Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield

Education institution number:
5442
Service type:
Free Kindergarten
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
32
Telephone:
Address:

171 Seaview Road, New Brighton, Christchurch

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Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield - 15/06/2020

1 Evaluation of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield

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

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

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

Background

Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield is one of 68 kindergartens governed and managed by Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association), trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.

Leaders and teachers provide education and care for children from two years to school age. Children attend for up to six hours a day during the four-term kindergarten year. Some families are not from the local community and travel across the city to be part of this kindergarten.

All Kidsfirst Kindergartens share a common strategic purpose, vision and objectives. This kindergarten's vision statement emphasises creating a place where:

  • children are nurtured and know they belong

  • caring, responsive relationships between tamariki, whānau and kaiako are fostered

  • social competence and manaakitanga raise each other's mana.

Since the March 2015 ERO review, there have been significant staff changes. A new relieving head teacher, who is well known to the kindergarten community, was appointed from within the teaching team. At the time of this review, there was a settled team of qualified early childhood teachers. Leaders and teachers have maintained many of the strengths identified in the 2015 ERO report.

This review was part of a cluster of four kindergarten reviews in the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Inc.

The Review Findings

Children experience respectful relationships with each other and their teachers. They learn how to care for others and the environment through sensitive, purposeful interactions with their teachers. Children have many opportunities to deepen their learning through uninterrupted play. They confidently explore resources alone and at their own pace, or work cooperatively in small groups in the thoughtfully presented learning environments.

Leaders and teachers take collective responsibility for all children's wellbeing and learning. They have established shared understandings of the learning that is valued in this kindergarten. The curriculum priorities include manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, and social and emotional competence. Teachers regularly assess children's learning and plan for their next learning steps through these carefully considered valued outcomes for children. Leaders and teachers agree that assessment, planning and evaluation processes and practices could be strengthened, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of outcomes for children.

Teachers know children and their whānau well. Children with additional needs are very well supported to experience success. Teachers place strong emphasis on working in partnership with whānau to support children to build social skills and confidence.

Teachers skilfully and naturally weave te reo Māori into the learning programme in ways that are meaningful for children, and respectful of tangata whenua and the Māori culture. They work collaboratively to foster meaningful connections with the local community through regular visits to places of significance. There is an ongoing, deliberate commitment to consolidate the kindergarten's sense of place within the New Brighton community.

The Kidsfirst Kindergartens' board provides an effective governance and management structure and is actively focused on promoting positive outcomes for children. The association provides a comprehensive policy and procedure framework that sets clear expectations and guides teachers’ practice. It has developed relevant appraisal and teacher inquiry processes that reflect the Teaching Council’s guidelines.

A team of association professional leaders provide regular, focused support and curriculum guidance to teaching teams. They use their strengths in specific areas to help ensure consistency of association-wide processes and practices.

Each kindergarten’s annual plan aligns to the association’s strategic purpose, vision and objectives. Leaders and teachers recognise that internal evaluation processes could more clearly show how effectively changes impact on outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps include further strengthening:

  • assessment, planning and evaluation processes for individual children to ensure learning priorities and progress over time are consistently evident and evaluated
  • internal evaluation processes to clearly show the effectiveness of changes made on outcomes for children.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield 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 (Southern)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

15 June 2020

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

5442

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, two years and over

Service roll

41

Gender composition

Boys 23; Girls 18

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Other ethnicities

10
30
1

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

N/A

N/A

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

February 2020

Date of this report

15 June 2020

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

March 2015

Education Review

October 2011

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 Nuffield - 31/03/2015

1 Evaluation of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield

How well placed is Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield 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.

Background

Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield 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 come to this kindergarten for up to six hours a day during the four kindergarten terms.

Since the October 2011 ERO review, the teachers have strengthened the planning and assessment of children’s learning. They have improved the ways they gather and use parents' and children’s ideas when changes are made.

This review was part of a cluster of 18 kindergarten.

The Review Findings

The head teacher and teachers work well together, creating an environment that is friendly, welcoming and inclusive. The teachers are experienced and have worked in the community for a long period of time. The kindergarten has established strong links with its local community. These links support families and enhance children's learning opportunities.

Teachers have very good relationships with parents. They are very supportive of families facing issues such as school mergers, transportation difficulties and ongoing post-earthquake issues. Parents are well involved in their children’s learning and have regular input into decisions about the programme and their children’s learning.

Children have a very good range of learning experiences that support and extend their learning. This includes natural science, music, literacy and mathematics. Teachers use effective practices that extend children’s interests and engage them in learning. Children's ideas are valued and followed up. Children with diverse needs are well supported.

Children have many opportunities to learn about New Zealand’s dual heritage in ways that are meaningful and respectful of the Māori culture.

The teaching team and the association work together to ensure the kindergarten’s resources, environment, programmes and teaching practices are regularly reviewed and improved.

The Kidsfirst Kindergartens Association

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:

  • encourage children’s critical thought, wonderment and inquiry
  • provide challenges, stimulation and social support for children, families and the wider communities
  • promote opportunities for children to learn about sustainable practices.

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.

Key Next Steps

The Kidsfirst Kindergartens’ managers have identified, and ERO agrees that the key next steps are:

  • to further align the existing appraisal process for ESMS, head teachers and teachers to recent developments in Kidsfirst Kindergartens' quality improvement programme ensuring it is consistently achieving its vision to provide high-quality learning and teaching for all children
  • to continue to review kindergarten practices and premises to make sure that they meet the changing needs of their communities.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kidsfirst Kindergartens Nuffield will be in four years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer-Southern

Southern Region

31 March 2015

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

New Brighton, Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

5442

Licence type

Free Kindergarten

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, aged two years and over

Service roll

31

Gender composition

Girls 16;

Boys 15

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Tongan

Other Ethnicities

4

24

1

2

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

October 2011

 

Education Review

December 2007

 

Education Review

June 2004

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 and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.