1 Hendley Road R D 4, Patoka
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Patoka Rural Kindergarten is governed by a parent committee and operates three days a week. The centre philosophy emphasises whānaungatanga, play, respect, belonging and happiness. At the time of this ERO review small numbers of children who identify as Māori or Pacific were enrolled.
Positive relationships between teachers, parents and children enhance children’s learning. The curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to extend their learning and development. It acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua and gives children the opportunity to develop an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The right of each child to be confident in their own culture is supported. Children are encouraged to understand and respect other cultures.
Centre leaders must ensure that policies and procedures are followed to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory standards.
During the review, the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
have a written emergency plan that includes all elements of documentation required by the licensing criteria
considering all hazards listed in the licensing criteria as part of checks to equipment, premises, and facilities on every day of operation.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS7, HS12]
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
implementing a procedure for monitoring children’s sleep that ensures they are checked for warmth, breathing and general well-being at least every 5-10 minutes or more frequently according to individual needs (HS9)
undertaking and documenting assessment and management of risk when children leave the premises on an excursion (HS17)
rooms used by children being kept at comfortable temperature no lower than 18˚C (at 500mm above the floor) while children are attending (HS24)
maintaining a record of training and /or information provided to adults who administer medicine to children (other than their own) while at the service (HS29)
ensuring that all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014 (GMA7A)
areas of glass accessible to children being made of safety glass, covered by an adhesive film, or effectively guarded by barriers (PF7)
furniture and items intended for children to sleep on, that will be used by more than one child over time being securely covered with or made of a non-porous material (PF30).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
4 November 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Patoka Rural Kindergarten |
|
Profile Number |
55180 |
|
Location |
Patoka |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
20 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
20 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
4 November 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review February 2019; Education Review, November 2016 |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Patoka Rural Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Patoka Rural Kindergarten is situated in the community of Patoka, 40 kilometres north-west of Napier. It operates three days a week and is licensed to provide education and care for up to 20 children.
A parent committee governs the centre. The head teacher manages the day-to-day operation of the centre, supporting the teaching team.
The service philosophy focuses on children experiencing play, whanaungatanga, respect, belonging and happiness.
The November 2016 ERO report identified areas requiring further improvement. These included: reviewing the centre philosophy; developing assessment, planning and evaluation; strengthening the bicultural curriculum, and teachers' understanding of educational success for Māori children; improving the appraisal systems; and ensuring required policies are in place for sustaining ongoing improvement.
A plan to address the key areas requiring improvement was put in place, in consultation with the Ministry of Education (MoE). The service received targeted support through the MoE funded programme, Strengthening Early Learning Opportunities (SELO). Significant progress has been made and areas of non-compliance have been addressed.
Children engage in purposeful learning through a mixture of child and teacher-led activities. They freely access flexible resources that support their interests. Excursions into the community gives children growing knowledge of the world around them. Independence and working in groups are promoted. Warm and respectful relationships are evident between children and with teachers. Teachers use effective teaching strategies to extend children’s learning.
Children with additional learning needs are well supported to participate fully in learning. Teachers are proactive in identifying and responding to their needs. They work alongside parents to determine children's learning goals.
The recently reviewed centre philosophy is underpinned by the shared values of teachers, parents, whānau and community to determine what learning matters at Patoka Rural Kindergarten. Leaders and teachers express what this looks like in practice.
A shift to individualised planning has increased teachers' responsiveness to children’s interests, strengths and needs. Teachers are beginning to use parent aspirations to define what educational success looks like for all parents and their children. Learning is regularly discussed with parents and whānau and their goals for their child are integrated into the planning process.
Leaders acknowledge that assessment and planning require improvement. Further consideration should also be given to:
celebrating children’s culture, language and identity
developing specific learning outcomes for children, especially in group planning.
Aspects of kaupapa Māori are strongly evident and well promoted in the programme. Teachers have engaged in meaningful professional learning and development to build knowledge and understanding of how to increase te ao Māori perspectives across the curriculum. Te reo and waiata Māori are used to enrich the programme. Teachers are beginning to incorporate practices that connect children to places of significant value to the centre and their community.
Teachers are beginning to use Tapasā: Cultural Competencies Framework for Teachers of Pacific Learners, to build their understanding of how they can respond effectively to Pacific children and their families. They are making purposeful connections with Pacific families to determine what is important for them and their children.
The newly developed appraisal system is a sound framework to grow and develop teachers' practice and capability. Leaders should continue to refine this process by ensuring that it is manageable, consistently implemented and aligned to the new Teaching Standards.
The centre’s policies and procedure have been significantly redeveloped to ensure that these are up-to-date and meeting legislative requirements. These are regularly reviewed. The parent committee, leaders and teachers show an increased understanding of the operational requirements of the centre, that support ongoing sustainability and improvement.
Leaders have developed annual and strategic plans that set priorities and direction for the centre. Further consideration should be given to developing indicators that are clearly linked to outcomes for children and their whānau. This should assist them to better measure the progress towards achieving goals and objectives.
