1069 Highway 1, Longbush-Invercargill
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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.
Longbush Rural Kindergarten is situated close to Invercargill in a small rural community. The kindergarten is open from 8:30am to 2:30pm. The kindergarten is licensed for up to 40 children. Thirty children attend in the mornings and twenty in the afternoons. Children come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, including a number of children for whom English is a second language.
The kindergarten is governed by Kindergartens South (KS). The kindergarten receives regular support from senior teachers. Since the 2014 ERO review there has been a number of staff changes. There is now a new head teacher and teacher. After the 2014 ERO review senior teachers supported the teachers to develop action planning to address the key next steps. The new team have continued to address the key next steps, however, these remain key priorities for development.
This review was part of a cluster of fourteen kindergarten reviews in the Southland Kindergarten Association (trading as Kindergartens South).
The new head teacher and team are working well together to support positive outcomes for children. They have:
created a strong sense of whanaungatanga for children and their families
improved practice through participating in a research programme that encourages close and careful listening to children
a view of children as confident and competent learners that positively influences the programme.
The teachers have developed a shared team-teaching philosophy to guide their work. This should be further developed, in consultation with the community, to include the desired outcomes for children's learning.
Children experience a varied and localised curriculum based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki (the early childhood curriculum). Children have many opportunities for early literacy (including ICT), mathematics, science and developing skills to relate positively with each other.
Teachers make good use of the outdoor environment to enable children to connect with nature, explore, think and be curious. Teachers skilfully use regular visits to the nearby kindergarten farm as a context to build children's knowledge of themselves as caretakers of Papatūānuku and learn about New Zealand's bicultural heritage. Children actively lead their play, follow their interests and know their ideas are listened to and built on.
The teaching team have developed new systems for planning, assessment and evaluation. These need further development to be effective. When planning for groups and individuals, teachers need to:
consistently gather and show in documentation how they respond to parents' wishes
show how they value and respond to children's language, culture and identity
identify the desired outcomes for children's learning
make clear the strategies and experiences to support these outcomes
evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and experiences in supporting children's learning.
Teachers need to continue to find ways to improve assessment practices to show Māori children are actively engaged in their learning and are progressing well and succeeding as Māori.
The new head teacher and teaching team, in consultation with the community, have thoughtfully developed long-term planning with key priorities for development to support positive outcomes for children. The key priorities are that children:
have a strong connection to the natural and living world
know their culture is valued and integrated into the programmes
have a wide range of technologies to explore and make sense of their world in real and meaningful ways
are well supported as they transition to school.
The kindergarten does not have action planning in place to achieve these key priorities. The cultural diversity of the children who attend the kindergarten is not well reflected and integrated into programmes. Action planning needs to be developed for the key priorities and should include:
ongoing monitoring of the plans
regular evaluation and reporting on the outcomes to the community and KS.
The head teacher has identified that internal evaluation is an area for improvement. The team need to improve their understanding and practice of effective internal evaluation.
The kindergarten benefits from well-planned and ongoing professional learning and development and is well supported by the senior teachers. A new appraisal system is being introduced, further development is required to include expectations for observations and explicit links to Tātaiako.
The kindergarten receives good support from KS. The KS board has a clear strategic vision that outlines key priorities for development. The next step is to ensure explicit alignment of these priorities to the planning of each kindergarten. The board has identified that internal evaluation practice is not strong at board level. The board needs to receive evaluative reporting of how well these plans and other initiatives have been enacted and the impact on children’s learning.
The key next steps to promote positive outcomes for all children are for the head teacher and teachers with the support of the senior teachers to:
refocus the philosophy and use it to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes and practices
develop systems for planning, monitoring and evaluation of the key priorities
further develop assessment, planning and evaluation
embed appraisal
further develop and use effective internal evaluation practices.
