Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie

Education institution number:
5435
Service type:
Free Kindergarten
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
24
Telephone:
Address:

107 Rattray Street, Riccarton, Christchurch

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Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie - 06/08/2019

1 Evaluation of Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie

How well placed is Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie is one of 69 early learning services governed and managed by Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.

The kindergarten provides for the education and care of young children from two years to school age. All teachers/kaiako are qualified and certified early childhood education teachers/kaiako. The association education manager (EM) provides consistent professional advice and guidance to support the effective operation of the service.

The kindergarten vision is 'Ko te piko o te mahuri, tērā te tupu o te rākau. The way the sapling is shaped determines how the tree will grow. In a warm, safe environment, through exceptional teaching, children become successful learners ready to take on the world'.

The curriculum priorities are:

  • environmentally aware
  • socially confident and competent
  • sense of place
  • confident learners.

ERO's previous report noted that next steps included:

  • increasing teacher confidence in the use of the kindergarten's new self-review processes to improve outcomes for all children
  • strengthening teacher appraisal to focus more on the quality of teaching practice
  • consolidating the improvements made in assessment and planning.

Although there has been some progress, all of these areas need to continue to be a focus for improvement.

This review was part of a cluster of eight kindergartens governed and managed by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association.

The Review Findings

Teachers implement a curriculum that effectively responds to the interests and strengths of children. Routines are predictable, and well understood by children. The uncluttered environment provides easy access to a range of activities. Teachers focus on supporting the development of social competence. Oral language and literacy are key aspects of the programme. Children have time for uninterrupted play, and choice in what they learn. Te reo Māori is well integrated throughout the programme. Children are increasingly independent and confidently making choices, making friends, and developing social skills.

Children and their whānau are well supported through the kindergarten's purposeful links with the community. Teachers use people and places in the local environment to increase children's understandings of the world outside the kindergarten gate. They support families to make connections with community services and agencies. Place-based learning is an important curriculum priority and evident in practice.

Strong, responsive, relationships are formed with families. Teachers take time to get to know families and acknowledge what they bring to the kindergarten. The many cultures of families are acknowledged and celebrated. There are well established roles and responsibilities that use the strengths of the teaching team for positive outcomes for children. Children are settled and engaged. Their sense of belonging and wellbeing is nurtured.

The Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association has a well-developed and clearly understood vision. It is underpinned by targeted strategic and annual planning systems. There are close links between the kindergarten plans, internal evaluation, appraisal and professional development. The teachers are well supported by association managers and leaders to achieve the priorities of the kindergarten and to promote high quality learning outcomes for all children.

Since the last review, a restructure has enabled a key focus on education excellence within the kindergartens, and innovation and collaboration within the association and in the wider early childhood community. Key staff make a significant contribution to supporting other early learning services in Te Waipounamu/South Island.

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 promoting understandings of and respect for te ao Māori at all levels of the organisation. The association's internal evaluation practices are being well used to inform decision making and support the strong focus on continuous improvement.

Key Next Steps

There is a need for parents to have greater input into deciding what is important in the kindergarten. Leaders and teachers should consider how best to seek parents' views during internal evaluation processes and when reviewing curriculum priorities. They need to encourage more in-depth sharing of parents' dreams and aspirations for their children's learning.

Leaders and teachers need to:

  • strengthen evaluative thinking in group planning, annual planning, and responsive and complex internal evaluation
  • plan learning and teaching strategies, so they are more visible in group and individual planning
  • evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in supporting children’s learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

6 August 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

Location

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

5435

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children, two years of age and over

Service roll

33

Gender composition

Boys 14, Girls 19

Ethnic composition

Māori
Other ethnicities

6
27

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

June 2019

Date of this report

6 August 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

November 2012

Education Review

June 2009

Education Review

February 2005

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.

Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie - 21/11/2012

1 Evaluation of the Service

How well placed is the service to promote positive outcomes for children?

Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie is well placed to promote positive outcomes for children.

Context

Kidsfirst Kindergartens administers 62 kindergartens and one early learning centre in Canterbury and the West Coast. Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie is located in Riccarton. An education services manager works with each kindergarten giving feedback and professional support. This kindergarten has a diverse community. Most children have English as an additional language and many families are new to New Zealand. All teachers employed by Kidsfirst Kindergartens are fully qualified and registered early childhood teachers.

This review was conducted as part of a cluster approach to reviews in eight kindergartens and one early childhood education services within the Kidsfirst Kindergartens umbrella organisation.

Areas of strength

Children’s home cultures are celebrated and well integrated into the kindergarten’s programme to enrich the learning of all children. Teachers have an extensive knowledge of the children’s languages and cultures and use it successfully in the daily programme with children and parents.

Parents and whānau from all cultural backgrounds are active contributors to the programme and their children’s learning. Teachers make good use of community groups and organisations to provide additional support for children and families.

Teachers effectively build respectful relationships and interact in ways that help children develop good language and thinking skills. Teachers make the links between children’s interests and prior learning and use this information to extend their knowledge and understanding.

Literacy and numeracy, including home languages are well integrated into the programme. Teachers naturally use te reo Māori and Japanese in their conversations with children and families.

The environment is spacious, well resourced and inclusive of all cultures. The programme provides many opportunities for children to be creative, use their imaginations and work independently or in small self-selected groups.

Teachers work effectively as a team. Their individual strengths are recognised and well used to benefit children’s learning. Children are given many opportunities and support to develop confidence as leaders in the programme.

Kidsfirst Kindergartens has a well-developed policy and practice framework to support the daily and long-term operation of the kindergarten. The association is kept well informed about the work within the kindergarten. Kidsfirst Kindergartens’ managers have recently developed a new process for reviewing and reporting kindergarten information. This process is likely to help them to further target their support to improve learning outcomes for children.

The education service manager (ESM) provides effective leadership that is extending teachers’ practices and understandings, particularly in the development of self review, assessment and planning.

Areas for development and review

Kidsfirst Kindergartens ESM and the head teacher have identified and ERO agrees that the next steps include:

  • increasing teacher confidence in the use of new self-review processes to improve outcomes for all children
  • strengthening teacher appraisal to focus more on the quality of teaching practice
  • consolidating the improvements made on assessment and planning.

2 Legal Requirements

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens McKenzie 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. 

3 Next Review

When is ERO likely to review the early childhood service again? 

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years. 

Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region

21 November 2012

Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Riccarton, Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

5438

Licence type

Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

40 children over two years of age number

Service roll

42

Gender composition

Girls 21; Boys 21

Ethnic composition

New Zealand European/Pākehā
Māori
Samoan
Other Pacific
Asian
Other ethnicities

  8
  3
  6
  3
19
  3

Review team on site

August 2012

Date of this report

21 November 2012

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Accountability Review

June 2009
February 2005
June 2000

General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

About ERO Reviews

The Education Review Office (ERO) is the New Zealand government department that reviews schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.

Review focus

ERO's education reviews in early childhood services focus on the factors that contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. ERO evaluates how well placed the service is to make and sustain improvements for the benefit of all children at the service. To reach these findings ERO considers:

  • 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 self review and partnerships with parents and whānau.

Review Coverage

ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of service 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 the service.