6 Melba Street, Kaitaia
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Nga Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited is not well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ngā Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited operates in a renovated building and is licensed for 30 tamariki, including up to five under two years of age. The centre provides education and care in a te reo Māori bilingual setting. Most of the children attending are Māori and half whakapapa to Te Rarawa.
The owner/director delegates daily operations to a centre manager. The manager and two kaiako are registered teachers. There are also two unqualified kaiawhina and a kaikihini.
The centre's philosophy emphasises the importance of relationships between tamariki, whānau, kaiako and the community. It includes an "it takes an iwi to raise a child" approach. Kaiako are involved in the Far North Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.
ERO's 2017 report identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance and management, the quality of the curriculum, and health and safety. The Ministry of Education has provided significant support to help staff improve their practices. However, insufficient progress has been made and some non-compliances relating to health and safety have not been addressed.
Tamariki quickly settle into the welcoming environment and show enjoyment in their play. They have opportunities for creative and imaginative play, and access to a range of resources. Routines for the care of infants are individualised. These pēpi have opportunities for quiet exploration and for forming relationships with older tamariki.
Kaiako relationships with tamariki and their whānau are caring and respectful. Some kaiako work skilfully alongside tamariki during their play. They are highly inclusive and supportive of children with additional needs. Some kaiako have high levels of te reo Māori that support the bilingual intent of the centre's curriculum. It is timely to review how well kai and group time routines support children's independence and engagement in learning.
Kaiako have participated in professional development that has helped them understand how to assess children's learning. However, over the past 12 months they have not used their new knowledge well. They have not consistently recorded what they know, or considered how they can extend children's play or add complexity to children's learning. There is no evidence that curriculum responsiveness to the interests of tamariki has been planned or evaluated.
The centre manager has worked with an external provider to develop operational systems, including reviewing required policies, developing job descriptions, and writing a strategic plan. These developments are new and now need to be implemented. Support is needed for staff to learn about teacher appraisal processes that meet the requirements of the Teaching Council. The centre manager must also be appraised annually.
As a result of professional development, all staff have improved their understanding of internal evaluation processes for the purpose of improvement. However, the teaching team is not sufficiently carrying out or documenting this aspect of their work. The monitoring of health and safety requirements should be improved.
Before the review, the staff and management of Nga Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited 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 curriculum, health and safety, and governance and management. To meet requirements, the service provider must ensure that:
the curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation
adults carry out earthquake drills and evaluate all drills to inform the annual review of the service's emergency plan
children's bedding is hygienically stored when not in use
records of excursions include parental approval of identified adult-to-child ratios and the mode of transport
a process of self-evaluation helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care
a system of regular appraisal is implemented for all staff.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, C1,2, HS8,11,17, GMA6,7.
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Nga Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
20 June 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 |
Kaitaia |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46036 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
30 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 15 Girls 15 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
23 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:9 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2019 |
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Date of this report |
20 June 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2017 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ngā Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited is privately owned and located in Kaitaia township. It opened in 2013 in a renovated council building that was originally the Kaitaia library. The centre was renamed and relicensed to meet the requirements of the 2008 Early Childhood Regulations in 2014.
The centre is licensed for 30 tamariki, including up to five under two years of age. It provides education and care in a te reo Māori bilingual setting. The majority of tamariki and their whānau are from the local community and have close family ties.
The management committee, which includes the owner, centre manager and two members from the community, make strategic decisions for the centre. The centre manager oversees the daily centre operations. The centre manager and kaiako are actively involved in the Far North Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako. They use this group as a platform to raise awareness of community and whānau aspirations.
There are six permanent staff members, including the centre manager and two other kaiako who are registered teachers, two kaiawhina and a kaikihini.
The centre's philosophy reflects the concepts of whakawhanaungatanga as the guiding principle to build on relationships to support the holistic development of the tamaiti. The philosophy encapsulates the belief that "it takes an iwi to raise a child".
Kaiako relationships with tamariki and whānau are caring and respectful. Tamariki quickly settle into the welcoming environment and the programme.
The curriculum is responsive and culturally relevant. Tamariki are confident and show a high level of enjoyment in their play. They play well together and their play is supported and valued by kaiako. Kaiako need to strengthen provision for tamariki to support their individual stages of development.
Kaiako know tamariki and their whānau well. They value strong relationships and encourage whānau to contribute to the learning of their tamariki. Kaiako should continue to promote healthy nutritious foods in the lunchboxes that tamariki bring to the centre. They can model this in the foods they provide for tamariki.
Some kaiako have high levels of te reo Māori. To support their intention of being bilingual and strengthen the programme, kaiako should continue to increase the use and documentation of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori.
Kaiako skilfully work alongside tamariki during their play experiences. Tamariki would benefit from more opportunities for creative and imaginative play and access to a wider range of quality resources that offer more variety and challenges.
Kaiako meet to collaboratively plan in response to the interests of tamariki and community events, and to evaluate the programme. Strengthening programme planning is required so that kaiako connect it more with their daily activities and establish more purposeful teaching strategies. This could result in more robust evaluation of the impact that their teaching strategies have on the quality of the learning and help kaiako to further develop planning and evaluation processes.
Staff have been involved in professional development workshops and network with community, social and education agencies to support the wellbeing of tamariki and their whānau. They could now work towards making changes to bring about ongoing improvement to the learning of tamariki in the centre. Staff are developing and should continue to strengthen internal evaluation to guide improvements across all aspects of the centre.
The centre's governance and management structure supports the work of the manager, who develops most of the documentation required for centre operations. The owner and the centre manager make decisions on centre's future plans. They appraise all staff to help improve learning experiences and outcomes for tamariki. They will need to review aspects of the appraisal process so that it is clearly aligned with staff roles and responsibilities.
The centre manager and kaiako should access external expertise and advice to help them to develop effective teaching practices. These practices should focus on extending thinking and supporting tamariki to engage in deeper learning and more complex play. In particular managers and kaiako should:
Next steps for the management committee are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Ngā Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited 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:
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 governance and management, the quality of the curriculum, and health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS8, 10, 11, 17; GMA7.
ERO recommends that the service consult with the Ministry of Education and plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
The next ERO review of Ngā Wawata Bi-Lingual Early Childhood Centre Limited will be within two years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
31 August 2017
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 |
Kaitaia |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46036 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children including up to 5 under 2 years of age |
||
|
Service roll |
31 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 17 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
28 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
31 August 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
||
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.