34 Davis Crescent, Ashburton
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 Merle Leask Free Kindergarten are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing Whāngai Establishing |
Merle Leask Free Kindergarten is one of five, governed by Ashburton Kindergarten Association. A general manager is responsible for day-to-day operation, and a senior teaching team leads teaching and learning. A recently established teaching team includes a newly appointed head teacher. The culturally diverse kindergarten community includes a quarter of children who are Māori, and a large number who have Pacific heritages. Some progress has been made against the ERO 2018 report.
Children’s learning and development in a play-based context is supported through caring, learning-focused relationships. Teachers effectively support children's developing social competence and emotional wellbeing. Independence, physical challenge, and oral language development are promoted. Children are well supported through transitions into the service and on to school. Teachers’ interactions with children and families are responsive, respectful and support their wellbeing and sense of belonging.
A well-resourced, thoughtfully designed learning environment reflects Māori and Pacific children’s cultures. Growing leaders’ and teachers’ confidence and capability in using te reo Māori and tikanga Māori is required.
Assessment and planning for learning practices require further development. This includes:
using Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, learning outcomes to show children’s learning and progress over time
consideration of parents’ and children’s perspectives and aspirations
integrating families’ cultures, languages, and identity into the curriculum
identifying and evaluating intentional teaching strategies to inform and adapt practice to extend children’s learning over time.
The senior leadership team is in the early stages of supporting the recently established teaching team. Relevant professional learning enables teachers to develop their professional knowledge to implement a curriculum that is responsive to the learning community. It is timely to build centre-based leadership.
Those responsible for governance and management do not yet have relevant up-to-date systems, processes and practices to be assured of the effective day-to-day operation of the organisation. Some policies and procedures are not fit for purpose. Systems for monitoring compliance have not been robustly implemented across the organisation. Human resource practices are not sufficiently robust.
Merle Leask Free Kindergarten will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Grow leadership capability to mentor and guide teachers’ practice.
Build teacher capability to meaningfully integrate te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into day-to-day teaching practice.
Develop a shared understanding of assessment and planning that is clearly aligned to Te Whāriki learning outcomes, includes parent aspirations, and children’s cultures, languages and identity.
Those responsible for governance and management to review and improve systems, processes, policies and practices to better manage the day-to-day operation of the organisation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Merle Leask Free Kindergarten completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
18 October 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Merle Leask Free Kindergarten |
|
Profile Number |
5469 |
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Location |
Ashburton |
|
Service type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
28 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
18 October 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, September 2018; Education Review, June 2012 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Merle Leask Free Kindergarten is one of five kindergartens governed and managed by the Ashburton Kindergarten Association (AKA) in Ashburton. It provides education and care for up to 30 children from two years old to school age, within a culturally diverse community.
Since the previous ERO report in 2012, there have been changes to the leadership and teaching team. A new head teacher was appointed in 2015. The head teacher and two teachers are responsible for the daily operations and teaching programme in the kindergarten. Professional practice is supported by a contracted education specialist. All teachers are registered and certificated.
Teachers have made progress with the areas for development identified in the ERO 2012 report. This includes strengthening of assessment, planning and evaluation practices for individuals and groups of children.
This review was part of a cluster of five kindergartens reviewed in the AKA. The association is a member of the Hakatere Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).
The kindergarten philosophy, 'A place where I can be me', is based on the tikanga Māori values of turangawaewae, aroha, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga. This supports children to develop the valued learning outcomes of relationships, risk taking, working theories and communication.
The philosophy helps to guide the curriculum and teaching practices. The values are evident in the positive and meaningful relationships that teachers have with children, parents and families/whānau/aiga. Children's cultures are reflected and valued in the programme, environment and resources. This has helped to foster and nurture children's sense of identity, wellbeing and belonging.
The new teaching team is working well together to build shared understandings and to enact the vision, philosophy and values of the kindergarten. Teachers know the children well and purposefully support them in their learning. Teachers have positive and respectful interactions with children. They use meaningful teaching strategies to respond to the interests, strengths and capabilities of children. Teachers provide children with opportunities to explore the environment and resources at their own pace.
Teachers prioritise equitable outcomes for all children by ensuring they can access the whole curriculum. When needed, food and clothing are provided to support children’s readiness to learn and ability to make the most of both the indoor and outdoor environments. The AKA deliberately funds a lower teacher to child ratio in this kindergarten to enable teachers to appropriately respond to the needs of younger children and those children with additional needs. Teachers work closely with children, parents/whānau/aiga and external specialists to help children achieve and succeed.
