48 Mill Street, Marton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Mill Street Early Learning is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Mill Street Early Learning, formerly Mill Street Kindergarten, is located in Marton. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 7:30am until 5:30pm. Full day places are available to children from birth to six years. At the time of this review, there were 45 children enrolled; 11 identify as Māori and six of Pacific heritage.
The centre philosophy emphasises learning through play, cultural diversity and relationships.
The centre is administered by the Ruahine Kindergarten Association (the association). The governing board is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction for the organisation. The day-to-day running of the association is the role of the chief executive officer who is responsible to the board. An operations manager supports the service’s compliance and policy development. Two senior teachers provide educational leadership across the teaching teams.
In August 2018 the centre changed operational model from a kindergarten to an all day, full year early learning service. Most teachers are new to the centre. The current centre manager was appointed in June 2019.
The September 2016 ERO report identified that the leader's induction, team culture, philosophy, internal evaluation, assessment for learning and acknowledgement of te ao Māori within the programme required further development. These areas remain a priority.
This centre is part of the South Rangitikei Kāhui Ako.
This review was part of a cluster of eight kindergartens and one early learning service in the Ruahine Kindergarten Association.
Children lead their own learning within a curriculum that is based on their ongoing interests. Teachers intentionally provide a wide range of learning experiences to extend these. Children engage in a range of activities that promote risk taking, exploration and physical play.
Consistent, responsive caregiving supports infants and toddlers need for strong and secure attachment. Their choices about routines and play are respected. Tuakana teina relationships enhance these children's learning through interactions and role modelling from their older peers.
The bicultural curriculum continues to be an area for development. Leaders and teachers are investigating ways to strengthen their practice to promote children's connections with te ao Māori. Building teachers' knowledge and implementation of strategies that promote educational success for Māori children' is a key next step.
Samoan children's culture and language are reflected in the environment and teachers make regular connections through the programme. They continue to strengthen practices that promote educational success for children of Pacific heritage.
Children's portfolios show their developing interests and learning dispositions. Individual planning is in the early stages of development. Continuing to strengthen this for all children should better identify intentional teaching strategies to progress children's learning and enhance assessment.
A focus on creating a positive environment for children is maintained throughout the frequent changes of staff. Leaders have established systems, processes and expectations that promote consistent practices to support children's sense of wellbeing and security.
Children's social and emotional competence is enhanced through recently implemented teaching strategies. Parents and teachers work closely to identify and progress learning for children that require additional support. Children play well alongside each other.
Leaders have identified that establishing the permanent teaching team and creating a shared understanding of practice is a priority. Several key aspects of the centre's operation require ongoing development. These include:
Senior teachers work collaboratively to build teacher and leadership capability. There is a strong commitment to growing staff knowledge and skills through ongoing professional learning, research opportunities and the sharing of good practice.
The association internal evaluation framework is well defined and guides teachers' investigation into practice. Teachers should continue to build their shared understanding and use of internal evaluation within this.
Association leaders have a well-considered approach to progressing strategic objectives. Robust systems and processes are in place for reporting, monitoring and evaluating the quality of operations. Information is used to inform decision making and to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
At centre level the priority is to fully establish the teaching team. Key next steps are for teachers to:
At the governance level, the Ruahine Kindergarten Association have identified that their priorities are to continue to:
An annual update is submitted to ERO that reports on progress made towards the key next steps identified in this report.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mill Street Early Learning 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
11 February 2020
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 |
Marton |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5262 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
45 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Gender composition |
Female 28, Male 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan Other ethnic groups |
11 26 5 3 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2019 |
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Date of this report |
11 February 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
June 2009 |
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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:
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 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.
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
With stable leadership and well-focused support from the association, this service should be well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mill Street Kindergarten is one of 25 early childhood services administered by the Ruahine Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association). It is licensed for 40 children aged over two years, an increase of 10 since the November 2012 ERO report. Of the children enrolled, 18 are Maori and 12 are Samoan. The kindergarten community is culturally diverse. Significant refurbishment of the indoor environment has been undertaken in the past three years.
In 2016, the kindergarten’s licensed hours were increased to 30 per week and staffing was increased accordingly. Four out of the five teachers are qualified and registered. Apart from one teacher, all staff have been appointed since the previous 2012 ERO review. At the time of this review, an acting head teacher was leading the team. The number of changes of head teacher since the previous review has impacted on the work of the team.
The kindergarten philosophy emphasises the importance of: whanaungatanga (relationships), manaakitanga (kindness), and the principles of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to support children as successful learners.
