42 Omana Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Omana Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Omana Kindergarten provides education and care for up to 40 children, aged from two to five years. Children attend sessions similar to school hours. The community is culturally diverse, and many children and their families speak more than one language. The teaching team reflects the cultures of the children.
The head teacher is a relatively new appointment, and leads a team of three other qualified teachers. They are supported by a trainee teacher assistant and a qualified release teacher. Two of the teachers have worked in the kindergarten for a number of years.
The 2015 ERO report acknowledged children's confidence and sense of belonging in the kindergarten. Teachers provided meaningful opportunities for children to experience literacy, numeracy and environmental education, and to be leaders. These positive practices have been maintained.
Areas for review and development in the 2015 report included self review, transition to school processes, and supporting children to become more critical thinkers and problem solvers. The teaching team has responded well to these recommendations.
The kindergarten operates as part of the Auckland Kindergarten Association (AKA). The association provides a framework of policies and operational guidelines, support personnel, and programmes of professional learning and development. The AKA has established new roles and responsibilities at management and governance levels. Recruitment of appropriate personnel to fill identified roles continues.
Children are relaxed in the kindergarten environment. The spacious, well-resourced environment provides numerous opportunities for children to explore and become engaged in play of their own choosing. They are curious, confident explorers.
Children experience positive, respectful relationships with their teachers. They chat together companionably about family life or excitedly share their discoveries. The calm pace of the programme supports children to focus on their investigations, or engage in cooperative play with friends, for sustained periods of time.
Teachers work well as a team. They share their passions and cultures, and have a diverse range of skills that contribute to children's learning. They use effective strategies to support children's learning and wellbeing. These include:
encouraging children's verbal language development using skilled questioning techniques
modelling creative language, introducing new vocabulary and ways of thinking
promoting children's home languages, and including these in the programme
clearly stating their expectations, patiently guiding children through routines, and supporting them to develop their social skills.
Te reo and tikanga Māori are spontaneously and deliberately integrated into kindergarten routines and teaching practice. Teachers purposefully use mat times as a key opportunity for all children to hear and see te reo, tikanga and te ao Māori being respected and valued. Further whole team professional learning is planned to support and deepen teachers' bicultural knowledge and practice.
Careful consideration has been given to the layout of curriculum areas. Teachers provide a wide range of experiences for children in well-defined spaces with easy access to resources. Literacy, creativity and science feature strongly in the programme.
Programme planning is currently based on the interests of the group. Teachers gather parent aspirations as part of this process. They could now focus on working more collaboratively with whānau to produce learning plans that are individual to each child. An effective system of programme evaluation needs to be developed to promote ongoing improvements.
The kindergarten is being well managed and well led during a period of rebuilding. Strategic goals align with those of the AKA and are individual to the kindergarten. The new head teacher is in the process of prioritising key goals for this team going forward. Teacher appraisal processes are thorough and meet Teaching Council requirements. A robust process guides internal evaluation that investigates relevant topics, and purposefully drives continuous improvement.
The framework of policies and procedures is undergoing review as the restructure of the AKA continues.
Kindergarten leaders agree that to continue to enhance their current good quality provision for children, they should:
develop and document a programme planning process for individual children in partnership with parents and whānau
develop a robust process of programme evaluation.
AKA continues to consider ways to:
ensure all part-time or relieving teachers are well informed about association policies and procedures
increase support to improve assessment practices, planning and evaluation
support teachers to fully implement Te Whāriki 2017.
Before the review, the staff and management of Omana 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
21 March 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 |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5083 |
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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 |
40 children aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
31 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 17 Boys 14 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2019 |
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Date of this report |
21 March 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2015 |
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Education Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
August 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 |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Omana Kindergarten in Papatoetoe provides education and care for up to 40 children from two to five years old. The kindergarten operates as a kindergarten day model, which enables children to attend sessions similar to school hours. It is located in a culturally diverse area with some children having English as an additional language.
The kindergarten’s recently reviewed philosophy promotes children as competent and confident learners interacting with each other and learning through play. Teachers foster an inclusive environment where respectful and reciprocal relationships between children and families are important.
Good connections continue with the local community. The 2012 ERO report identified some areas for improvement, including self review and programme management. Good progress has been made in these areas. Many of the areas of strength noted in the 2012 ERO report have been maintained and extended. Since 2013, new staff appointments have included a head teacher and teacher.
The kindergarten is part of the Auckland Kindergarten Association, which provides considered leadership, a management framework, support personnel and a programme of professional development for teachers.
In 2015, after extensive review, consultation and development, the Association launched a new 10year strategic plan with four key strategic objectives. The Association’s approach to rolling out a substantial change in its organisational structure has been carefully considered.
New Association roles have been established to provide more targeted support for kindergartens. Professional development supports kindergarten head teachers in their leadership and management roles. A Quality Improvement Process (QIP) is being implemented to monitor quality and promote ongoing improvement in kindergartens.
This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Auckland Kindergarten Association.
Children confidently explore and enjoy a sense of belonging in the centre. Tuakana and teina relationships are evident as older children support younger children. Older children are developing friendships with their peers. They interact well with each other and their teachers. Children’s social and emotional competence is promoted well.
Children move freely around the centre and engage in a semi-structured programme. They have good opportunities to experience literacy, numeracy and environmental education in meaningful ways. Teachers are committed to providing a bicultural programme and continue to strengthen their confidence to use te reo Māori as part of the programme. Teachers are continuing to support and promote leadership opportunities with children.
The learning environment is well resourced. The attractive, spacious outdoor area provides very good opportunities for exploration and physical play. The programme is influenced by special events such as Matariki, Chinese New Year and Diwali. Some whānau actively contribute to programme activities. Teachers recognise the importance of including Pacific learning experiences in the programme. Some teachers have the skills to interact with children in home languages that are not English.
Teachers have reviewed the way that they document children’s learning. Well presented weekly diary and wall displays help inform the programme. Portfolios are attractive and reflect children’s individual learning journeys. Digital portfolios have recently been introduced. These are good tools for communicating about learning and improving engagement between children, parents and teachers.
Teachers work well together and are have useful self-review processes including action research. Teachers have good opportunities for professional learning and development.
Association systems for monitoring and promoting improvement in kindergarten operations are well established. The Association has a strong commitment to biculturalism and in embracing diversity. They have targeted resources and personnel to better meet specific needs of children and their families.
The teacher and the Association Education Specialist agree that the key next steps for Omana Kindergarten include:
using robust self review including teachers own critique, research and evaluation to support ongoing improvement
supporting children as critical thinkers, problem solvers and decision makers, to enable them to lead learning that interests them
working with local schools to develop effective transition processes for supporting smooth transitions for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Omana 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.
The next ERO review of Omana Kindergarten will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
19 November 2015
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 |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5083 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
49 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 25 Boys 24 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Chinese Cook Island Māori Fiji Indian Samoan Tongan Vietnamese other |
2 11 12 6 5 4 3 2 2 2 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
19 November 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2006 |
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.