30 Harington Point Road, Portobello, Dunedin
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Portobello Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Portobello Kindergarten provides early childhood education for children aged two years old to school age. It is licensed for 21 children and currently has a roll of 27. Six children identify as Māori. Sessions operate from 8.30am to 2.30pm.
Teachers aim to support children to develop social and emotional competence, build positive relationships, understand te ao Māori, the Treaty of Waitangi and kaitiakitanga, and have agency in their learning. They seek to achieve this through working closely with parents, having respectful relationships, embracing diversity, enacting ako, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga, and encouraging learning through play.
The teaching team has made good progress in addressing some of the areas for development in the kindergarten's December 2015 ERO review. These include improving planning for individual children, deepening teachers' inquiry into their practice, and identifying what learning matters most in this kindergarten. Some areas require further work.
Portobello Kindergarten is one of 24 kindergartens governed by Dunedin Kindergartens (DK). Day-to-day operations are led by a head teacher, with the support of two experienced, qualified teachers. A senior teacher from DK provides support for professional and operational practice. Since the 2015 ERO review, there have been some changes in the teaching team.
This review was part of a cluster of seven DK kindergartens.
Children play and learn in an environment where whanaungatanga and manaakitanga are very evident. Teachers are respectful, caring and inclusive in the way they interact with children and families. Families feel welcome and valued.
The programme is deliberately child centred. Teachers know the children very well as individuals and as learners. They recognise and foster positive learning dispositions. Children show a strong sense of belonging and confidently initiate play. Routines are responsive to their needs and invitational. Teachers deliberately promote children's opportunities to lead their learning and make choices. ERO discussed with teachers the importance of ensuring a balance between children's agency and teachers' provocations for learning.
Links and partnerships with parents and the wider community have a positive impact on children's learning and wellbeing. Teachers work closely with parents, seek and value their voice. Whānau share their knowledge and expertise to enhance children's learning. Children also benefit from regular excursions to local places.
Priority learners are very well supported. Teachers deliberately find opportunities for Māori children to stand proud, share and lead in their culture. They work closely with parents and external agencies in order to best support children with additional needs. Children transitioning into the kindergarten and on to school are sensitively supported.
Teachers have strengthened aspects of assessment and planning for individual children. In children's profiles they regularly include parents' voice, acknowledge children's cultural backgrounds and capture significant learning moments. They are working towards making the role teachers play in supporting children's learning more visible, ensuring next steps are included and showing progress over time. Further work is needed to strengthen group planning and evaluation.
Teachers are reflective and improvement focused. They engage in meaningful professional learning and inquiries. These put children at the centre and have resulted in changes to teaching practice. With parent input they have developed a well-considered philosophy and more recently identified the kindergarten's priorities for children's learning. Teachers and ERO agree that they could deepen internal evaluation processes.
The DK board has made good progress in addressing the governance recommendations from ERO's 2016 reviews. The DK's mission and strategic priorities are well known and reflected in each kindergarten's strategic and annual plans. It has a sound policy and procedure framework that provides guidance for kindergartens and sound systems to monitor health and safety. Leaders and teachers benefit from relevant professional development and leadership support. The DK actively supports equity of outcomes for all children by funding additional teaching resources to support children with additional needs.
To further improve outcomes for children, the next steps for teachers are to:
The DK board has clearly identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for DK to further improve outcomes for children are to ensure that:
Before the review, the staff and management of Portobello 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
29 April 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 |
Portobello, Dunedin |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46252 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
21 children aged over two years |
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Service roll |
27 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 13 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
N/A |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
January 2020 |
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Date of this report |
29 April 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report |
Education Review |
December 2015 |
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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.
Portobello Kindergarten is a semi-rural kindergarten on the Otago Peninsula. It is a new addition to the Dunedin Kindergarten Association (DK) since 2013. The DK have taken over the lease of this former full-day early childhood centre. It now operates as a kindergarten and provides six-hour sessions for up to 21 children. The community has embraced the new kindergarten and the roll has quickly grown. Some of the children travel some distances to attend, and come from diverse cultural and family backgrounds.
The team is led by an experienced head teacher and two qualified teachers. They, along with the DK, have a long-term vision for the kindergarten to have a permanent building in Portobello.
Teachers have encouraged parents to form a committee who now play an active part in the running of the kindergarten, for example, fundraising and providing voluntary labour.
This review was part of a cluster of 24 reviews in the DK.
The teachers have focused on developing relationships with children and their families as a first priority in establishing the culture of this new kindergarten. Children and families are warmly greeted. Families are comfortable sharing important information with the teachers about their children. Teachers are sensitive to families who need support and respond to their needs. Children play together happily alongside their friends. They are developing a sense of belonging and are familiar with the routines. Teachers are aware of the age range in the kindergarten and have purchased resources to enrich the learning environment.
The philosophy has recently been reviewed to show the beliefs of the kindergarten. These are for:
The teachers agree that the philosophy could be strengthened by clearly stating what the important valued learning in the kindergarten is.
Children’s learning is enhanced by a programme where they:
Teachers have developed useful systems for group and individual planning. It is now timely for teachers to add more depth to the planning to make the focus on learning clearer. Teachers need to make the most of every moment as an opportunity for intentional teaching, for example, the way they can build children’s oral language through careful listening and conversations. Children enjoy seeing themselves and their friends having fun at kindergarten in their profile books.
Significant work has been undertaken by the head teacher and team with support from DK to reposition this service as a kindergarten, and grow community confidence. Team members work closely together and share the daily tasks in the kindergarten. They participate in professional learning relevant to the needs of children in the kindergarten.
The teachers are using the DK format for self review. Initial reviews show the team has used this well to improve early-literacy practices in the kindergarten. They now need to continue to embed self-review practices in the kindergarten to ensure continued growth and improvement.
The vision of the DK is to provide excellence in early childhood education for all children. The DK is governed by a board and managed by a long-serving general manager. The kindergarten teachers told ERO they appreciated the support they receive from the association and the advice and guidance of the senior teachers.
The board, general manager and senior teachers:
The teachers, senior teacher and ERO agree the next steps for ongoing improvement are to:
Teachers should continue to embed self-review practices and use this process to deepen their inquiry into teaching and learning. Teachers should review the quality of their interactions to show how well these support children’s oral language development.
Next steps for the board, with the support of the general manager and senior teachers, are to:
With the appointment of a new senior teacher, it is timely for the board and general manager to review the role of the senior teachers, and strengthen systems to ensure consistent, high-quality practice across all kindergartens within the association.
Before the review, the staff and management of Portobello 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 Portobello Kindergarten will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
15 December 2015
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 |
Dunedin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46252 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
21 children aged two-to-five years |
||
|
Service roll |
24 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 13 Boys: 11 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
N/A |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
15 December 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
|
|
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.