Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs

1 Evaluation of Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs

How well placed is Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs is licensed for 112 children, including 30 children up to two years of age. It caters for children in age-specific rooms that have access to shared outdoor spaces. Families and teachers represent a diverse range of cultures and ethnic groups. This service is owned and operated by the national group, Kindercare Learning Centres Ltd (the organisation).

The organisation provides policies, procedures and a framework and process to monitor health and safety. An area manager works in partnership with the centre director and the supervisor/curriculum leader to support the operation of the centre. Most staff are qualified and registered teachers.

The service philosophy is based on Kindercare's three key values for children to be ‘safe, loved and learning’. An area manager works in partnership with the centre director to support centre operations. The Kindercare organisation has developed service-wide expectations and a strategic approach to building understandings about te ao Maori and culturally responsive practices.

Since the 2016 ERO review there have been significant changes in staffing, including leadership and teaching teams. At the time of this review there were a number of teachers who had recently joined the service, including some from overseas. Leaders have maintained the positive aspects identified in the previous ERO report and addressed areas for improvement, including building reflective teaching practices and engaging children in learning conversations. They have developed a centre specific philosophy that is aligned to the organisation's philosophy but includes reference to the Treaty of Waitangi and bicultural perspectives.

This review was one of five Kindercare Learning Centres Ltd, Auckland region.

The Review Findings

Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to provide a welcoming learning environment for children and families by actively fostering respectful, reciprocal relationships. The service values are well reflected in teacher practices that give emphasis to supporting children's social and emotional wellbeing and learning. Leaders promote a child-centred curriculum that places children at the heart of decision making.

Teachers are responsive to children's individual interests, strengths and capabilities. They give careful consideration to the provision of quality resourcing and presentation of the learning environment. This encourages children's curiosity and exploration. Teachers promote a deliberate focus on supporting children's active movement, sensory development, creativity and reasoning. Literacy, mathematics and science are well integrated in meaningful ways. Collaborative learning areas for older children offer more choices and opportunities to enhance social skills and learning. Leaders and teachers work closely with parents to provide personalised transitions for children into the centre, between areas, and onto school.

Infants and toddlers benefit from the teachers' strong, shared focus on providing respectful care. Unhurried, child-paced interactions help children to develop a positive sense of security and belonging within the calm environment. Parent views and aspirations as partners in children's learning are valued. There is a well-planned approach to the curriculum of care that has been informed by research and targeted professional development. These practices are being shared across the teaching teams to provide continuity of ways of working with children that strongly align to the centre's values, vision and philosophy.

Diverse learners are well supported to see themselves as capable learners. Leaders and teachers take collective responsibility for children's wellbeing and learning. Teachers work closely with parents, whanau and external agencies. The organisation prioritises equitable opportunities to participate and learn. They provide resourcing and family support expertise to help children to succeed. The home culture, language and identity of families are well supported and valued by the culturally diverse teaching team.

The effective, collaborative leadership team has high expectations for learning and teaching outcomes for children. They provide personalised professional support and mentoring to further develop and strengthen teacher capability and leadership capacity. They are building a culture of inquiry and reflection with committed teachers who are open to new learning. Self review is focused on centre priorities and results in improvement to teaching and children's learning outcomes.

The organisation has a clearly defined management and leadership structure. It has established a strategic approach to the operation of the service, including systems to support the targeted professional learning and development of teachers and leaders. There is a clear focus on building leadership and promoting a robust appraisal and mentoring processes to provide positive outcomes for all children.

Key Next Steps

At service level, priorities are to:

• develop annual action planning that enables regular monitoring, evaluation and reporting of progress on service priorities that are focused on achieving outcomes for children through learning and teaching
• continue to develop understandings of Te Whāriki to inform the local curriculum priorities; strengthen planning and evaluation of intentional teaching; and promote learning partnerships with parents, to add depth and complexity to children's learning
• further develop teachers' ability to more deeply evaluate their practice through inquiry and internal evaluation that focus on improving outcomes for children
• continue to develop understandings of te ao Māori and culturally responsive practices and make these evident in key documentation.

The organisation, priorities are to continue to:

• give greater prominence to the principles of The Treaty of Waitangi in key documentation and teaching practices, including fully implementing the organisation's te ao Māori and culturally responsive practice action planning
• refine strategic planning and ensure clear alignment of internal evaluation, monitoring and reporting at organisation and service level
• evaluate the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kindercare Learning Centres Botany Downs 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

10 March 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

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.