166 Wilton Road, Wilton, Wellington
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 Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
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Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding |
Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. is a community early childhood service located within the grounds of Otari School. A leader is responsible for day-to-day operations and a parent elected council is responsible for governance. The service roll is diverse, and this includes seven Māori and some Pacific children. Since the 2019 ERO report the service has made progress in developing a bicultural curriculum, an internal evaluation process and an appraisal system.
The service philosophy emphasises a Montessori approach within the framework of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children experience a curriculum where kaiako intentionally support them to lead their own learning. Kaiako follow children’s interests, add descriptive comments, and expand vocabulary to extend children’s thinking and grow their oral language capabilities. There is a strong focus on kaitiakitanga, and this is supported by outings to nearby Otari Bush.
A culturally responsive curriculum is highly evident. The bicultural programme is well-integrated. Children have opportunities to see, hear and use te reo me ngā tikanga Māori as well as learn about the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa. Their cultures, languages and identities are embedded in learning documentation and in the environment. This supports them to have a strong sense of belonging.
Children’s progression of learning through the Montessori curriculum is clear in assessment records. Teachers are beginning to use the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki in planning, however progression against these outcomes is not yet visible in documentation.
Relationships with parents are well established and parents have opportunities to share their culture and aspirations for their child’s learning. Kaiako are considering how they will share information with parents about their children’s learning and progression in relation to learning outcomes.
A useful internal evaluation framework informs ongoing improvements. This framework is not yet used to make evidence-based judgements about the effectiveness of teacher practice on children’s outcomes.
Governance, leaders and kaiako work collaboratively to align resources to the services vision, goals, and priorities. A professional growth cycle has been established for kaiako and there is a strong emphasis on professional learning. A coherent strategic plan informs decision-making, prioritising the learning and wellbeing of children.
Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
show in assessment documentation, children’s progression of learning over time against the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki
implement a wider range of strategies to build learning focused partnerships with parents and whānau
build a shared understanding of the internal evaluation process by identifying relevant evaluation questions, and clear and measurable indicators of high-quality practice to support evidence gathering, analysis and decision making that results in improved outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. 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 (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
24 August 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. |
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Profile Number |
60237 |
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Location |
Wilton, Wellington |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
48 children. |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
34 |
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Review team on site |
June 2022 |
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Date of this report |
24 August 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, July 2019; Education Review, August 2016 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. is a community-based early childhood service located in the grounds of Otari School. It provides education and care for up to 48 children aged from three to six years, in a two classroom settings for mixed age groups. A range of diverse ethnic groups make up the roll. It is governed by a parent-elected council and managed by a centre leader.
The philosophy is based on the Montessori approach and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The centre’s vision is ‘Nourish the human spirit to create a better world | Ka kai atu te mōhiotanga o te tangata, ka aohia te wairua, kia puta atu ke ti ao mārama ara te taiao’. All teachers have Montessori qualifications. The preschool leader provides oversight of operations, teachers' practice and curriculum development.
The August 2016 ERO review, identified areas that required strengthening. These included te ao Māori; aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation; internal evaluation; and teacher appraisal. While some progress is evident further work is required.
Children play and learn in a calm, peaceful environment. Classrooms are carefully organised to facilitate access to a range of learning experiences with a strong focus on the Montessori materials. Literacy, mathematics, and a focus on building life skills are evident throughout the curriculum.
Positive guidance is used well by teachers to promote children's decision making and respect for others and the environment. The garden area has been purposefully developed to create learning spaces, provide opportunities for challenge and to promote sustainable practices.
Assessment documentation highlights children’s engagement in the programme and progress over time. The principles and strands of Te Whāriki, and the Montessori philosophy are integrated throughout assessment.
Information about children’s interests, gathered through teacher observations, is used to inform decisions about children’s learning goals. Further integrating information about children’s culture, language and identity into assessment for learning is a next step and should enhance children's sense of belonging.
The service has identified that continuing to strengthen their knowledge of biculturalism and embedding it in the curriculum is a key next step. ERO's evaluation confirms this.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported in their learning through individual education plans, purposeful teaching strategies and outside agency involvement when appropriate.
Transitions into and out of the service are well considered and sensitively managed. Relationships with local schools have been developed to support children to effectively move to their next place of learning.
Leaders are improvement focused and a systematic approach to review through inquiry is undertaken. Deepening leaders' and teachers' knowledge and understanding of internal evaluation for ongoing improvement to measure the effectiveness of their programmes and practice is a next step. This should better enable leaders and teachers to evaluate the impact of changes made on outcomes for children.
A number of professional development opportunities have supported staff to grow their capability. Ongoing development of the appraisal process to ensure that all components of a robust system occur, is a matter of urgency.
A clear strategic plan guides the direction of the service. The parent council works collaboratively to support teachers and staff to meet the goals and objectives. Leaders show a strong commitment to the philosophy, vision and goals of the service.
ERO's evaluation and centre leaders agree that continued development is required in relation to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Montessori at Otari Preschool Inc. 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to teacher appraisal. To meet requirements the service needs to ensure that:
all teachers are fully appraised annually, including all aspects required for a robust appraisal.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7.]
Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
5 July 2019
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 |
Wellington |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
60237 |
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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 |
48 children |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 24, Boys 21 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2019 |
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Date of this report |
5 July 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2016 |
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Education Review |
July 2013 |
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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.