203 King Street, Rangiora
View on mapHow well placed is Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
| Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Kidsfirst Kindergartens is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street is one of 62 kindergartens governed and managed by Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens. All Kidsfirst Kindergartens share a common vision and values.
Children from two years old to school age can attend kindergarten for up to six hours a day during the four kindergarten terms. The kindergarten is very inclusive and many children with special needs attend.
Since the June 2011 ERO review, planning and assessment processes have been strengthened. Teachers are more focused on evaluating their practices and making changes in response to children’s interest and needs.
This review was part of a cluster of 18 kindergarten reviews.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the kindergarten. Teachers are supportive of families and encourage parents to stay in the programme.
The children learn in an environment where they are fully included. They experience positive relationships with their peers and teachers. Children willingly include others in their play.
Teachers have a good knowledge of each child, particularly those who are priority learners. They make effective use of their considerable skills and knowledge in this area to benefit each child. They work collaboratively with families and outside agencies to ensure the best outcomes for these children.
Children make appropriate use of different technologies to enhance their learning, especially in literacy and mathematics.
Teachers incorporate tikanga Māori in the environment and aspects of the programme. Te reo Māori is becoming more widely used by teachers in their conversations with children.
The teachers work well together. They use their strengths to promote positive outcomes for all children. They plan activities that support children’s interests and learning goals. The teachers are strongly reflective and readily make changes to their practice to better meet children’s needs.
Parents are well informed of their child’s interests, learning, progress and achievements. Teachers seek specific feedback from parents and children and use this information to enhance aspects of the centre’s programme.
All kindergartens in this cluster have spacious indoor and outdoor areas and are well resourced to meet the interests and learning needs of their children. In most of these kindergartens, environments and resources:
Kidsfirst Kindergartens provides significant support for priority learners and their families. Teachers in kindergartens with priority learners receive considerable extra training and funding to ensure the needs of these learners are well met.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens has a strong commitment to te ao Māori (the Māori world view) and ensuring that their Education Service Managers (ESMs) and teachers are competent and confident in te reo and tikanga Māori. In this cluster of kindergartens, a bicultural curriculum is in place and bicultural practices are highly evident. The contribution from parents of Māori children is highly valued and Māori children are well supported to achieve success as Māori.
The association has a well-understood vision, and highly effective strategic and annual planning systems, policies and procedures. It has strong leadership and collaboration across all levels of the organisation.
There is a thorough and well-understood process of self review at all levels of Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
The skills and knowledge of the CEO, board and senior leaders are regularly sought by other kindergarten associations and early childhood services nationally and internationally.
The highly experienced and skilled trustees bring a good range of expertise to support their decision making. They have a wide knowledge and understanding of Kidsfirst and are very focused on achieving their goals. Their priorities are strongly linked to providing high-quality learning and care for all children.
The strategic leadership team members have a good breadth and depth of knowledge across their various areas of expertise. They value each other’s contributions and use their wide range of knowledge and skills to ensure effective operation of the service.
The ESMs show a high level of commitment to Kidsfirst and the implementation of the Kidsfirst vision, policies and expectations. They successfully challenge and use each other's strengths to meet the goals of Kidsfirst for high-quality learning and teaching in each kindergarten.
Kidsfirst has a well-developed evaluation process that is effectively used to identify the strengths, progress and areas for further development in each of its kindergartens. This allows the ESMs to successfully monitor how well each kindergarten is providing high-quality outcomes for children.
High-quality professional development is closely aligned to leaders and teachers achieving the Kidsfirst vision and goals. In this cluster, this is most evident in the well-developed, understood and useful self-review processes, child assessment and planning practices and effective use of a range of technologies.
The Kidsfirst Kindergartens’ managers have identified, and ERO agrees that the key next steps are:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer-Southern
31 March 2015
| Location | Rangiora | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 5430 | ||
| Licence type | Free Kindergarten | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 40 children, aged two years and over | ||
| Service roll | 51 | ||
| Gender composition | Boys 28; Girls 23 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā English Chinese Irish | 2 45 2 1 1 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates | 80% | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Review team on site | November 2014 | ||
| Date of this report | 31 March 2015 | ||
| Most recent ERO reports | Education Review | June 2011 | |
| Education Review | October 2007 | ||
| Education Review | July 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.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street is located in the centre of Rangiora. Since the 2007 ERO review the kindergarten has changed its hours and staffing. The kindergarten operates both morning and all day sessions to provide care and education for 40 children over the age of two. All teachers are fully qualified and registered.