There is a focus on improving the quality of education and care through ongoing self review and strengthened understanding of internal evaluation. Further consideration should be given to identifying indicators focused on outcomes for children and their whānau and evidence that is aligned to the focus of the evaluation.
ERO and the centre leaders agree that their priority next steps are to:
enhance the centre's philosophy
strengthen the assessment and planning framework
refine the appraisal process
strengthen the strategic plan
improve aspects of the internal evaluation process.
Before the review, the staff and management of Patoka Rural 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 Patoka Rural Kindergarten will be in three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
7 February 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.
|
Location |
Patoka |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55180 |
|
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
20 children aged over 2 years |
|
|
Service roll |
16 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 9, Girls 7 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
November 2018 |
|
|
Date of this report |
7 February 2019 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
November 2016 |
|
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2010 |
|
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 |
Patoka Rural Kindergarten needs to develop leadership for sustainable systems, processes and practices that contribute to improved teaching and learning, and outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Patoka Rural Kindergarten is situated in the rural community of Patoka, 40 kilometres north-west of Napier. It operates three days per week. Education and care is provided for 20 children. Children up to two years of age attend with their parents.
The service is governed by a parent committee. Day-to-day management is delegated to the newly appointed supervisor. Parents are rostered to assist the teaching team.
The philosophy emphasises the importance of working in partnership with parents, supporting children to be capable and confident learners and providing a stimulating environment.
The September 2013 ERO evaluation identified the need to strengthen programme planning, teaching and learning practices, including assessment to promote learning and self review. Some progress has been made to improve these areas.
Children participate enthusiastically in a range of learning experiences. They work well together problem solving, taking risks and having fun. The environment, resources and planned activities reflect the rural community. Routines provide a useful framework for the day and give children a sense of security. Children and their families demonstrate a strong sense of belonging.
Teachers have warm, responsive and respectful relationships with children and parents. They know children and their families well. The kindergarten is a valuable point of contact for families in this rural community. Parents contribute to the programme and participate in a range of activities. Committee members and teachers should review the kindergarten philosophy to ensure it fully reflects the community and current teaching and learning practices.
Children's learning and success are celebrated. Individual profile books are attractive records of their participation in the programme and life at the kindergarten. Monthly planning reflects children's interests and current events. The supervisor has identified, and ERO agrees that there is a need to strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation systems and practices to better promote learning. This should support teachers to:
notice, recognise and respond to children's interests, strengths and needs
strengthen the writing of learning stories to show development over time
evaluate the impact of their teaching.
A bicultural programme is developing. Aspects of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are evident. Teachers are continuing to seek and act upon opportunities to further extend their knowledge and understanding of educational success for Māori.
Children's language, culture and identity is promoted through inclusive practices. Literacy is evident in the programme and teachers support children's language development. Flexible decision-making provides responsive provision for children requiring additional support.
Transitions into the kindergarten and onto school respond to the needs of children and their parents. Good relationships with the local school continue to build ongoing and familiar connections for children.
Collaborative ways of working are fostered with all involved in the kindergarten. The supervisor acknowledges the importance of growing collective leadership capability to support professional growth. Teachers set useful goals focused on improving outcomes for children and access relevant professional development. The supervisor has sought assistance to develop a framework to guide appraisal. Ongoing strengthening of appraisal processes and practices has been identified as a key next step. ERO agrees and recommends that this should include:
observations of teaching practice where useful feedback and next steps are given
ensuring teachers are collecting evidence to meet the Practising Teacher Criteria.
Teachers and committee members are improvement-focused. Strengthening strategic and annual planning should better support kindergarten systems, processes and practices.
A shared understanding about the purpose of internal evaluation is in the early stages of development. Teachers should continue to strengthen their understanding of inquiry and evaluation. This should help monitor the effectiveness of centre operations and practice and guide decision-making.
Although a regular cycle of policy review is evident, there is a lack of clarity about policies that are required to guide the centre. Leaders should ensure they have a clear understanding of what policies are necessary to meet the requirements of the licensing criteria and other regulations.
Since the onsite phase of the review, committee members, the supervisor and teachers have been proactive in taking steps to address the areas for improvement, including the actions for compliance identified in this report.
The parent committee, supervisor, teachers and ERO agree on the following key next steps. Kindergarten personnel should develop sustainable systems, processes and practices that support improved outcomes for children. This should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Patoka Rural 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to governance and management, and health and safety. The service provider must ensure that:
To improve practice, the parent committee and teachers should strengthen policy review to ensure they are meeting current legislative requirements.
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Patoka Rural Kindergarten. ERO will not undertake a further education review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets licensing requirements.
The next ERO review of Patoka Rural Kindergarten will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
16 November 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 |
Patoka |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55180 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
20 children, aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
18 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 9, Boys 9 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Kiribati |
2 12 4 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 November 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
July 2007 |
||
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.