whānau who spoke to ERO appreciate the support centre leaders and staff give them and their children. Teachers are further developing ways to build on whānau engagement and contribution in the centre’s programme. Leadership is a collaborative process. Teachers could consider encouraging and supporting children to take leadership roles and responsibilities in the centre programme.
Positive support from skilful and experienced managers has been valuable. They promote a collaborative and transparent approach to the good governance and management of the centre for children, their whānau and teachers. Professional learning and development has supported the teaching team in having a shared understanding of their goals and plans for the future of the centre.
Centre leaders agree key next steps for improving professional practice should include:
evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum design and teachers' professional development in enhancing learning outcomes for all children particularly in relation to Te Whāriki 2017
documenting regular reflection and the evaluation of progress towards strategic goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Kingdom 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 needs to report to parents and the community how the service is using its equity funding.
The next ERO review of Kids Kingdom will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
28 September 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 |
Awanui, Far North |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10057 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
30 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 16 Boys 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
21 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
28 September 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
November 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 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 Kingdom, situated in the Far North township of Awanui, provides high-quality, full-day education and care for 30 children from six weeks to 6 years old. Children up to two years of age have their own spacious, secure area. There is good visibility between, and easy access to, the over-two areas.
The privately owned and operated centre has a vision to be an extension of families and whānau, and to work together to nurture and empower children to become life-long learners. This vision is clearly evident in centre documentation, the programme in action and relationships. The centre philosophy acknowledges New Zealand’s bi-cultural heritage and reflects the partnership of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The owners are actively involved in the management and governance of the centre. They provide very good support to the supervisor who is responsible for daily operations. All teachers hold either early childhood qualifications or are in their last year of training.
Kids Kingdom provides a respectful, inclusive environment that values children as individuals and as competent, capable learners. Good relationships and friendships are evident between children and between teachers and children. Children engage in spontaneous play of their choice. There is a sense of enthusiasm in the centre as children and teachers learn together.
The curriculum is responsive and personalised to meet individual children’s needs. At the time of the 2010 ERO report, teachers were improving planning and assessment processes to help them to identify and extend individual children’s interests, strengths and dispositions. These improvements have been further strengthened. Children’s portfolios are attractive, well written documents. They enable teachers and families to clearly identify children’s interests and the progress children have made towards meeting their individual goals. Teachers continually reflect on how best to support children’s learning. Every six months, with input from staff, families and whānau, teachers formally evaluate how well each child has been supported.
The programme responds very effectively to the interests, strengths and abilities of all children. It is specifically planned to align with parent aspirations and is responsive to children’s culture, identity and language. Children are respected and listened to by adults. They are given choices and encouraged to make decisions about their play. Children have good social and self-help skills and have a strong interest in inquiry. They are being well prepared for school through the daily programme.
Strong partnerships have been developed and continue to grow between teachers and whānau. Good communication and the welcoming environment, encourages parents to be actively involved in the centre. Centre owners recognise and strongly support Māori as tangata whenua and as partners in the Treaty of Waitangi. The centre’s philosophy is that it is the birthright of each child to have te reo me ona tikanga Māori incorporated into their daily lives. Te reo and tikanga Māori is very evident throughout the programme, interactions and the learning environment.
The learning environment is spacious and well resourced. It provides stimulation and motivation for children to engage in imaginative, creative play. There are opportunities for children to be physically active and to challenge themselves. These opportunities cater well for the large number of boys currently enrolled at the centre.
Centre owners and teachers have a vision to provide the best learning opportunities for all children. Clear expectations and well developed and documented systems ensure the efficient running of the centre. Robust, ongoing self review, both formal and informal is well documented and effectively guiding decisions about change. Centre leaders have effectively sustained and extended the high quality of teaching and learning noted in the 2010 ERO report.
ERO and centre leaders agree that a key next step is to further embed the registered teacher criteria into the centre’s well established teacher appraisal procedure.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kids Kingdom 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 Kids Kingdom will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
25 November 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 |
Awanui, Northland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10057 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
31 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 23 Girls 8 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Indian |
18 12 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
October 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 November 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 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.