King Street is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
Positive features of this kindergarten include:
This kindergarten is well led and managed. A culture of collaboration, teamwork and ongoing reflection exists among staff. These features, along with the ongoing professional development and support, including that given by an association education manager, foster ongoing improvements to the quality of education for children.
The next step for the teachers is to refine and further develop programme planning, evaluation and assessment practices to increase their usefulness.
The association that governs this kindergarten is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures, a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates management support in the form of education service managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who work in partnership with teachers providing ongoing leadership and professional development.
This review occurred at a time when the association and its kindergartens were responding to issues associated with the Canterbury earthquakes relating to children, family, personnel and property. The association has been proactive in addressing these challenges.
ERO is confident that the kindergarten is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street 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 at Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street .
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 kindergarten’s vision is to have teachers view children as competent learners. The teachers aim to work alongside children and provide them with meaningful opportunities to strengthen their learning, foster their well being and promote their independence. Teachers are successfully implementing this vision.
Teachers provide children with a varied and interesting range of learning experiences. Particular features of the programme include:
Children benefit from the way staff and parent strengths and interests are used to provide experiences that enrich their learning.
Teachers relate to children in ways that effectively promote their sense of well-being, belonging and learning. These are fostered through:
Teachers use a variety of effective approaches to support and extend children’s learning. For instance, ERO observed teachers:
Children enjoy exploring the high quality learning environment. The teachers continue to review and make improvements to the environment to better support and extend children’s learning. Children benefit from:
The teachers continue to review and make improvements to the environment to better support and extend children’s learning.
While teachers have developed some effective planning and assessment practices, strengthening some aspects of these would enhance their quality and usefulness. For instance:
ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports. This information will be used as the basis for long-term and systemic educational improvement.
As part of this review, ERO evaluated the extent to which:
Although there are no Māori children currently enrolled in this kindergarten, the teachers have developed a number of practices that will help them to welcome and respond to whānau of Māori in the future.
Teachers are progressively extending their awareness, knowledge and practices to foster biculturalism and positive partnerships with parents and whānau. For example, they are currently undertaking a review of how well their teaching approaches incorporate a Māori view of the child as a learner.
The following practices support partnerships with families.
The association has recently developed ‘Kidsfirst Whānau’. This strategy promotes a whānau-based approach for involving and engaging parents in kindergarten life and their child’s learning.
Before the review, the staff of Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they have attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’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 confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
|
Type |
All Day, Kindergarten |
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged over two |
|
Roll number |
65 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 30; Boys 35 |
|
Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 62; Asian 2; Other 1 |
|
Review team on site |
May 2011 |
|
Date of this report |
30 June 2011 |
|
Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review October 2007 Education Review July 2004 Accountability Review December 2000 |
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street .
Kidsfirst Kindergartens King Street is located in the centre of Rangiora. Since the 2007 ERO review the kindergarten has changed its hours and staffing. The kindergarten operates both morning and all day sessions to provide care and education for 40 children over the age of two. All teachers are fully qualified and registered.
King Street is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
Positive features of this kindergarten include:
This kindergarten is well led and managed. A culture of collaboration, teamwork and ongoing reflection exists among staff. These features, along with the ongoing professional development and support, including that given by an association education manager, foster ongoing improvements to the quality of education for children.
The next step for the teachers is to refine and further develop programme planning, evaluation and assessment practices to increase their usefulness.
The association that governs this kindergarten is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures, a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates management support in the form of education service managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who work in partnership with teachers providing ongoing leadership and professional development.
This review occurred at a time when the association and its kindergartens were responding to issues associated with the Canterbury earthquakes relating to children, family, personnel and property. The association has been proactive in addressing these challenges.
ERO is confident that the kindergarten is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service 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 centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region