The November 2012 ERO review identified that teachers should develop ways to document and respond to parents' aspirations for their children’s learning in order to develop a more culturally responsive curriculum. Planning required strengthening to identify teaching strategies that challenge and extend children’s learning. Progress is evident.
Day-to-day management of the association's affairs is the responsibility of the general manager. A governing board sets the overall strategic direction. The senior teacher provides professional leadership for teaching and learning. An operations manager supports services’ compliance, policy development and leadership. A management restructure has been undertaken since the previous ERO review.
This review is one of a cluster of eight reviews of Ruahine Kindergarten Association early learning services.
The kindergarten is suitably resourced to support children’s investigation of, and participation in, a range of learning experiences. The expansive outdoor area has been carefully developed to include an increasing variety of challenging activities. Some changes have been made in the environment to better support the participation of children aged under three years. Teachers should continue to identify ways of best meeting the needs of these children.
Teachers are kind and caring. Their learning conversations with children support the development of close relationships, feelings of belonging and understanding of interests and needs. Positive strategies are used to manage children's behaviour. There is a demonstrated commitment to culturally responsive practice. Children are happy learners who enjoy each other's company and the support of teachers.
Teachers should work on maximising opportunities for their authentic and purposeful engagement with children to support their sustained play and development of their ideas and understanding. Routines should be used more effectively as part of the learning programme to provide support for children's developing social competence and self-management.
A flexible and inclusive approach supports children and their families to settle into the life of the centre. There is a strong emphasis on sustaining and improving children's wellbeing and ensuring their basic needs are met. The 2015 focus on healthy living provided a range of meaningful experiences which should assist with building good life skills. Relationships with parents, whānau and aiga are well developed. Teachers have good knowledge of the local community and support agencies to meet families' needs.
The programme is responsive to individual children’s interests and needs. Literacy, mathematics, creativity and aspects of science are integrated into activities in meaningful play-based ways.
Progress has been made in developing the quality of programme planning and assessment. Teachers' approach now includes some references to parents' aspirations for their children's learning, children's developing learning dispositions, philosophical values and specific teaching strategies. A priority for the new leader should be to again formalise the team's process, including developing expectations and written guidelines linked to practice. Increasing the focus on the evaluation of the impact of teacher strategies on children's learning should further strengthen the approach. An online programme has the potential to improve teachers' and whānau/parents’ communication about children’s learning and progress. This is in the early stages of implementation.
Teachers should work on strengthening the relationship they have with local primary schools to facilitate the sharing of information about children's learning, and school and early childhood programmes.
The kindergarten team acknowledges the need to strengthen acknowledgment of the importance and place of te ao Māori in the progamme and operation. Association leaders are strongly committed to implementing a bicultural curriculum and promoting success for Māori as Māori. The revised Tiriti o Waitangi policy, Wise Practice document and bicultural exemplars should support development of these practices.
With the changes in leadership, the association is endeavouring to put in place appropriate support for the team to develop cohesive, collaborative practice. A priority for the new leader should be the collaborative review of the philosophy to reaffirm the values that will underpin teaching and learning at Mill Street Kindergarten.
The association is providing good support for teachers to use a more evaluative approach to review for improvement. In this kindergarten, this is in the early stages of development. Teachers should continue to build their shared understanding and use of internal evaluation to support decisionmaking that improves and sustains positive outcomes for children. The association agrees the continued development of the Wise Practice indicators should occur to support understanding about the quality and effectiveness of practice and operation at kindergarten through to board level.
The kindergarten's annual plan outlines priorities for the year linked to the association's strategic goals of having high quality staff, coordinated services, effective partnerships and operation. Progress is recorded and reflected upon in collaboration with the senior teacher and operations manager. Quality indicators linked to outcomes for children are a useful addition to the annual plan. These should be further defined to enable more effective monitoring of progress.
The association provides effective governance and management support for this service. This includes:
constructive and improvement-focused support from the senior teacher
suitable quality assurance processes and guidelines linked to compliance with regulations and association expectations
a variety of operational and administrative support
effective and targeted support for teacher and leadership development through appraisal and wide-ranging professional learning opportunities.
ERO and association leaders agree that association support should prioritise:
well-managed induction for the new head teacher
development of team culture
the review of the philosophy
further strengthening of internal evaluation, assessment for learning, and acknowledgment of te ao Māori in the programme and operation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mill Street 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 Mill Street Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
23 September 2016
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 |
Marton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5262 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
48 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 29, Girls 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific |
18 18 12 |
|
|
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 |
August 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
23 September 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2005 |
||
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.