Pikopiko Clyde Quay Kindergarten

1 Evaluation of Pikopiko Clyde Quay Kindergarten

How well placed is Pikopiko Clyde Quay Kindergarten to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Pikopiko Clyde Quay Kindergarten is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Pikopiko Clyde Quay Kindergarten is licensed for 30 children aged over two years. Of the 35 children on the roll, 23 represent a diverse range of ethnicities.

Since the June 2015 ERO review, there have been some changes in staffing. All teachers are qualified and registered.

The philosophy values humour, problem solving, manaakitanga, resilience, aroha and acknowledges children's cultures.

The 2015 ERO report identified assessment and evaluation, self review and embedding effective practice as areas to strengthen. Good progress has been made.

The kindergarten is governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association (the association). The association governs 103 early childhood services which include a diverse range of kindergartens, all day education and care services, three Pacific kindergartens and a Pacific home-based service. A team of senior teachers oversees and supports professional practice.

Progress has also been made by the association to improve support for individual kindergartens, the appraisal process, and teachers' capability to work with Māori learners.

This review was one of eight in He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association, Wellington region.

The Review Findings

Children are highly engaged, confident and curious learners. Well-considered resourcing and thoughtful daily planning enable them to be decision-makers and lead their learning. Teachers are highly responsive to children's emerging interests and maximise opportunities to add challenge, complexity and authenticity to their play. Whānau and tamariki take key roles alongside teachers when constructing centre-wide planning. Their shared interests and feedback inform and guide the direction of learning. Teachers skilfully weave literacy, mathematics, science and the creative arts into the programme through highly engaging contexts.

The philosophy values of respect, warmth and kindness are strongly reflected in the learning environment. Teachers provide children with high quality support as they promote social competencies, emotional regulation and wellbeing. Supervision is well organised and effective. A relaxed approach enables children, whose first language is not English, time to talk about their learning and needs. This unhurried pace ensures that all children have space and time to engage in exploration, investigation and revisit play. Humour and fun strongly feature in daily sessions.

The kindergarten's rich diversity is highly valued and celebrated throughout the learning curriculum. Group planning authentically promotes learning. Daily discussions enable teachers to intentionally plan and extend children’s interests and emerging ideas. They are increasing their focus on measuring positive learning outcomes for children.

Learning stories clearly demonstrate the team’s commitment to learning partnerships with whānau. Best practice examples effectively show close observations of children’s emerging interests and learning, well-documented intentional teaching, and progress made over time. Children display strong ownership of their portfolios and, through them, revisit their learning regularly.

Strong whanaungatanga values and inclusive practices are modelled by teachers. They greet and speak to parents and children in their home languages. Meaningful learning partnerships with whānau promote each child’s sense of belonging. Families are consulted and included in curriculum and procedural reviews. Children with additional needs are very well supported to improve and enhance their learning in partnership with parents. External agencies are accessed as appropriate.

Te ao Māori perspectives effectively underpin and enrich all aspects of the curriculum. The learning environment clearly reflects this commitment. Local stories and places of significant value to Māori are celebrated through waiata, korero, powhiri and haka mihi. Teachers use te reo Māori in rich, meaningful conversations with children. Tikanga Māori practices are highly valued and well understood by teachers and children. Use of up-to-date resources and research-based practices enable teachers to work respectfully with Māori learners and their whānau to enhance their success. Carefully tended gardens promote respect for papatūānuku and kaitiakitanga, guardianship of the land. Planting, nurturing and harvesting vegetables from the māra, the kindergarten gardens, teaches children about sustainable practices.

Children transitioning into the kindergarten are well supported by a collective team approach, based on their individual needs. Strong relationships and purposeful sharing of learning information with new entrant teachers effectively transition children into local primary schools.

The head teacher, well mentored by the senior teacher, deliberately promotes a culture of professional inquiry, collaboration and ongoing improvement. Distributed leadership enables all teachers to grow their expertise and strengthen their practice. Continuing to build a shared understanding of evidence-based internal evaluation, focused on improving outcomes for children, is a teaching team focus.

The association provides effective professional development and ongoing support to build the leadership capabilities of the head teachers and the teaching team. Well-considered resource allocation enhances teaching and support for children’s learning and wellbeing. There is an established culture in place which values and celebrates children and their whānau.

A well-considered appraisal process continues to be reviewed and developed to better support teachers and leaders to inquire into the effectiveness of their practice. Work is ongoing to build increased understanding of the association's expectations and processes.

Association leaders, including the senior teachers, work effectively together with shared commitment to the mission, vision, values and goals of the organisation. Strategic goals and objectives are focused on improvement for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Tūmanako, is providing high-level guidance for the association's future direction as a Tiriti o Waitangi-based organisation. A range of effective tools is used well by senior teachers to monitor the quality of, and promote improvement to, individual kindergarten practice and operation.

Key Next Steps

ERO and senior leaders agree that priorities for teachers are to continue to strengthen and embed internal evaluation for improvement and decision making.

The priority for the association is to:

• continue to build on and follow the strategic direction set through Tūmanako, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-based Strategic Priority Framework.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Pikopiko Clyde Quay 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

5 June 2020

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement

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.

Review Coverage

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.