Little Sparrows Educare (Leamington)

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Little Sparrows Educare (Leamington) are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Little Sparrows Educare is one of three services with mutual governance, organisational systems, and ownership. The service provides education and care for tamariki up to 3 years, and transition to Little Sparrows Preschool. Approximately a quarter of the tamariki enrolled are Māori. A range of ethnic groups are represented, including a small number of Pacific tamariki.

3 Summary of findings

Tamariki and their whānau experience warm and positive relationships with kaiako. Whānau engage in informal conversations and have opportunities to share their tamariki home lives through an online platform. Some whānau are sharing their aspirations for their learning. Tamariki benefit from relationships where whānau are confident to share their individual needs. Their holistic development is supported.

Individual and group planning assessment practices are established. Infants and toddlers individual care needs and routines are responded to. Older tamariki play and grow in an environment fostering their independence. Kaiako work alongside whānau and external agencies to extend learning and development for tamariki with additional needs. Assessment practices highlight tamariki learning and development over time.

Māori tamariki have some opportunity to experience aspects of their own culture in the centre environment. Recent bicultural growth is beginning to reflect what matters to tamariki and their whānau. Time is needed to embed this to impact on the service’s bicultural practices. Leaders have self-identified and are working towards embedding kaiako capability to respond to diverse languages and cultures. Reflection of individual tamariki identities is not yet consistently present throughout the services practices.

Leaders have established collaborative relationships with kaiako. External relationships, mentoring, professional learning, and growth cycles are beginning to foster on-going development and build kaiako capability. Evaluation systems are somewhat collective, they are not yet actively promoting what is working well for different groups of tamariki. Governance promotes equity through inclusion and participation. Systems are in place to support decision making and promote positive outcomes for tamariki.  

4 Improvement actions

Little Sparrows Educare (Leamington) will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• Continue to strengthen governance, leaders and kaiako cultural competence to provide a localised bicultural curriculum.

• Build further knowledge of tamariki home cultures and languages to enrich the curriculum and support their identities as successful learners.

• Strengthen evaluation practice on what progression is enabled and for which groups of tamariki with explicit reference to the valued learning outcomes of Te Whāriki.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Sparrows Educare (Leamington) completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

• relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

15 March 2023

6 About the Early Childhood Service