85A Shakespeare Street, Greymouth
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth is very well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth is one of 71 early learning services governed and managed by Canterbury Westland Free Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens. The kindergarten caters for the education and care of young children from a wide geographical area.
During this review, the kindergarten was temporarily based in a local church, due to the need for the strengthening and upgrading of the permanent kindergarten building. The kindergarten will be reopened and fully functional, on the original site, at the beginning of Term 1 2017.
All teachers are fully qualified and certified in early childhood education. The association has provided an extra teacher to support the staff and children while they are in temporary premises.
There have been some changes to leadership over the last two years. The impact of this has been minimised by the permanent, skilled teachers providing quality leadership during times of change. The use of experienced itinerant teachers is also helping to support continuity of staffing and relationships at the kindergarten. The association education service manager (ESM) provides consistent professional advice and guidance to support the effective operation of the service.
Since the ERO review in 2012, the manager and teaching team have continued to sustain and build on best practices and share these with the wider kindergarten community.
This review was part of a cluster of nine kindergartens governed and managed by the Canterbury Westland Free Kindergarten Association.
Children, parents and whānau are warmly welcomed and well supported to make a positive transition into kindergarten and on to school. The teaching team place an important emphasis on developing positive, reciprocal relationships with tamariki, parents and whānau. Teachers value children’s home languages, cultures and identities. They make meaningful connections with families and foster a good sense of wellbeing and belonging at the kindergarten.
Teachers have developed a reflective team culture that is innovative in their approach to change. They demonstrate a 'can do' attitude as they adapt teaching practices and create purposeful learning spaces for children. Teachers promote a deep appreciation for the local area and people. They work in respectful ways with the local community including people from the host church, where they are currently based, and the local school.
Teachers model care and respect for one another and for children and families. They encourage children to be:
confident and independent
involved in decision making, planning and assessing their learning
responsible for the care of others and the environment.
Children are actively involved in expressive art, literacy experiences, physical challenges, and opportunities to construct and represent their ideas over time. Bicultural perspectives are integrated in ways that are respectful of the Māori culture and meaningful for children.
Teachers work closely with children to engage them in learning and to promote their curiosity and creativity. Children benefit from deliberate acts of teaching, thoughtful interactions and questioning that helps to extend on their ideas and oral language skills.
Parents are well informed about their children's learning through well-written learning records. Teachers are making increasingly good use of Te Whatu Pōkeka (Māori assessment document) to support the assessment and learning for Māori children, as Māori.
A comprehensive systematic internal evaluation process focuses on improving children’s learning opportunities and teaching practices. It is well led and used by all teachers.
The Canterbury Westland Free Kindergarten Association is well supported by an experienced professional board. The association has a well-understood vision and targeted strategic and annual plans. There are close links between the kindergarten plans, internal evaluation, appraisal and professional development. Teachers are well supported by association managers and leaders to achieve the priorities of the association and their own kindergarten objectives and vision, to provide high quality learning outcomes for all children.
The association has a very strong commitment to providing high quality professional development to build on leadership capacity and teacher capability. It has high expectations for teaching and learning and equitable outcomes for all children. This includes the appointment of a kaitautoko to further promote a strong focus on Tiriti aspirations at all levels of the organisation.
The Canterbury Westland Free Kindergarten Association is innovative in its approaches and regularly seeks opportunities to be involved in the wider educational and local communities to promote high quality learning outcomes for all children.
The education service manager and teaching team have identified, and ERO’s evaluation has confirmed, that the key next steps are to continue to strengthen:
the way teachers evaluate practices that engage and extend children's learning
the use of te reo Māori
the consolidation and embedding of new initiatives, including appraisal.
The chief executive has identified and ERO’s evaluation has confirmed, that the key next step for the association is to continue its property improvement long-term plan, ensuring that enhancement to its buildings reflect the changing needs of its communities.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth 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.
The next ERO review of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth will be in four years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer, Southern - Te Waipounamu
21 March 2017
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 |
Greymouth |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5420 |
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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 |
40 children over the age of two years |
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Service roll |
38 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 21; Boys 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Other ethnicities |
7 26 2 3 |
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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 |
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Review team on site |
November 2016 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2017 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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Education Review |
September 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:
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.
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.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth is located in the West Coast rural township of Greymouth. The experienced and qualified teaching team work effectively together to cater for the learning and well-being of up to 30 children over two years of age.
The kindergarten is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
The association that governs this kindergarten is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures and a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates a management layer in the form of education service managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who works in partnership with teachers providing ongoing educational leadership and professional development.
