Maraeroa Kindergarten - 17/09/2019

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of Maraeroa Kindergarten
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

How well placed is Maraeroa Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Maraeroa Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Maraeroa Kindergarten is situated in Porirua, Wellington. It provides all-day education and care for up to 42 children aged over two years. Many of the children who attend are from Māori and Pacific cultures.

The kindergarten philosophy emphasises the importance of a respectful environment where whānau are welcome, diversity is valued and children are seen as self-motivated learners who learn through play in a fun environment.

All teachers are fully qualified. Some, including the head teacher, have a long association with the kindergarten.

Maraeroa Kindergarten is governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association (the association). The chief executive and a board of trustees are responsible for governance. A team of senior teachers oversee and support the professional practice of the teaching team. The association governs 102 kindergartens which includes three Pasifika kindergartens and a Pasifika home-based service with two networks.

ERO's June 2015 report identified areas requiring further development, these included further developing internal evaluation, and embedding assessment practice. Good progress has been made.

Progress has been made by the association to improve the quality and monitoring of processes to support individual kindergartens and regular implementation of a robust appraisal system.

This review was one of nine kindergartens reviews in the He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association.

The kindergarten is a member of the Porirua East Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from many authentic learning opportunities to explore, create, investigate and have fun. Their independent and sustained play is encouraged and evident. They are confident and capable learners who show a sense of belonging.

Teachers are purposeful, positive and respectful in their interactions with children. They work alongside them providing challenge and support to extend their interests and learning.

Te ao Māori features in the curriculum. Aspects of kaupapa Māori are evident in the learning environment. Teachers continue to build their knowledge and understanding of mātauranga Māori, including local iwi history. Teachers have identified appropriate external expertise to further support them to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

Children with additional needs are identified and effectively supported. Assistance from external agencies is accessed as required.

Pacific children's culture and language is evident in the learning environment. Teachers should continue to extend their celebration of cultural diversity through assessment, planning and evaluation documentation.

An effective planning for learning framework guides teachers' practice and is based on children’s emerging interests. Children's assessment portfolios demonstrate children's learning and their interests. Teachers value parent aspirations and encourage them to contribute through the learning stories. Teachers and leaders have identified greater consistency to show, in learning records, planned teaching strategies to support learning and evaluate effectiveness. ERO affirms this direction.

Children's transitions to school are well supported through engagement with whānau, well considered regular visits, and the sharing of the information between services.

The teaching team is collaborative and strongly focused on improvement. They have adopted a useful internal evaluation framework to support decision making. Leaders and teachers should continue to build their shared understanding and capability to evaluate the impact of their practice on outcomes for children.

A well-considered appraisal process has recently been enhanced to grow and develop teacher practice. Teachers are expected to inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching. Purposeful appraisal goals focus on improving aspects of leadership and practice to support children’s learning and wellbeing.

The senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. They successfully foster a collective sense of responsibility to implement the vision, values and mission of the association. Systems and processes have been well developed to guide teacher’s capability and positively impact on children’s learning.

Senior leaders work effectively together, with a shared commitment to meeting strategic goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Well-considered resource allocation supports and enhances children’s learning and wellbeing.

Key Next Steps

The key next steps for teachers are to continue to:

• strengthen learning partnerships with families, particularly whānau Maori

• strengthen assessment documentation to clearly reflect association expectations

• continue to build shared understanding and capability in internal evaluation to better inform decision making and measure the impact of practice on children's learning.

ERO and senior leaders agree that the association's next steps are to:

• continue to follow the strategic direction set through Tūmanako, Te Tiriti o Waitangi Based Strategic Priority Framework.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Maraeroa 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:

• 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

17 September 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.