Lollipops Oteha Valley - 03/05/2019

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of Lollipops Oteha Valley
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

How well placed is Lollipops Oteha Valley to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Lollipops Oteha Valley is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Lollipops Oteha Valley was previously known as Tuatara Preschool. It is licensed to provide for up to 40 children over two years of age. Children play and learn in mixed-age groups, both indoors and in the outdoor play area.

The centre has had significant changes in leadership and staffing in the last six months. The manager and area manager are new to their roles. Most staff are qualified early childhood teachers.

The centre is part of the Evolve Education Group’s Upper North Island region. Evolve provides the overarching governance and management framework. The intent of a recent re-branding of Evolve services has been to build a greater sense of unity across the organisation. It has allowed each centre to identify a preferred philosophical approach.

Recent Evolve initiatives are intended to improve staff retention, promote effective internal evaluation and lift the quality of teaching practices. A new general manager and area managers provide professional support for centre leaders and teachers. Further recruitment is underway for managers to lead a focus on continuing quality improvement across the organisation. There continues to be a period of transition for staff as they adapt to changes in Evolve operational practices.

This review was part of a cluster of six reviews of services in the Evolve Education Group, Upper North Island.

The Review Findings

Children are settled and enjoy long periods of uninterrupted play. They have warm and trusting relationships with adults and interact confidently with their friends. Children know about making choices, are able to lead their own learning and independently select resources. A respectful and inclusive culture is evident throughout the centre.

The programme allows children to follow their own interests and lead their own learning. The pace is unhurried. Effective teaching practices that promote positive learning outcomes for children include teachers:

• taking a genuine interest in and listening to children's ideas to help foster their language development

• promoting children's independence and self-management skills through daily routines

• incidentally promoting early literacy skills and an enjoyment of books throughout the day

• increasing the integration of te reo and tikanga Māori.

The centre manager provides a good model for other teachers to increase te reo and tikanga Māori within the programme. The mandarin speaking teacher is able to speak to Chinese families in their home language to help them transition into the centre. Leaders and teachers should now consider further ways to support an increasingly diverse community.

A wide range of resources that interest children are available. There are increasing opportunities for children to develop their creativity and to make sense of the natural world. Teachers have begun to focus planning on making the most of learning opportunities, challenging children's thinking and increasing the complexity of children's play. With the appointment of a new team, leaders and teachers are ready to evaluate curriculum practices and build on current strengths.

Parents are encouraged to be partners in their children’s learning. Teachers provide many opportunities for families to participate in the programme, contribute to reviews and be aware of their children’s progress. Teachers have many formal and informal discussions with parents and whānau. Parents also discuss and have input into children's learning stories and portfolios. Parents report that they appreciate the quality of education and care that is provided for their children.

Key Next Steps

Centre managers agree that key next steps for centre development include:

• reviewing and extending planning, assessment and evaluation practices to include a focus on intentional teaching strategies and learning outcomes for children

• further supporting children to increase the complexity of play, and extending provision for boys

• ensuring that the structure of the programme aligns with a child-centred philosophy.

During ERO’s August 2018 cluster, Evolve Education Group Managers agreed that next steps included:

• increased integration of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the alignment of strategic goals and annual plans with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum

• monitoring the roles and responsibilities of leaders at organisation and centre levels

• the effective implementation of appraisal practices.

This current cluster review also identified the need for:

• a coherent change management strategy, and monitoring the effectiveness of the new structure

• support for centres through changes of key leaders, including area and centre managers

• the evaluation of teaching and learning across the organisation, to inform the next steps in PLD and the development of the teaching and learning teams

• high quality PLD for area managers to help them to evaluate and promote quality provision for children, and to identify priorities for supporting centre managers.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Lollipops Oteha Valley 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 practice, managers should:

• consider ways to reduce noise levels in the centre

• vary the timing of emergency drills to ensure all children have opportunities to participate.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

3 May 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.