Parkway, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Parkway Kindergarten is licensed to provide all day education and care for up to 45 children, aged over two years. Of the total roll of 38 children, nine are Māori and 13 are of Pacific heritage. The kindergarten serves a culturally diverse community.
The kindergarten philosophy emphasises inclusion and relationships. The recently established teaching team are fully qualified.
Parkway Kindergarten is one of 19 in the Lower Hutt region, governed and managed by Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Since the September 2015 ERO report, a new senior leadership team has been appointed. This includes a general manager and two senior teachers, guided by a team leader. The governance board has also undergone significant changes.
The previous ERO report identified the key next steps as assessment of children’s learning, self review and teacher inquiry. Sound progress has been made in these areas.
Areas requiring development were also identified for the association. These included strategic planning, cultural response to Māori and Pacific families, evaluation and the appraisal process. Good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of eight in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
Children are affirmed as socially competent, confident learners. Teaching interactions are positive, warm and respectful. The service philosophy is clearly evident in practice. A rich learning environment supports a strong sense of belonging and contribution.
Consultation and engagement with whānau, iwi and community contributes effectively to a strong bicultural curriculum. Robust parent learning partnerships are well embedded throughout interactions and the curriculum. Whānau and children's culture is highly valued by teachers as the key to learning and engagement. Educational success for Māori and Pacific learners is strongly promoted and a strength.
Children with diverse learning needs are well supported to engage with their curriculum and peers. Teachers liaise with parents and relevant outside agencies to meet the needs of these learners.
Leadership is effective in guiding improvement. The teaching team are committed to contributing positively to the community and wider teaching profession.
Teachers demonstrate useful evaluative thinking. The success of strategies and practices are measured through evaluative thinking, and some established practices that lead to improved outcomes for learners. Leaders agree that formal internal evaluation would benefit from the use of measurable indicators of success to show impact for learners. Very useful association systems and tools should support this.
High quality assessment, planning and evaluation processes are in place. Teachers carefully consider a wide range of useful information and evidence to inform individualised strategies for learning. They successfully promote whānau aspirations and ongoing challenge for children. ERO's evaluation affirms teachers’ identified next step, to empower children to know what they are learning, what their next steps are, and what progress they are making.
A comprehensive, well-considered appraisal process is in place. Teachers challenge themselves to continually improve their practice through strategic goal-setting and professional learning. Plans are in place to further strengthen this system by developing an inquiry-based approach to teacher appraisal. ERO's evaluation affirms this direction. This should support teachers to better measure the success of improved practices in promoting outcomes for specific children and priority groups.
The governance board includes a wide range of community representation and useful skills. The board and senior leadership team work well together, with a shared commitment to meeting its goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Resource allocation clearly aligns with this focus. The board and senior leadership actively seek equitable and inclusive ways to eliminate barriers to children’s learning and wellbeing.
ERO, the governance board and senior leaders agree that the association's next steps are to:
monitor, evaluate and report on the extent to which children and their families’ outcomes are improved though systems, processes and initiatives. This should include consideration of impact on specific priority groups
consider ways to increase opportunities for whānau to actively contribute to the association’s operation and strategic direction.
The association's senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. Robust, linked systems and processes have been skilfully developed to guide and grow teacher capability and positively impact on children’s learning. Leaders are successfully fostering a collective sense of responsibility for the vision, values and mission of the association.
ERO and kindergarten teachers agree that their priority key next step is to continue to enhance internal evaluation to shift the focus more sharply on outcomes for children.
The association agrees they should increase the focus on:
measuring outcomes for children and their families
developing whānau and community partnership practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of Parkway 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 Parkway Kindergarten will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
12 October 2018
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 |
Wainuiomata |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5333 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
45 children aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
39 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 20, Boys 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
|
|
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 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
12 October 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Parkway Kindergarten is located in Wainuiomata close to the local primary and intermediate schools and the college. The kindergarten provides flexible sessions for children aged over two. All teachers are qualified and two have full registration. One part-time teacher is involved in a programme of advice and guidance to gain full registration.
The kindergarten is governed by the Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Two professional practice managers (PPMs) are employed by the association to provide professional support and guidance to teachers. Since the May 2012 ERO report there have been several changes of General Managers.
Areas of good performance acknowledged in the previous report continue to be strengths of the kindergarten. Teachers have responded to the highlighted areas for improvement that included aspects of self review and assessment, planning and evaluation. Teachers continue to develop and refine programmes for children.
This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
The curriculum is soundly underpinned by the concepts of whanaungatanga and ako whakatere. Teachers nurture and build reciprocal, trusting relationships with children and their families. They work together to promote a child-centred programme with an emphasis on responsible risk taking and a programme that encourages children to be active learners. Children engage in an environment that promotes tuakana teina where older children accept leadership roles. Teaching practices are highly responsive to family needs and circumstances.
Assessment for learning shows children's immediate and emerging strengths, interests and skills. Narratives and photographs highlight their engagement and dispositional learning. Evidence of teachers’ analysis of observations is documented. A very recent part of this process is the collection and sharing of assessment information with families through e-Portfolios. This approach has the potential to further extend children’s learning. Teachers need to work collaboratively to evaluate this developing initiative and monitor the outcomes for children and families. Increased understanding of children’s learning pathways should further support how they plan to add complexity and strengthen outcomes for children.
Transition into the kindergarten is flexible to meet the individual needs of children, parents and whānau. A wall display provides useful information to promote inclusion. Teachers develop positive relationships that support smooth transition to the nearby school. They continue to enhance ways to build contacts with a number of other schools that children move on to.
Teachers' actions and responses effectively support participation, attendance and engagement of Māori and Pacific children and their families. A clear vision seeks to realise the potential of children and their whānau, and sets the direction for the kindergarten. Manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tikanga Māori continue to be successfully embedded within teaching and learning. Teachers show a willingness to further develop treaty-based practices and increase their capability to be responsive to Māori children’s culture, language and identity.
The supportive, experienced head teacher provides effective leadership. Staff take time to reflect on their effectiveness. Self-review systems help to maintain an emotional and physical environment that supports children's learning and development. Teachers should strengthen self review and evaluation to guide improvement and sustain best practice by deepening the analysis of the information gathered.
The association is part way through the implementation of a new approach to appraisal. Once fully established this should assist leaders to provide a robust, supportive and developmental process. The PPMs should then undertake regular monitoring of how well appraisal is being implemented in each kindergarten.
The board receives a range of useful information. A key next step is for leaders to include more evaluative reporting to assist in decision making and ongoing resourcing. The strategic plan provides a vision and shared direction to guide development. Establishing clearer measures of success should strengthen evaluation of progress towards goals. In addition, strategies that promote cultural responsiveness to Māori and Pacific families should be highlighted in strategic documents.
The PPMs provide half-yearly written reports. These show how the kindergarten is meeting legislative requirements, and at times, make recommendations. The reports should be strengthened by providing critical feedback on the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving outcomes for children.
The association provides guidance and support to teachers for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. This includes:
At the time of this review the association was involved in a formal review to determine the future direction of Hutt City kindergartens. ERO identified that within the current operating model the capacity of senior staff to provide targeted support that promotes ongoing improvement to teaching and learning is limited.
The PPM, head teacher, staff and ERO agree that key next steps for Parkway Kindergarten are to continue to strengthen:
The association should:
Before the review, the staff and management of Parkway 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:
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 Parkway Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
25 September 2015
|
Location |
Wainuiomata |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5333 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
45 children aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 22, Boys 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific Other ethnic groups |
7 22 4 7 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 September 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
December 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:
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.