Cultural diversity is respected and valued in the kindergarten. The head teacher and teachers are committed to implementing a bicultural curriculum that is authentic and meaningful for all children. Teachers are developing respectful, culturally responsive practices. This includes knowledge and understanding about, and respect for, Pacific languages and cultures. The home languages of children are integrated into the curriculum and teaching practices.
Teachers have established strong partnerships within their local community. Children's learning is enhanced through regular visits to local community places (place-based learning). Key relationships with new-entrant teachers provide ongoing support and well-managed transitions to school for children and their families/whānau/aiga. Leaders and teachers should continue to support children to develop and strengthen their oral language skills, as part of their school readiness process.
Teachers are responsive to external evaluation processes to improve assessment and planning for children's learning. Teachers' assessment practices value and respond to Māori and Pacific cultures, knowledge and ways of learning. Teachers continue to reflect and challenge their practices through emergent reviews and role modelling from the head teacher. This has helped them to discuss more their understandings of Māori and Pacific concepts in relation to their philosophy and vision.
The Ashburton Kindergarten Association's vision and strategic goals are well-known and reflected in individual kindergarten annual plans. The association has a sound policy and procedures framework in place to provide guidance for kindergarten operations and the monitoring of health and safety.
The quality of teaching and learning in each kindergarten is regularly evaluated by the contracted education specialists. These evaluations are detailed and inform association planning and resourcing. Leaders and teachers have access to relevant professional development and leadership support. The association actively supports equity of outcomes for children by funding additional teaching resource and a speech-language therapist to support work with children with additional needs. Some progress has been made in addressing the areas for development from ERO's 2014 review, including supporting a number of leaders and teachers to participate in professional learning about culturally responsive teaching practice. This continues to be an area of focus for the association given the growing diversity of kindergarten rolls.
The key next steps for teachers, with the support of the Education Support Manager (ESM) are to continue to:
build shared understandings to enact the vision and values and to strengthen teaching practices
build and develop teachers' cultural capability
deepen engagement with families/whānau/aiga and to find authentic ways to include their voice in children's assessments.
The association board, manager and ERO agree that aspects of governance can be improved by:
strengthening planning for strategic and annual goals, including identifying relevant measures for knowing about the implementation and impact of goals
better aligning reporting from kindergartens and Kidsfirst education specialists with annual goals in order to know about the implementation and impact of goals
improving monitoring of planning for, and outcomes for, priority learners across the association
building the internal evaluation capability of head teachers and teachers, particularly around the collection and analysis of evidence of practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of Merle Leask Free 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 Merle Leask Free Kindergarten will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
7 September 2018
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 |
Ashburton |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5469 |
||
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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 |
30 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 17 Boys: 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
16 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
June 2018 |
||
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Date of this report |
7 September 2018 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review: |
June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review: |
March 2011 |
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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.
Merle Leask Kindergarten is one of five kindergartens administered by the Ashburton Kindergarten Association. The association employs a senior teacher who, as education service manager, is responsible for leading the professional support, advice and guidance for the teaching team. The service is open for six sessions each week and is licensed to provide education and care for 30 children.
Challenging experiences stimulate children’s learning. Positive relationships exist between staff and children and their families. Parents and whānau are encouraged to take an active interest in their child’s learning.
Children’s cultural backgrounds are highly respected and regularly celebrated. The kindergarten programme reflects the centre’s philosophy of recognising and responding to children’s strengths, interests and needs. The child-centred approach effectively responds to the wishes of parents.
ERO observed children learning in a calm, caring and peaceful environment. Children are confident to experiment and challenge themselves with a wide range of interesting resources. Teachers consistently expect children to care for each other and for the environment. The bicultural programme is strongly reflected in the centre. Children’s understanding of the wider community is enhanced by frequent, purposeful trips.
The association has appointed two new teachers to the kindergarten. The new teaching team works collaboratively and has successfully addressed the recommendations outlined in the 2011 ERO report. ERO observed good examples of high-quality teaching and respectful interactions between children and teachers.
A useful process of self review has been established. The shared-leadership approach is providing stability, continuity and sustainability of practice and management. Teachers record up-to-date assessments of children’s interests, progress and development. The next step is for teachers to specifically plan for and assess the skills that will help children progress towards becoming life-long learners.
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Merle Leask Free Kindergarten was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the kindergarten to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the kindergarten (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children at Merle Leask Free Kindergarten.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
The kindergarten’s philosophy expresses a commitment to providing a range of experiences and activities that challenge and stimulate children’s learning.
The kindergarten’s programme provides good-quality indoor and outdoor environments to engage children effectively in learning. Teachers present a range of challenging activities and resources that stimulate children’s curiosity. Children learn in a calm, caring and respectful atmosphere.