This review occurred at a time when the association, and the West Coast kindergartens, were responding to issues associated with the Pike River Mine disaster and the Canterbury Earthquakes during 2010 – 2011. The association and the kindergarten teachers have provided a high level of support to children and families.
Positive features of this kindergarten are the ways:
Teachers have developed a reflective culture. They make good use of effective self review that is focused on the ongoing improvement to teaching practices that extend on children’s learning. Teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next steps are to continue to strengthen programme planning and assessment processes.
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the kindergarten to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the kindergarten (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atKidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
The teaching team’s vision states that teachers will provide a learning environment that is welcoming, appealing and fun. It also states that teaching and learning practices will be child-initiated, child-directed and adult supported. Teachers will foster relationships with whānau/family, kaiako/teachers and the community that involve all contributing and participating with teaching and learning. They emphasise that Te Whāriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, strongly underpins teaching and learning programme.
Teachers warmly welcome children, parents and whānau and foster positive, inclusive relationships. They listen carefully to parents and work with children in ways that show sensitivity to the cultural needs of them and their families. The teachers highly value the participation and contributions parents/whānau make to the children’s learning and assessment and to self review. During the review, many parents, some with younger children, were comfortable to stay and be involved in the kindergarten session and enjoy the company of other parents.
Teachers work with children in caring, positive and empowering ways. They are actively involved in children’s play and learning. Teachers encourage children’s efforts, offer challenges and celebrate their successes. Teachers make good use of questioning. They provoke children’s thinking skills and encourage them to find solutions to problems. They make decisions about planning to develop children’s ideas. Teachers consistently model care and respect for one another and for children.
Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and well-being. During the review, children played very well with and alongside others for sustained lengths of time. They shared ideas, played cooperatively and enjoyed friendships with one another.
Teachers have built up an effective team culture that includes reflective professional discussions that are focused on the ongoing improvement to teaching practices and learning outcomes for children.
Teachers are highly responsive to the individual needs and interests of children within a child-initiated and directed programme. Children benefit from long periods of uninterrupted time to make their own discoveries and develop ideas. Children are well supported to take responsibility for themselves and the environment and to care for others.
Parents and whānau are well informed about children’s interests and participation in the learning programme through attractively presented profile books and wall displays. Teachers are currently developing professional working relationships with schools to share information that is likely to support positive transition processes for children.
Since the last review, the teaching and learning community has worked together to make substantial changes to the external environment. It now strongly reflects the unique West Coast context and inspires children’s curiosity and exploration. Children benefit from spacious, well-maintained and appealing learning areas. A wide range of learning experiences and resources are presented in ways that invite children’s interest and participation. Teachers encourage appropriate physical challenges for children. They provide opportunities for children to care for animals and to learn about the natural world and sustainable practices.
Teachers have developed a reflective culture that is focused on making the ongoing improvement to teaching practices that extend on children’s learning. Teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the kindergarten’s next steps are to continue to strengthen:
Before the review, the staff of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth completed an ERO CentreAssurance 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 kindergarten’s documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Kindergarten’s
Southern Region
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Type |
Kindergarten, Full Day |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children over the age of two years |
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Roll number |
52 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 24; Boys 28 |
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Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 38 Māori 1 Samoan 1 Other Pacific 1 Asian 3 Other ethnicities 8 |
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Review team on site |
May 2012 |
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Date of this report |
29 June 2012 |
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Previous three ERO reports
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Education Review September 2008 |
29 June 2012
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens Greymouth is located in the West Coast rural township of Greymouth. The experienced and qualified teaching team work effectively together to cater for the learning and well-being of up to 30 children over two years of age.
The kindergarten is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
The association that governs this kindergarten is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures and a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates a management layer in the form of education service managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who works in partnership with teachers providing ongoing educational leadership and professional development.
This review occurred at a time when the association, and the West Coast kindergartens, were responding to issues associated with the Pike River Mine disaster and the Canterbury Earthquakes during 2010 – 2011. The association and the kindergarten teachers have provided a high level of support to children and families.
Positive features of this kindergarten are the ways:
Teachers have developed a reflective culture. They make good use of effective self review that is focused on the ongoing improvement to teaching practices that extend on children’s learning. Teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next steps are to continue to strengthen programme planning and assessment processes.
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the kindergarten or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of a kindergarten’s performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this kindergarten.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a kindergarten is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this kindergarten.