PORSE Wellington Q2

Education institution number:
30186
Service type:
Homebased Network
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
49
Telephone:
Address:

Level 1, 1 Kaiwharawhara Road, Kaiwharawhara, Wellington

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PORSE Wellington Q2 - 11/10/2019

1 Evaluation of PORSE Wellington Q2

How well placed is PORSE Wellington Q2 to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

PORSE Wellington Q2 is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

PORSE Wellington Q2, previously known as PORSE Mana Q1, is a quality home-based education and care network operating under the umbrella of PORSE In-Home Childcare (NZ) Ltd (the organisation). It is licensed for 80 children including 80 aged up to two. Of the 56 children currently enrolled, 7 are Māori children.

Since the May 2015 ERO report the organisation had had two changes of ownership. In 2015 it was sold to Evolve Education Group Ltd. In late 2018 it was purchased by Rainbow Group. There have been significant changes to leadership positions in community teams. A newly established role of curriculum and quality assurance coach supports the work of the national coach.

In this network two programme tutors, who are qualified and registered teachers, work alongside educators to assist them to implement care and learning programmes for children in homes. Programme tutors are supported by peer support coaches. A regional coach reports to the senior leadership team. All programme tutors have been employed in the last three years.

Two options for care and education are offered; the home educator model where educators work in their own home, and the nanny educator model where an educator works in the family’s home. In this network all educators have New Zealand Qualifications Authority-approved Level 3 qualifications in early childhood education and care.

The organisation’s vision is ‘expanding the hearts, minds and wellbeing of a nation through nurturing childcare in-home’. The current philosophy guiding teaching and learning highlights ‘natural childcare’ and an increased emphasis on authentic relationships, environments and learning experiences.

The 2015 ERO report identified that improvement was required in the organisation's monitoring systems particularly in relation to health and safety, curriculum planning, including bicultural perspectives, staff appraisal, and self review. Progress has been made in some areas, while others remain priorities for improvement.

This review was one of 11 networks in PORSE In-Home Childcare (NZ) Ltd, Wellington region.

The Review Findings

Children have opportunities to participate in a wide range of learning experiences in educators' homes and the local community. Many attend PORSE-organised playschools, music groups and excursions. These provide them with interesting challenges and opportunities to socialise with peers.

Educators are well supported through the regular visits and communication with programme tutors. A comprehensive and well-considered process is in place to support children’s enrolment and transition into educator homes. This helps them to settle and develop a sense of belonging. Educators encourage children's emerging interests and celebrate achievements. They are attentive to the care needs for infants and toddlers.

Programme tutors are effectively supporting educators to strengthen their assessment and planning for children's learning. They are promoting alignment to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to more clearly identify children’s learning outcomes through documentation. Educators’ practice is becoming more responsive to children’s learning needs and parents' aspirations.

Educators are responsive to the care needs of infants. Network documents provided some good examples of highly responsive practice for priority learners. Programme tutors have knowledge about external agencies which can assist these children's full participation.

The organisation has strengthened its support for provision of a more bicultural programme. A range of useful workshops and resources are available. Programme tutors and educators continue to explore ways to better integrate aspects of te ao Māori into the curriculum. Programme tutors work collaboratively to enhance Treaty of Waitangi based practices and encourage greater understanding and use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.

Appropriate processes are in place to appraise programme tutors. Plans are in place to develop a more inquiry-based approach. This along with more clearly articulated goals should make the process more meaningful for teachers. Guiding documents require further development.

The quality of the appraisal process for educators is variable. Support for appraisers to implement a more development-based process to strengthen educators' knowledge of Te Whāriki is required.

The organisation at all levels should continue to develop understanding and use of internal evaluation. Programme tutors regularly carry out reviews aligned to organisational priorities. Examples show a well-considered and evaluative approach to review, focused on identified priorities to promote outcomes for children. Further development of self review should ensure more systematic gathering, analysis and interpretation of evidence in relation to the indicators to guide decision-making and ongoing improvement.

A well organised governance and management framework guides operation and practice. Reporting lines and responsibilities are clear. Quality assurance is prioritised, effective and well implemented. The organisation has a comprehensive range of up-to-date guidelines and management support to guide programme tutors and educators to successfully undertake their roles. New owners have determined that the existing philosophy and strategic priorities will be reviewed. This is timely given the recent changes to the organisation.

The newly appointed regional coach works collaboratively with her team to provide responsive support and promote improvement.

Key Next Steps

The key next steps for organisation managers are to continue to:

  • support the implementation of Treaty of Waitangi based practice

  • identify curriculum priorities and desired outcomes for children’s learning aligned to the outcomes of Te Whāriki

  • revise the philosophy to reflect national and regional priorities

  • define the strategic direction to reflect national and regional priorities

  • provide professional development opportunities to build the capability of peer coaches and programme tutors

  • develop shared understanding and effective use of internal evaluation to improve outcomes for children.

