33 B Ben Lomond Crescent, Pakuranga, Manukau
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Pakuranga Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pakuranga Learning Centre provides flexible full-day early childhood care and education services for children on its culturally diverse roll. Most children live locally and transition to local schools. Many of the children are Chinese, with some Māori, Pākehā, Indian and other ethnicities represented.
The teaching staff are equally diverse and speak a number of different languages. The centre occupies extensive premises located in a light industrial area of Pakuranga Heights, and is licensed for up to 80 children, including 25 under two years of age.
The centre has separate indoor and outdoor areas for children under two and over two years of age. At times during the day there are opportunities for mixed-age play. Children have access to outdoor play throughout the day and occasional planned excursions outside the centre.
The centre has retained a team of qualified staff since its previous ERO review in 2016. They deliver play-based learning programmes aligned to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The head teacher has worked with the licensee to strengthen internal evaluation.
The service provider has systematically addressed recommendations in ERO's 2016 report with the support of an external advisory service.
Children are viewed as capable and confident learners. They engage positively with the teaching staff and each other, developing friendships and oral language skills. The open-plan environment enables children to sustain areas of play and return to activities that interest them.
Children enjoy a play-based learning programme. They make choices about their play and select from a range of appropriate equipment that supports their learning progress. Teachers respond to children's interests and encourage their social and emotional growth and development.
Parents/whānau and children are greeted warmly by staff. Displays of learning throughout the centre reflect children's current interests and teacher provocations. The learning programme has recently been strengthened more deliberately to reflect aspects of biculturalism and environmental sustainability.
Teachers are observant of children's strengths and learning dispositions. They document children's individual learning progress and regularly share learning stories with parents/whānau. Parents are appreciative of teachers' digital and written portfolio feedback.
The centre philosophy reflects key principles of Te Whāriki, particularly in enhancing children's holistic development and sense of identity. The use of children's learning dispositions and values is now reflected more evidently in teachers' planning and assessment practice.
The programme for children is planned collaboratively by the experienced teaching team. Staff are well supported by the head teacher and the planned programme of professional development. Teacher appraisal has been extended to include goal setting and professional inquiry. Teachers' individual reflections contribute to the overall internal evaluation focus on improving outcomes for all children, including those with additional learning needs.
Management practices have been significantly strengthened. Centre leaders identify appropriate goals including continuing to build understanding of Te Whāriki. Strategic and annual planning is aligned to teacher appraisal and internal evaluation. These systems provide a framework for ongoing evaluation, improvement and capability building.
Centre leaders agree that further developments could focus on:
ensuring there is sufficient challenge for older children in the outdoor areas
refining the appraisal system to sharpen the focus on the standards for the teaching profession.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pakuranga Learning Centre 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 - Te Tai Raki
20 May 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 |
Pakuranga, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45823 |
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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 |
80 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
42 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 27 Boys 15 |
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2020 |
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Date of this report |
20 May 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2016 |
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Education Review |
March 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.
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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.
Pakuranga Learning Centre provides full day early childhood education and care for up to 80 children, including 25 toddlers and babies. This service had a name change in 2012 and was previously known as Gymkids Preschool Learning Centre and Nursery.
The centre owner, with her team, continues to build an effective and well-resourced early childhood service. The centre's premises are spacious and cater for indoor and outdoor learning programmes. The children work and play in different age groups and sometimes together.
The centre has a well-qualified and experienced teaching team. They have a deep knowledge ofTe Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, which has been merged into the centre's recent review of its philosophy and vision.
The 2013 ERO report recommended teachers' further development of programme planning and to focus more on child-centred learning using the voice of children and parents. The teachers' appraisal systems required updating and self-review generally needed to become a more useful tool to improve centre operations.
The centre philosophy is clearly focused on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, prioritising positive learning outcomes for children. The vision statement has been thoroughly reviewed by the new owner and its concepts linked to Te Whāriki. Collectively, teachers are working hard to promote the centre’s philosophy which focuses on the creation of child-centred and initiated programmes.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Teachers greet children with enthusiasm and are developing genuine learning partnerships with parents. Children are trusting and relaxed around adults. Children are from diverse families, some of whom live in the area. Others have family members who work in the surrounding light industrial neighbourhood.
Children are highly engaged and busy with their play activities across the expansive indoor rooms. Their interests and strengths are fostered through the centre's programmes. There are leadership opportunities for children to initiate their own ideas, with a number of different interests focused on daily. The outside areas are undergoing review in order to provide more challenge for outdoor play.
Calm and unhurried individualised care routines are evident in the under-two area. Infants benefit from primary care attachments. Toddlers form positive relationships with teachers who are consistently responsive to their needs and support them to become independent explorers. Dispositions and skills development is the focus of planning for the under-two's. Teachers allow children and parents generous time to settle into individual routines when they first enrol.
Learning programmes reflect what teachers know about children. Planning and assessment practices are well embedded after three years of professional development. Individual and group learning stories have detailed descriptions of children’s involvement in the programme and some developing evaluation of their learning progress. Learning is frequently revisited to consolidate and enrich children's understandings.
Aspects of literacy and numeracy learning are integrated into children's play. Readiness for school for the older children is planned for within the current interests of the group. A useful focus on self-managing skills is included. The development of social skills is part of learning through play at all times.
Teachers value the importance of New Zealand’s bicultural heritage and are promoting te reo me ōna tikanga as part of their planning and interactions with children. This area of the curriculum continues to be a strategic priority. Celebration and acknowledgement of children’s cultural diversity is evident in the centre’s environment, in display areas and in learning programmes.
The head teacher models purposeful, collaborative leadership practice. Effective systems, such as teacher appraisal and support for provisionally registered teachers, are used as tools to enhance teacher capability. Teachers share their ideas and approaches to extend their professional practice and see the value in reflection for improvement.
The centre’s self-review system is increasingly more meaningful and useful. Responsibility for self-review is distributed across the teaching staff in order to build capability for continuous centre improvement. Strategic planning goals are setting a clear direction for long-term centre development.
ERO and centre leaders are in agreement that the next phase of centre development could focus on:
the continued development of learning partnerships with parents
the use of learning stories to foreground and recognise children's learning progress over time
the on-going development of bicultural approaches to the curriculum
building the capability of teachers to fully enact the centre's philosophy.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pakuranga Learning Centre 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 Pakuranga Learning Centre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
6 May 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 |
Pakuranga, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45823 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 21 Girls 8 |
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|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Chinese Middle Eastern Latin American other |
1 19 1 1 1 1 5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
6 May 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2013 |
|
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.