Matapihi Kindergarten - 05/12/2017

• On this page:

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

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

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

Background

Matapihi Kindergarten is situated near Raglan, on eight acres of land encompassing bush, kahikatea stands, a paddock, a stream, and a small lake. It is licensed for 30 children aged from two years to school age. The kindergarten offers full-day education and care. All staff are qualified and registered teachers. At the time of this ERO review there were 54 children on the roll, and seven identify as Māori.

Since the 2014 ERO review, the owners and most teachers have remained in their positions. Teachers have engaged in professional development to more effectively implement a culturally responsive curriculum that is aligned to assessment and evaluation processes.

Matapihi Kindergarten's philosophy aims to provide high-quality education and care by ensuring all staff have a good understanding of the different ways children learn and make sense of their world. The Treaty of Waitangi principles of whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, wanangatanga and akotanga are woven into the kindergarten's philosophy.

The Review Findings

A strength of the kindergarten is the mutually trusting relationships between families, teachers and children. These are based on a collaborative approach to decision making, which is focused on children's learning and development. Parent and whānau participation is highly valued and guides teacher practice. The outdoor and indoor learning areas continue to reflect the aspirations of parents and whānau. The cultural backgrounds of children are embraced and this promotes children feeling a strong sense of belonging.

Te reo and tikanga Māori are naturally integrated into the daily programme. This is contributing to a bicultural curriculum that enacts the concepts of whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. Children benefit from tuakana teina learning relationships and the frequent use of waiata and karakia.

Uru Taiao is an outstanding feature of the kindergartens curriculum. This programme provides children with many opportunities to engage with the natural world. The environment encourages curiosity, critical thinking and active investigation. Children have extensive, opportunities to be creative, use their imagination and to make sense of the natural, social and physical worlds. They enjoy experiences that supports risk-taking and challenge.

A literacy-rich learning programme promotes oral language through storytelling and exploration. Early reading and writing skills are woven into the curriculum in meaningful ways. Literacy practices encourage children to observe, listen and play with language. In addition, children experience many opportunities to extend their knowledge and understandings in mathematics through a programme that supports exploration, investigation and collaboration.

Teachers have shared values for providing high-quality education and care, which is strongly enacted in practice. They are effective and skilled practitioners.

Leaders and teachers are focused on improving the quality of education and care through on-going systematic internal review practices. These reviews include the gathering and analysis of useful information from a range of sources to make evidence based decisions about ways to improve outcomes for all children.

Key Next Steps

The kindergarten needs to strengthen the strategic plan, so that it clearly aligns with the centre philosophy, the outcomes of internal evaluation and teacher appraisal.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Matapihi 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Matapihi Kindergarten will be in four years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region

5 December 2017

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 and Next Review

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:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.