Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera

Education institution number:
20382
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
55
Telephone:
Address:

36 Greenlane Road East, Remuera, Auckland

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Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera - 28/02/2019

Here is the latest report for the Governing Organisation that this service is part of.

 

1 Evaluation of Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera

How well placed is Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera is owned and administered by Kindercare Learning Centres Limited. All centres operate under the Kindercare vision, values, philosophy and strategic goals. Together these form the philosophy on which each centre and the organisation base their practices.

Infants, toddlers and young children to school age, are cared for in three separate areas. Each room has its own separate outdoor play area. Families are from a diverse range of cultures.

A recently appointed centre director leads a team that includes a further eight qualified teachers, one of whom leads curriculum planning.

The 2015 ERO report noted respectful and nurturing relationships between teachers and children. Planned programmes of learning based on observations of children provided challenge and supported children's play and creativity. Areas for continued development included bicultural practice, and strategic planning. Leaders and teachers have responded positively, strengthening these aspects of practice.

This review was part of a cluster of eight Kindercare Learning Centre reviews in the Auckland area.

The Review Findings

Children are generally settled, easily access resources for their play and enjoy warm relationships with teachers. Effective teaching practices include:

  • support for children to develop their social competence, and to initiate and maintain friendships
  • provision of an inclusive curriculum where all children access a meaningful programme that supports their developing independence
  • nurturing interactions and routines for infants and toddlers
  • modelling verbal language techniques through conversation and storytelling
  • incorporating links to children's cultures through resourcing and sensitive, respectful teacher interactions.

Parents indicate that they value the warm relationships between teachers and their children. These relationships support children's developing confidence and learning.

The commitment of leaders and kaiako to weaving te ao Māori perspectives throughout routines and rituals is evident in practice. There are meaningful opportunities for children to learn about the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Teachers plan a programme that is responsive to individual children's and group interests. They could now consider moving from an activities based programme to one that identifies and responds to children's learning dispositions. Evaluation of the programme could be strengthened with a stronger focus on the effectiveness of teaching practice in relation to outcomes for children.

Appropriate strategic goals identified by leaders and kaiako include continuing to build partnerships with parents based on children's learning, and to engage more deeply with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

The Kindercare values of "Safe, Loved and Learning" are evident in centre documentation. Staff could now establish indicators of what these values look like in practice in this context, and evaluate how effectively their practices align with the values.

The centre is effectively managed. The teacher appraisal process is implemented well. Relevant topics and projects are the focus of internal evaluation and contribute to positive outcomes for children.

The Kindercare organisation provides a broad range of support for centres and families. Comprehensive management and accountability systems across the company include:

  • support for centre directors through regular visits by area managers
  • effective processes for ensuring that children have safe and healthy learning environments
  • appraisal, mentoring and well targeted professional development that supports teachers to build their capability.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that key next steps for ongoing development include:

  • continuing to work with teachers, particularly those who are new to the team, to strengthen the rigour of programme evaluation, with a focus on effective teaching practice

evaluating children's use of resources as they extend their own learning, to help teachers ensure that there is sufficient equipment to support more collaborative and complex play

  • reviewing the extent to which children can independently access and revisit their own learning records at the centre
  • monitoring and evaluating progress towards achieving the centre's strategic goals.

Next Steps for the Organisation

Key next steps for the Kindercare organisation include continuing to:

  • make progress with ensuring the company's vision, values, philosophy, systems and practices reflect and enact the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
  • evaluate how consistently leaders, including area managers and centre directors, build teachers’ capability and improve practice
  • embed practices that support leaders' ongoing commitment to strengthening, and reporting about the outcomes of, strategic planning and internal evaluation across the organisation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera 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.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

28 February 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

LocationRemuera, Auckland
Ministry of Education profile number20382
Licence typeEducation & Care Service
Licensed underEducation (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
Number licensed for70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2
Service roll73
Gender compositionGirls 38 Boys 35
Ethnic compositionMāori 
Pākehā 
Chinese 
other ethnic groups
6
24
30
13
Percentage of qualified teachers80% +
Reported ratios of staff to childrenUnder 21:4Better than minimum requirements
Over 21:9Better than minimum requirements
Review team on siteSeptember 2018
Date of this report28 February 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education ReviewApril 2015
Education ReviewMarch 2012
Education ReviewFebruary 2009

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.

Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera - 10/04/2015

1 Evaluation of Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera

How well placed is Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera provides education and care for 50 children including up to 20 children under two years of age. The children attending the centre are predominantly New Zealand European, Chinese and Middle European.

The Kindercare organisation provides management and administrative systems, including a policy and procedural framework. Centre staff receive ongoing professional support from a regional manager. The guiding philosophy for the centre is common to all Kindercare centres.

The centre director was appointed in 2013 and leads the centre with lead teachers in each of the three rooms. Children are cared for in three age-related groups. The first of these groups is for babies and toddlers up to two years of age. The second room is for children two to three years of age. The third room is for three to five year olds and is the transition to school room. There is flexibility in the transitioning of children between rooms, dependent on their readiness to move to the next stage. All children have access to outdoor areas that make good use of available space.

The 2012 ERO report recommended that the centre needed to recognise and promote the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa/ New Zealand. It was also recommended that staff deepen their understanding of how to evaluate and respond to children’s ongoing learning.

The Review Findings

Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Children are settled and comfortable in their environment and move easily into their chosen activity. The centre philosophy focuses on providing children with safe, loving learning environments.

Relationships between children and teachers are respectful, nurturing and affirming. Teachers respond well to children’s needs. They provide babies with a focused and nurturing quality of care. The respectful quality of relationships throughout the centre support children’s capacity, confidence and capability to learn. Children are trusting and confident of each other and their teachers. Children in all areas of the centre show a sense of belonging and wellbeing, playing independently and cooperatively alongside each other.

Learning is child-centred at all age levels and learning topics are generated by the interests of children. These ideas and interests are being increasingly developed as project-based learning. Teachers ensure relevant connected activities are provided to challenge and provoke children’s play and creativity.

Children’s interests and developmental progress are recorded in individual learning journals. Teachers are continuing to refine journals so they better reflect children's learning progress. Babies’ journals provide a daily account of their progress and events and promote good home centre communication. Teachers are committed to involving families in partnership and are successfully working to achieve this outcome.

Teachers participate in rich and meaningful professional learning and development. The centre director has a good understanding of the need to improve self review processes and how this could positively impact teachers' professional capacity and the children’s learning experiences.

Children experience smooth well-supported transitions between rooms. The unhurried pace of transitions fosters children's confidence, sense of place and well being. Readiness for school is integrated in the transition to school programme. Teachers have a good understanding of the importance of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to enable children to be well prepared for school.

The centre has identified that it needs to build teachers’ bicultural capacity. This will mean that children and families can expect to increasingly hear te reo Māori being spoken, waiata being sung and see an environment that indicates the centre is biculturally aware and supporting te Ao Māori.

As a result of internal self review, the centre has changed the room layouts. They are colour coordinated and homely environments. Teachers could provide more opportunities for children to revisit their learning through visual displays of the programme in action.

The centre director provides very good leadership. She is committed to advancing the professional capacity of teaching and learning and developing a learning community. In the short time she has been director she has made positive decisions to lead the centre forward. This leadership model is providing opportunities for teachers to improve their practice and build a strong sense of team.

Key Next Steps

Next steps for the director and teachers are to develop:

  • a strategic plan that provides direction for development in all areas of centre operations and is regularly reviewed
  • plans to ensure that bicultural practice becomes an integral part of the centre’s curriculum.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera 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 Kindercare Learning Centre (5) Remuera will be in three years.

Dale Bailey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

10 April 2015

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

Remuera, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20382

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

70 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

75

Gender composition

Girls 38 Boys 27

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Chinese

South American

Central American

Niue

Samoan

other

2

42

13

3

2

1

111

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

February 2015

Date of this report

10 April 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

March 2012

 

Education Review

February 2009

 

Education Review

February 2006

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.