The key next steps to promote positive outcomes for all children are for the board to:
ensure the appraisal system continues to be developed and embedded
develop and use rigorous internal evaluation practices
ensure explicit alignment of kindergarten planning to implement the KS strategic goals
receive evaluative reporting of progress towards the strategic goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Longbush Rural Kindergarten 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:
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 Longbush Rural Kindergarten will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
24 May 2017
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 |
Invercargill |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
80019 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, aged over 2 |
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|
Service roll |
46 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 27 Girls: 19 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Filipino Dutch Asian Other |
3 29 7 4 2 1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
March 2017 |
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Date of this report |
24 May 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
January 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
February 2011 |
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Education Review |
April 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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Longbush Rural Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for chidren.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Longbush Kindergarten is a rural kindergarten situated 11 kilometres east of Invercargill. It provides extended morning sessions for up to 40 children. Many of the children’s families are involved in farming or farm-related work. In recent times, there have been children attending from families where English is not their first language and some children attend irregularly due to dairy farming practices in the area.
The team has worked together for several years. Teachers have developed a small working farm next to the kindergarten where children are actively involved in the feeding and care of animals. It is also a place where children can safely take risks and set themselves challenges, such as climbing trees, building huts and cooking food on open fires.
Teachers have made some progress on the November 2011 ERO report recommendations improving aspects of bicultural programmes, implementing self-review processes and beginning to develop a system to ensure that they plan for all children over time.
This review was part of a cluster of 23 kindergarten reviews in the Southland Kindergarten Association.
Children and their families benefit from caring relationships with the teachers. The teachers encourage parents and families to stay and welcome parent help in the programme. They provide regular opportunities such as at family teas for families to meet one another.
Children play well together. They are independent and have good conversations with each other. ERO observed children playing imaginary games, being creative, and competently using equipment to carry out their projects and ideas.
Teachers are responsive to children and their interests. Through their conversations with children, teachers show their knowledge of the child and their family backgrounds. They help children find the things they need to carry out their play ideas and help them make choices about what they want to do. They set up the inside and outside environments in interesting ways that extend children’s learning. There are many resources that reflect the local environment and the children’s lives, such as toy tractors, farm implements, wheelbarrows and a working garden in the kindergarten.
Children’s learning is supported by the strong vision and philosophy guiding the programme. Teachers aim for children to learn about caring for the environment, farm life, the seasons, gardening and ecology. This is evident in practice.
Other positive aspects of the programme that supports children’s learning are:
Teachers have improved the way they make children’s learning more visible to their families. A daily photographic record highlights key learning and provides continuity between sessions. It is used by teachers when planning the group programme. Teachers have begun to use a system to more regularly plan for all children. They seek parents’ wishes for their children and have started to respond to these.
The teachers work well together. They use each other’s strengths to ensure the efficient running of the kindergarten. They have made a good start to developing long-term planning to guide their work and are beginning to use self review well to improve aspects of their practice. Teachers said that meetings held once a term with local schools and early childhood centres have helped them better understand the links between school and kindergarten.
The Kindergarten South governors consulted widely when developing the vision and goals that guide the long-term direction of the association. They have high expectations that the association and each kindergarten will:
The association is committed to transforming each kindergarten’s outdoor play area. Children now play and learn in attractive and natural environments.
Governors and staff have a clear understanding of the roles of governance and management in the association. They have developed a useful policy framework and guidelines that support the day-to-day and long-term operation of the kindergartens.
The advisory support teachers provide useful feedback and guidance to staff and endorse the high expectations set by the board of governors. Longbush Kindergarten benefits from strong ongoing support from the general manager and other association staff.
Planning and assessment for individual children has been a recent development in the kindergarten. Teachers identify the need to continue to develop the way they identify and plan for children’s ongoing learning. They need to more consistently show in the records:
Group planning could be further strengthened by showing the links to individual children’s learning. Where teachers have identified group priorities, such as supporting children with English as a second language, the group planning should clearly show the strategies they are using to support these children.
Teachers should continue to refine the processes of self review and find ways to share the improvements they have made with the families and the Kindergarten South managers.
Long-term planning would be more useful if teachers made the working document simpler and included more specific plans to guide them. For example, developing a bicultural action plan.
Before the review, the staff and management of Longbush Rural Kindergarten 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:
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:
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 Longbush Rural Kindergarten will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
13 January 2014
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.
|
Location |
Invercargill |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
80019 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged two to five years |
||
|
Service roll |
51 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 26 Boys 25 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Asian Other Ethnicities |
3 42 4 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
Not applicable |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 January 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
February 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2004 |
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.