Learning Steps Childcare Centre

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Learning Steps Childcare Centre is a privately owned education and care service. Māori children make up one-third of the centre’s culturally diverse roll. ERO’s 2019 report found that the service needed to establish effective practices to support positive learning outcomes for children. A new owner has employed a professional leader to support teachers to improve leadership, management and curriculum practices. Good progress has been made.

Summary of Review Findings

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships.

The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The curriculum respects and supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• covering windows using an adhesive film designed to hold the glass in place in the event of it being broken (PF7)
• ensuring the outdoor activity space is safe, well-drained, and suitably surfaced for a variety of activities (PF13).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

2 March 2021 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
• previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
• that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
• that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
• where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)
• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

• discussions with those involved in the service
• consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
• observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.

1 Evaluation of Learning Steps Childcare Centre

How well placed is Learning Steps Childcare Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Learning Steps Childcare Centre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

The Learning Steps Childcare Centre managers and teachers have not yet established effective practices to support positive learning outcomes for children. Ongoing external professional advice and support are essential to support the new owner, manager and teachers to improve leadership, management and curriculum practices.

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

Background

Learning Steps Childcare Centre provides full-day and sessional education and care for children, from three months to school age. The centre caters for up to 50 children, including up to 10 under two years of age. Children and their families attending the centre reflect the multicultural nature of the local Glendene community.

The centre has had three new owners since ERO's 2015 review. The most recent ownership change has been in the three months prior to the onsite phase of this review. The long-serving centre manager and teachers have provided continuity throughout this period of change.

The 2015 ERO report noted some positive progress since earlier supplementary reviews. The report also identified areas for development relating to self review and the programme provided for children. The centre's philosophy has recently been reviewed and this has strengthened teachers' understanding of play-based learning in mixed-age groups.

This is the first review of the centre under new ownership. The owner is working alongside the longstanding teaching team to review current practices, promote leadership responsibilities and support improvements.

The Review Findings

The teaching team has worked towards building stronger relationships with parents. They have sought parent input when reviewing policies to support centre operations. Teachers have also begun to use an online tool for communications with parents about their children's learning experiences.

Relationships between teachers and children are positive. There are some examples of good teaching practices that engage children in activities and conversations that respond to their interests. Children enjoy exploring the interesting outdoor spaces. Some aspects of bicultural practices are incorporated in programmes.

The quality of care for babies and toddlers is not adequate. Teachers do not sufficiently notice, recognise and respond to the capabilities and interests of these very young children. The environment and resources for babies and toddlers urgently need to be improved.

The programme and environment for pre-school children does not yet align well with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children would benefit from a curriculum and resources that enable greater self-direction in their learning and play.

While aspects of assessment are visible in displays, the quality of learning stories is variable. These should more consistently identify how teachers plan learning experiences, and follow children's interests, with clear links to their learning and next steps.

The centre manager requires external support to build teachers' capability, and develop more effective teaching across the centre. This should support teachers as they work towards implementing Te Whāriki 2017. The appraisal process is not yet well understood or implemented in a meaningful way to develop teachers' professional capability. Professional learning in this area is necessary to support teachers to meet the requirements of the Education Council.

Key Next Steps

The centre manager agrees that she and teachers require support to:

• establish effective curriculum management and implementation to improve the quality of education and care for children, particularly those up to two years of age

• develop and sustain effective leadership practices.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Learning Steps Childcare Centre 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.

In order to improve current practices, the owner and manager should ensure that record keeping in relation to complaints and disclosures aligns with centre policies.

Actions for compliance

ERO found significant areas of non-compliance in the service related to personnel management, and curriculum. In order to address these, the owner and manager must ensure that:

• teachers' appraisals comply with Teaching Council requirements

• premises and equipment are kept in a hygienic condition, particularly in the infants' area.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C4, HS1; Education (ECS) Regulations 2008, 43(1a,iii), 47c (ii).

Development Plan Recommendation

ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

6 March 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

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.