Teachers use high quality practices that engage children and build their self-confidence. Teachers are respectful and fully responsive to children’s needs. They actively follow the centre’s strategic goal of developing children’s social and emotional competence. They use a range of effective strategies to motivate children and encourage their participation in the programme. Children are sensitively challenged to test their skills, make appropriate choices and initiate play. They are helped to manage their own behaviours.
Teachers use a range of opportunities to engage with families and the wider community. These include special occasions such as grandparents’ day and kindergarten at night. Teachers use specialist personnel to support children with special needs. Parents and members of the wider community contribute to and give feedback about the kindergarten programme. Teachers positively respond to this feedback. Parents often remain in the centre and take part in the programme.
Teachers have developed a culture of teamwork that makes the best use of their individual strengths. A review of staff responsibilities and roles has led to significant improvements in leadership and administration. Teachers successfully model the beliefs, values and expectations of the centre philosophy. The head teacher delegates leadership roles appropriately to teachers in recognition of the skills they offer.
The centre’s bicultural programme sensitively allows all children to develop their understanding of being a New Zealander. The programme appropriately enhances Māori children’s sense of identity as Māori. Te reo and tikanga Māori form a natural part of the kindergarten’s programme. Children hear and are encouraged to use te reo Māori throughout the day. They learn about te ao Māori through their involvement in literacy, mathematics, science, art, and music. The kindergarten programme strongly links to Māori concepts such as whanaungatanga (what it means to be family) and kaitiakitanga (caring for each other and for the environment).
Teachers have a useful structure for self review. They skilfully use findings to develop an action plan that leads to improving outcomes for children. The appraisal process has clear goals and guidelines and is based on the professional standards and satisfactory teacher criteria. Teachers’ appraisal goals are appropriately linked to the centre’s strategic goals and include comprehensive evidence, record keeping and feedback to staff.
In the children’s portfolios, teachers describe activities used to stimulate children’s participation in play. They identify the knowledge children gain from the themed programmes such as kaitiakitanga. Teachers now need to assess all aspects of children’s learning more consistently and ensure that next learning steps are planned for each child.
Before the review, the staff of Merle Leask Free Kindergarten completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-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 documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
|
Type |
All day, Kindergarten |
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children |
|
Roll number |
40 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 22; Girls 18 |
|
Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 24; Māori 9; Cook Island 1; Samoan 1; Tongan 1; Asian 2; Welsh/New Zealand 1; Australian 1 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2012 |
|
Date of this report |
15 June 2012 |
|
Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review March 2011 Education Review July 2007 Education Review September 2004 |
15 June 2012
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Merle Leask Free Kindergarten.
Merle Leask Kindergarten is one of five kindergartens administered by the Ashburton Kindergarten Association. The association employs a senior teacher who, as education service manager, is responsible for leading the professional support, advice and guidance for the teaching team. The service is open for six sessions each week and is licensed to provide education and care for 30 children.
Challenging experiences stimulate children’s learning. Positive relationships exist between staff and children and their families. Parents and whānau are encouraged to take an active interest in their child’s learning.
Children’s cultural backgrounds are highly respected and regularly celebrated. The kindergarten programme reflects the centre’s philosophy of recognising and responding to children’s strengths, interests and needs. The child-centred approach effectively responds to the wishes of parents.
ERO observed children learning in a calm, caring and peaceful environment. Children are confident to experiment and challenge themselves with a wide range of interesting resources. Teachers consistently expect children to care for each other and for the environment. The bicultural programme is strongly reflected in the centre. Children’s understanding of the wider community is enhanced by frequent, purposeful trips.
The association has appointed two new teachers to the kindergarten. The new teaching team works collaboratively and has successfully addressed the recommendations outlined in the 2011 ERO report. ERO observed good examples of high-quality teaching and respectful interactions between children and teachers.
A useful process of self review has been established. The shared-leadership approach is providing stability, continuity and sustainability of practice and management. Teachers record up-to-date assessments of children’s interests, progress and development. The next step is for teachers to specifically plan for and assess the skills that will help children progress towards becoming life-long learners.
ERO is likely to review the kindergarten again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the kindergarten or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
Quality of Education – including the quality of the programme provided for children, the quality of the learning environment and the quality of the interactions between staff and children and how these impact on outcomes for children.
Additional Review Priorities – other aspects of the operation of a kindergarten, may be included in the review. ERO will not include this strand in all reviews.
Compliance with Legal Requirements – assurance that this kindergarten has taken all reasonable steps to meet legal requirements.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of kindergarten’s performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this kindergarten.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a kindergarten is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this kindergarten.