Network leaders and programme tutors should:

  • further develop consistent and effective practices for planning and assessment that better align with the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki

  • strengthen processes for providing feedback to educators to improve their practice

  • work with educators to evaluate the impact of planned strategies and experiences on supporting valued outcomes for children's learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of PORSE Wellington Q2 completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.

In order to improve current practice, the service provider should:

  • ensure all educators are supported by a suitable appraisal process.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

11 October 2019

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 Home-based Education and Care Service

Location

Porirua

Ministry of Education profile number

30186

Institution type

Homebased Network

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2

Service roll

56

Standard or Quality Funded

Quality

Gender composition

Males 24, Females 32

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Other ethnic groups

7
42
7

Number of qualified coordinators in the network

4

Required ratios of educators to children

Under 2

1:2

Over 2

1:4

Review team on site

July 2019

Date of this report

11 October 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

May 2015

Education Review

February 2011

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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014

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.

PORSE Mana Q1 - 07/05/2015

1 Evaluation of PORSE Mana Q1

How well placed is PORSE Mana Q1 to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

PORSE Mana Q1 is a home-based education and care network operating under the umbrella of PORSE In-Home Childcare. Qualified and registered programme tutors work alongside educators to implement and support learning programmes for children in homes. PORSE also supports families and educators with professional development, administration and payroll services. A national team provides governance and management support for all PORSE services.

PORSE offers two models of education and care: the Home Educator model, where an educator works in their own home; and a Nanny Educator model, where an educator works in a family’s home. PORSE provides a range of training programmes and workshops for home educators, nannies and parents. There are 125 children enrolled in this network and 13 identify as Māori.

The PORSE vision is ‘expanding the hearts, minds and wellbeing of a nation through nurturing childcare in-home’.

This review is one of a cluster of five home-based network reviews of PORSE In-Home Childcare. This network was previously known as PORSE Kapiti.

The Review Findings

Children participate in an individualised programme that is responsive to their interests. Educators support these interests by providing a range of activities. The programme is extended through outings into the local community and attendance at PlaySchool. PORSE promotes their PlaySchool experience as part of the child’s overall learning programme. These experiences have recently been strengthened through focused planning and regular reflection.

Programme tutors affirm and support educators’ practice. A range of professional development opportunities, facilitated by PORSE, are available. Many are responsive to educators’ interests. Educators are kept well informed of these. Programme tutors should embed educators’ new learning further through home visits.

A greater emphasis by programme tutors on supporting educators to further develop their understanding of assessment, planning and evaluation is necessary. Programme tutors regularly visit children in the home. They observe children and discuss their interests and ongoing development and report this to parents. During home visits, programme tutors provide some direction to educators about supporting children’s interests. However, there is limited documentation which shows how educators are supported and coached in the use of assessment, planning and evaluation. PORSE agrees this is a next step and has planned professional development in assessment, planning and evaluation for their programme tutors in 2015.

PORSE is committed to the ongoing development of a bicultural curriculum within a home-based context. Leaders acknowledge that this is an area of continual development. Ongoing planning should include strategies for promoting success for Māori as Māori.

Managers are improvement focused and there are useful systems and processes to track operational expectations. PORSE is currently reviewing many of these approaches and aligning them to current practice. A next step is to strengthen the monitoring of systems and processes, including those related to health and safety.

PORSE administrative systems effectively support educators, programme tutors and coaches in their roles. PORSE has recently formalised its approach to the privacy of information about children in early childhood education by developing a privacy policy. Planned professional development should strengthen staff understanding of their responsibility.

Leaders acknowledge that the appraisal process needs further development. ERO agrees with this direction and identifies that strengthening the focus on teaching and learning and the consistent implementation of a robust appraisal processes are key next steps.

PORSE managers recognise that self review at all levels of the organisation requires strengthening. Leaders should support programme tutors to understand the purpose and use of self review to improve outcomes for children in their context. Use of a more evaluative and systematic approach to self review, that focuses on outcomes for children, should strengthen current practice.

Key Next Steps

Priorities for this service are to strengthen:

  • assessment, planning and evaluation for children’s learning

  • the bicultural approach within a home-based context, including the focus on success for Māori as Māori

  • self review as a tool to improve outcomes for children

  • appraisal through the consistent implementation of a robust process

  • the monitoring of systems and practices that track the operational expectations of PORSE.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of PORSE Mana Q1 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.

During regular monthly home visits programme tutors monitor the health and safety of the environment to promote the safety of children. To improve practice PORSE should consider how they can use the assurance systems to effectively monitor that all health and safely expectations are met.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of PORSE Mana Q1 will be in three years.

Joyce Gebbie

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

7 May 2015

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

Location

Mana

Ministry of Education profile number

30186

Licence type

Homebased Network

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2

Service roll

125

Standard or Quality funded

Quality funded

Gender composition

Girls 63, Boys 62

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Indian
Pacific
Other ethnic groups

13
73
7
3
29

Number of qualified coordinators in the network

4

Reported ratios of staff educators to children

Under 2

1:2

Meets minimum requirements

Over 2

1:4

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

February 2015

Date of this report

7 May 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

February 2011

Education Review

June 2006

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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

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.