Korukidz Education & Care

1 Evaluation of Little Learners Education and Care

How well placed is Little Learners Education and Care to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Little Learners Education and Care is a privately owned education and care service located in central Tauranga city. It operates two sessions each day for 25 children from two years to school age. The centre was previously known as Bambinis Childcare and Accel Early Childhood Centre.

In February 2013 the centre came under new ownership, was renamed and relicensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. A new teaching team was appointed and at the time of this ERO review the centre owner was in the process of appointing another teacher. Governance and management is overseen by well qualified and knowledgeable owners and an experienced and well-qualified early childhood teacher.

The 2011 ERO report identified the need for centre management to implement effective self-review processes to bring about improvements to the learning environment, resources, teaching practice and assessment, planning and evaluation. The new owners have made good progress in addressing these issues and significant improvements have been made to the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Children now have ready access to a wide variety of equipment and materials that promotes their learning and development.

The centre provides education and care for families from a wide variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. A particular feature of the centre is the high proportion of children from Māori and Pacific cultures. Good use is made of Ministry of Education funding to ensure early childhood education is readily accessible for families. The centre owners provide a free transport service to support children’s regular attendance.

The centre’s philosophy aims to make early childhood education easily available for families in the community and to provide a high quality, child-initiated programme of education and care.

The Review Findings

Children demonstrate high levels of enjoyment and participation in learning. They play and learn alongside one another in a settled, whānau/aiga/family-like atmosphere. Teachers know children well and have established positive and caring relationships which foster their confidence and sense of well-being. They work cooperatively and respond to children’s individual needs, interests and strengths. Teachers respect children’s independence and actively foster their emergent leadership skills. They acknowledge and celebrate children’s achievements and share these with parents.

The centre programme is guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. A strength of the programme is the value placed on integrating bicultural practices and perspectives. Māori children are confident in their culture. Teachers model appropriate use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in meaningful contexts. Older children demonstrate tuakana teina relationships in their care of younger children. There is an emphasis on learning about Papatuanuku, Mother Earth and the natural world. Cultural celebrations such as Matariki are shared with families. Pacific children benefit from the inclusion of the natural world in the programme. They respond with enthusiasm to group singing and dancing and benefit from their relationships with caring teachers. Teachers should continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of responding to the language, culture and identity of each child in the centre programme, environment and learning story assessments. There continues to be a need to ensure that all teachers contribute to the process of documenting and planning for children’s learning and development.

The well designed, home-like environment provides children with interesting spaces to explore, opportunities to make choices and attempt appropriate challenges for their physical development. There is a plentiful and wide variety of good quality equipment and materials for them to choose from. Children’s health and safety are promoted throughout the programme. They are able to revisit previous learning experiences, master new skills and follow their curiosity at their own pace. Alongside experienced teachers, they are developing a love of using language, sharing stories and problem solving. There are many opportunities for children to acquire early concepts about literacy and number. These skills, along with well-developed social skills, a sense of confidence and an enthusiasm for learning, assist children to make positive transitions to school. A local initiative, Te Reanga e Toru, provides valuable support for children and their families as they transition to school. This initiative also provides children and their families with equipment, programmes and guidance to enable all children to be ready for school.

Teachers demonstrate sound professional knowledge which includes effective strategies for managing children’s behaviour and planning for the particular interests of boys. A male member of staff is a positive role model and contributes to a well-balanced centre programme. Strong and productive partnerships have been established with specialist agencies and some local schools. Teachers should continue to build their knowledge of planning to add complexity to children’s learning as they grow and mature.

Centre owners are providing effective governance and management. The leadership team is focused on building positive relationships amongst staff, children, families, whānau and aiga. There are clear expectations for shared roles and responsibilities of staff in the day-to-day operation of the service. Staff meet regularly to discuss their practice and children’s learning. This is contributing to a positive professional learning culture.

Key Next Steps

ERO and centre leaders agree that key next steps for development are to strengthen self-review processes with the inclusion of appropriate, measureable indicators and reflective questions aligned to current theory and practice. Consideration should be given to:

• reviewing and refining the centre’s vision and philosophy statement
• further developing shared and agreed expectations for teaching practice, including assessment, planning and evaluation
• providing teachers with regular and robust feedback about their practice
• reviewing centre routines to ensure they are flexible and respond to the needs of each child
• continuing to find ways to further include and involve parents as partners in their children’s learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Learners Education and Care 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 Little Learners Education and Care will be in three years.

Dale Bailey National Manager Review Services Northern Region

16 December 2013

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 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.