4 - 6 Wilson Road, Glen Eden, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Pīwaka Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro DomainsLearning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakawhanake Sustaining Whakaū Embedding |
Pīwaka Early Learning Centre provides education and care for children from six months to six years old. It is privately owned and has been under the same ownership since opening in 2005. Since the 2016 ERO review, the service has been rebranded and is no longer a franchise of Evolve Education Group. This is the first ERO review under its new organisational structure.
Children are viewed as competent, capable learners. They engage in learning-focused relationships with kaiako ,who provide a curriculum consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The curriculum is aligned to the service’s priorities for learning. The service’s philosophy is lived and visible in the centre.
Children under the age of three benefit from a calm, unhurried environment. Kaiakoknow children’s individual needs, and children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging.
Children’s learning is enhanced through individualised assessment practices that:
inform planning
support kaiako to engage in intentional teaching practices
extend children’s learning
support children to develop their image as successful learners, building and promoting their confidence and mana as individuals.
Kaiako are working towards greater involvement of children in planning for their learning.
Kaiako weave te ao Māori through the curriculum and are supported by their relationships with tangata whenua. Kaiako work collaboratively, continuing to learn about and implement cultural competencies. Service leaders are committed to further developing practices that support equitable learning outcomes for all children.
Centre-wide, internal evaluations support the service to reflect and improve. Collaboration is promoted, and relational trust is evident. Centre-wide evaluation processes are not yet embedded for evaluating and monitoring outcomes for children over time.
Kaiako benefit from a positive, supportive working environment. Well-qualified teachers and leaders have been retained, and there is low staff turnover. Children and whānau benefit from sustained relationships with people who know and understand their needs.
Effective organisational conditions have been developed, which promote positive outcomes for children. These practices are now being embedded to ensure the sustainability of good practice and the service’s continuous improvement.
Pīwaka Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Increase teachers’ individual capability and collective capacity to use internal evaluation systems, processes, and practices throughout the service. Improve the monitoring of these systems and processes to guide and sustain the service’s improvement journey.
Further develop ways to make children’s learning more visible, so that older children can revisit their learning and be involved in the assessment for, and planning of, their learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pīwaka Early Learning 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.
Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
Equipment, premises, and facilities are checked on every day of operation for dangerous objects and the condition/placement of learning, play and other equipment (HS12).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
6 April 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Pīwaka Early Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
20156 |
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Location |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
140 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
148 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 18%, NZ European/Pākehā 40%, Indian 10%, Chinese 6%, other European 11%, other Asian 7%, other ethnic groups 8% |
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Review team on site |
February 2022 |
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Date of this report |
6 April 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2016 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The centre provides all day care and education for 140 children across five rooms, in two adjacent buildings. Up to 40 children under two years are catered for in two of these rooms.
The teaching team is very well qualified. The centre owner and centre manager work closely to govern and manage the service effectively. There is a clear focus on ongoing improvement and the centre has a positive ERO reporting history.
The centre philosophy is founded on genuine and respectful relationships, the celebration of cultural diversity and the integral place of partnerships with parents/whānau, based on children's learning and development. A recently developed mission statement describes the service's vision for the provision of an environment that allows children to be children.
Children are active, independent learners who confidently lead their play. They move easily around the centre and their play flows well. The well-paced, interesting programme supports their social and imaginative play. Children make decisions, share their ideas and help determine the course of the daily programme. Upgrades to learning environments continue, adding challenge and choice for children.
Teachers provide inclusive, respectful care that promotes children's growing independence and self-help skills. Teachers are aware of and respond to, children’s needs and preferences. They view children as confident and capable and provide a responsive programme that caters well for children's interests. Care for others is nurtured through teachers' consistent positive guidance strategies.
Sound teaching practice is evident across the centre. Teachers are adaptive and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and their teaching practice. Teams work well together in their rooms and across the service. Work continues on achieving centre-wide consistency of planning and programme documentation.
Genuine relationships are a key priority for the centre. Children and families are well known to staff and included in discussions about centre development and evaluation. Learning is shared with parents/whānau in a timely way, helped by the introduction of an online programme. Records of centre celebrations and events, newsletters and daily programme information are posted to keep families well informed.
An ongoing focus on children's physical wellbeing and healthy eating is supported by participation in the Healthy Heart programme and other external programmes to promote active movement. Through this focus the centre has been awarded the Heart Foundation's Healthy Heart Gold Award. The centre makes good use of community resources such as the local park to add interest for children.
High quality leadership is evident and staff are supported by very good employer practices. Teachers' strengths are recognised and authentic opportunities for leadership build capability. Dedicated time for these roles allows for support and assistance to be given to others. Access to a good variety of professional learning and development and good quality internal mentoring processes build teachers' professional knowledge.
Provision for Māori children and their whānau is a current, internally led focus. Aspirations for their children's learning have been sought from each Māori whānau and work is underway to respond to the ideas shared. Strategies to build skill and confidence amongst staff in te ao Maori across the centre are also in progress. Tātaiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, could be useful for teachers in this area.
Governance and management systems are well planned and implemented. An effective system to gather evidence and monitor the achievement of strategic goals is in place. Highly effective, collaborative centre evaluation occurs on a range of levels. Regular reflection and open discussion guides changes to practices and structures to promote positive outcomes for children.
Centre leaders agree with ERO that work should continue to ensure that the annual appraisal process aligns to and provides evidence that teachers meet each of the Education Council's practising teacher criteria.
Before the review, the staff and management of Lollipops Educare Glen Eden 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.
The next ERO review of Lollipops Educare Glen Eden will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
20 April 2016
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.
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Location |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20156 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
140 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
152 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 52% Girls 48% |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Samoan Indian Niue other |
6% 66% 8% 2% 2% 1% 15% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
February 2016 |
||
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Date of this report |
20 April 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
September 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
September 2007 |
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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.
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:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
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.