R364 Welcome Bay Road, Welcome Bay, Tauranga
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 |
Not meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Rose Ring Kindergarten is situated alongside the Tauranga Waldorf School. The service philosophy is guided by Steiner values and beliefs. Children attend one of four mixed-aged group rooms. The service has a multicultural roll and approximately a fifth of children identify as Māori.
The Steiner philosophy guides centre operations. The curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Positive relationships between teachers, whānau and tamariki enhance the learning of tamariki. A range of experiences are provided to enhance and extend tamariki learning and development. The curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Tamariki are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. A language rich environment supports their learning.
Increased consistency in maintaining aspects of health and safety practices are required to maintain licensing requirements.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
relevant emergency drills being carried out on an at least three-monthly basis.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS8
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
ensuring consistent evidence of parents being informed of injuries, illnesses or incidents involving their child (HS27)
ensuring consistent records of parental acknowledgement of medication being administered (HS28).
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
20 October 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Rose Ring Kindergarten |
|
Profile Number |
40071 |
|
Location |
Welcome Bay, Tauranga |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
70 children over the age of 2 years |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
78 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
20 October 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 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 |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rose Ring Kindergarten is located in the rural suburb of Welcome Bay, Tauranga. It is situated on a spacious and well-presented site alongside Tauranga Waldorf School. It is licensed for 70 children over the age of two and provides an all-day programme from 8.45 am until 3pm from Monday to Friday.
The Waldorf School (Bay of Plenty) Trust is the governing body, holds the licence and provides support and direction for the kindergarten. Strategic planning focuses the kindergarten on building strong and constructive partnerships with parents, colleagues, and children. The Trust is supportive and responsive to the head teacher and staff.
The management team consists of the head teacher, assistant head teacher, administrator and operations manager from the trust. A high percentage of teaching staff are well qualified with many holding additional Waldorf/Steiner ECE qualifications.
The kindergarten offers a play-based programme that facilitates self-initiated learning. It aims to nurture the social, physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development of each child. The Rudolf Steiner programme promotes the view that children learn through imitation and creative play. Activities are designed to provide active participation and quality interactions with others and the environment.
Since the 2013 ERO review there has been an increase in the roll and resulted in the kindergarten reviewing and developing the environments and resources to cater for increasing numbers. Development has included new buildings and property upgrades, such as a new kitchen, interior painting and soundproofing. The outdoor play space has been enhanced by water play equipment and plantings for nature and sensory experiences.
Significant progress has been made in addressing areas identified in the 2013 ERO report as needing further development, these relate to transition processes, resources and bicultural experiences.
Children feel welcome, included and have high levels of trusting relationships with teachers and one another. Children are first and foremost valued, celebrated and affirmed for who they are, and what they bring to their learning. They demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and a willingness to share their ideas and interests. The natural and challenging environment is well prepared to provide a rich variety of learning experiences. Children play and explore in both indoor and outdoor environments, using their imagination and creativity in pursuing their interests. Oral language, literacy, mathematics, science and nature are naturally integrated into the programme.
A strong feature of the programme is the way the natural and real life world is the focus of learning. Through this focus children are offered opportunities to develop foundational skills and attitudes to ensure both wellbeing and learning. Children develop positive work habits and values of care and respect for both the environment and other people. Many aspects of the kindergarten environment support this focus with children growing, harvesting and preparing their own food, and understanding healthy eating, and using natural resources from the sea, bush and land. The environment and kindergarten programme allows children to work with and understand seasonal rhythms and routines. Children have a stable and secure basis from which they can grow and develop to their potential.
All children and their families are welcomed into the kindergarten. Strong, responsive and respectful relationships are formed with each family. The kindergarten ensures parents are well informed about the philosophy of Waldorf education. Teachers provide workshops and liaise with parents to encourage their active involvement. Children are treated as unique learners. Teachers are culturally responsive and support the culture and identity of each child. Te reo and tikanga Māori practices are well integrated into the programme in authentic contexts, such as the tuakana/teina approach where older children support and take responsibility for their younger peers. All parents spoken to by ERO were pleased with the way the individuality and identity of their children are celebrated and fostered.
Children learn through play and are well supported to follow their interests, solve problems and take responsible risks by teachers who know them well. Teachers spend time with children supporting their engagement in self-initiated and sustained play. They notice, recognise and respond appropriately to extend learning opportunities. Open-ended questions are used to prompt children's thinking. Children are developing independence and taking increasing responsibility for their own learning and well being.
Programme planning is based on the individual or group learning that occurs through play. This learning is reinforced and deepened through repetitions in carefully designed daily, weekly, termly and seasonal rhythms. Story telling and Circle Time are important elements in this planning with much learning and memory development enabled through music, art and movement. Children's interests, learning and progress are recorded in attractive individual portfolio books, which allow parents to share in the learning process.
Children benefit from highly effective transition procedures. Most children move on to the Tauranga Waldorf School at 6 years of age. There has been an ongoing review of transition with input from parents and a working partnership developed between the kindergarten teacher and new entrant teacher at school. This has allowed knowledge of children to be shared and relationships to be built before children enter school. Buddy systems are in place and children from the kindergarten and school share activities such as the bush visit programme.
The knowledgeable and experienced head teacher provides strong and collaborative leadership to the teaching team. She is well supported by other members of the management team and empowers teachers to use their strengths and interests to take on leadership roles. The team shares a commitment to the principles of a Waldorf education including shared beliefs and values about children's learning and well-being, and care and respect for the environment.
Teachers have been involved in effective professional development and learning that has promoted enthusiasm and increased their confidence and engagement in learning and teaching. Management and teachers are reflective practitioners and internal evaluation is leading to continual improvements in programmes. Currently teachers are working on further developing teaching as inquiry practices.
Management has identified and ERO agrees that the key next step is to continue to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Rose Ring 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.
The next ERO review of Rose Ring Kindergarten will be in four years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
24 May 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 |
Welcome Bay, Tauranga |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40071 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
70 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
67 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 37 Boys 30 |
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|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other European Latin American Chinese Other |
13 47 3 2 1 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
March 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
24 May 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
March 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 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:
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.