Kindercare Learning Centres -Three Kings

1 Evaluation of Kindercare Learning Centres - Three Kings

How well placed is Kindercare Learning Centres - Three Kings to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Kindercare Learning Centres -Three Kings 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 - Three Kings, 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.

The centre provides education and care for infants, toddlers and young children to school age, in three separate areas. The rooms are specifically organised to meet the needs of the age groups attending. Each room has its own separate outdoor play area.

Children and their families come from an increasingly diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Parents have the opportunity to participate in a Kindercare parent education programme.

The centre director has responsibility for the day-to-day operation. She works closely with the recently appointed supervisor, who is the centre's curriculum leader. Since the 2015 ERO review, there have been a number of staff changes. Most staff are qualified early childhood teachers. An experienced cook provides children with nutritious meals and snacks.

Leaders and teachers have continued to build on the strengths outlined in the 2015 ERO report. They are making good progress with development priorities, which included assessment and planning, resourcing, te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and self review.

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

The Review Findings

Children are confident in the centre environments and engaged in their play. They experience respectful relationships with each other and their teachers. Children:

• have many opportunities to follow their interests and explore the well-resourced environments
• are familiar with centre routines
• have regular opportunities to hear and use te reo Māori.

Infants and toddlers experience nurturing and responsive interactions with adults, who are well known to them. They learn and play in a calm, inviting environment where they have easy access to an appropriate variety of resources and learning experiences.

Teachers are inclusive and build positive relationships with each child and their whānau. Teachers of older children use an appropriate range of strategies to:

• extend children's oral language development by encouraging their involvement in discussions and using relevant prompts
• foster mathematics learning and the expressive arts through singing, rhymes and meaningful learning experiences
• support children with diverse learning needs to participate in the curriculum and build a sense of belonging and wellbeing
• keep parents well informed about their children's participation in the centre's learning programmes.

Transitions into and within the centre are well managed and based on the needs of each child and family. Leaders are continuing to build positive connections with the local school to support children's successful progression to school.

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

Key next steps include:

• evaluating how well children are able to readily access and revisit their learning
• further developing assessment, planning and evaluation to more clearly show children's next learning steps and how teachers intentionally add complexity to learning
• increasing teachers' understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi and further developing the inclusion of tikanga Māori
• strengthening internal evaluation to ensure it is guided by evaluative questions and reasoning and to look deeply at the impacts of changes made on outcomes for children.

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 Centres - Three Kings 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.

Actions for compliance

To improve current practice, leaders should ensure that required documentation is prominently displayed for parents at the centre.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA1.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kindercare Learning Centres - Three Kings will be in three years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

22 November 2018

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		Three Kings, Auckland
Ministry of Education profile number		20090
Licence type		Education & Care Service
Licensed under		Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
Number licensed for		50 children, including up to 16 aged under 2
Service roll		60
Gender composition		Girls       38 Boys      22
Ethnic composition		Māori Pākehā Chinese Indian other ethnic groups	4 19 16 10 11
Percentage of qualified teachers		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		September 2018
Date of this report		22 November 2018
Most recent ERO report(s)		Education Review	April 2015
		Education Review	July 2012
		Education Review	March 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.