Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc.

Education institution number:
40049
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
33
Telephone:
Address:

187 Old Taupo Road, Utuhina, Rotorua

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Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc.

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.

ERO’s judgements for Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

ERO’s judgement

What the service knows about outcomes for learners

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Ngā Akatoro Domains

ERO’s judgement

He Whāriki Motuhake

The learner and their learning

Whakaū Embedding

Whakangungu Ngaio

Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Ngā Aronga Whai Hua

Evaluation for improvement

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Kaihautū

Leaders foster collaboration and improvement

Whakawhanake Sustaining

Te Whakaruruhau

Stewardship through effective governance and management

Whakaū Embedding

2 Context of the Service

Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. is a mixed age service located in the suburb of Utuhina. The early childhood education supervisor and the centre manager are responsible for governance and full management of the service. 

3 Summary of findings

Children experience a calm, supportive environment where reciprocal relationships between them and with adults are evident. Teachers draw on the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, to provide a responsive daily curriculum. They follow children’s changing interests and needs and plan strategies to effectively extend children’s interests that foster children’s learning.

Educational success for Māori children is promoted through intentional strategies. Teachers model culturally responsive practices. Children experience a rich localised curriculum where their identity as learners is affirmed. 

The centre actively addresses inequity and specific learning needs of children through collaboration and professional learning. Teachers work with a range of community networks to provide additional learning and care support for children and whānau. Teachers continue to develop learning-focused partnerships with parents and whānau. Input from an external provider is further strengthening teacher practice in assessment and evaluation for improved outcomes for children.

Teachers’ knowledge of internal evaluation and its purpose is well developed.  Clear alignment is evident between the centre’s strategic goals, teacher inquiry and internal evaluation. This enables teachers to be aware of and support meaningful outcomes for children.

Organisational conditions support decision making that is child-outcome focused. The leadership team works together to report to the community about operation and processes. The management team is exploring how to further refine the governance structure to clarify roles and responsibilities for sustainability and to grow organisational capacity. Effective, shared leadership enables focus on continuous improvement that promotes equitable outcomes for children.

4 Improvement actions

Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • evaluate the effectiveness of the governance structure in continuing to achieve meaningful learning outcomes for children and their families over time
  • further develop how the service utilises strong leadership capability within the teaching team to support the long-term sustainability of the service
  • strengthen learning focussed partnerships with parents and whānau to support the service to better reflect and respond to all children’s language, culture and identity. 

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. 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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

16 June 2021 

6 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc.
Profile Number 40049
Location Utuhina, Rotorua

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

38 children, including up to 8 aged under 2.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80%+

Service roll

40

Ethnic composition

Māori 7, NZ European/Pākehā 23, Other ethnic groups 10.

Review team on site

February 2021

Date of this report

16 June 2021

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, August 2016; Education Review, February 2013.

Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. - 05/08/2016

1 Evaluation of Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc.

How well placed is Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. 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

Rotorua Community Crēche & Kindergarten Inc. provides a mixed-age service that caters for children from birth to school age. The centre philosophy is based on the concepts whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kotahitanga (relationships, nurture and wellbeing). Children are to become 'curious, competent and confident learners, who have a lifelong love of learning' involved in an inclusive curriculum that is child initiated and promotes a sense of holistic development.

Rotorua Community Crēche & Kindergarten Inc. is well established in the community and has a positive ERO reporting history. The centre has a full licence for 38 children including 8 children up to the age of two. There are four fully qualified ECE teachers and two other teachers who have undertaken aspects of early childhood training.

The Review Findings

Parents and children are warmly welcomed each day and are well informed about centre values and their child’s health and wellbeing. The centre philosophy reflects the aspirations of all staff, parents and whānau. The centre manager and centre supervisor have set high expectations for teaching practice. Together with a strong team of teachers they are clearly focused on children's wellbeing and learning through play. These high expectations are well communicated to parents and whānau in order to promote high quality educational outcomes for children.

Babies, toddlers and young children, parents, whānau and teachers demonstrate high levels of enjoyment, belonging and wellbeing in the centre. The mixed-age nature of the centre provides many opportunities for children of all ages to make choices, and explore their interests alongside highly supportive teachers. Teachers acknowledge the importance of Māori children and their whānau as tangata whenua. They model culturally responsive practices. The cultures of all children are valued as parents share their knowledge with teachers when children come into the centre. All children enjoy responsive care from teachers and other adults who know them well.

Children over two years demonstrate high levels of social skills when they interact with younger siblings and other children in their play. They are able to express their ideas, opinions and creativity through complex play and projects over time. Teachers are skilled at recognising and responding to children's strengths and interests. Adults show respect and care in their interactions with children and sensitivity towards their emerging interests. Planned sessions to meet children's learning needs include trips and excursions into the wider community.

Babies and toddlers are well integrated into the programme. The natural contribution babies and toddlers make to relationships in the centre is significant. Their responsiveness to their brothers and sisters, as well as other children and teachers, is reciprocal and mutually beneficial for all. These crucial and early relationships promote trusting and respectful behaviours among babies, toddlers and children. Teachers are well informed by parents and carefully monitor babies and toddlers to ensure that their specific needs are met and home routines are followed as much as possible.

The programme of learning through play acknowledges the strengths of all children. It provides a purposeful and meaningful framework for the integration of literacy, mathematics and te reo and tikanga Māori. Children have a strong sense of belonging and confidently engage in play activities that extend their learning.

A collaborative process of self review is a feature of centre development. A recent review of how te reo and tikanga Māori is implemented and integrated into the centre programme involved, gathering, collating and analysing information from parents/whānau and staff. The learning outcomes from this review has resulted in an increased understanding of reo and tikanga Māori, and an improvement in the centre's progress towards building a bicultural learning environment.

Teachers share their observations and knowledge openly, and together plan strategies to effectively extend children’s interests. This reflective approach is contributing to the consistency of teaching in the centre and promotes children’s learning.

Leaders have established a culture in which children are first and foremost valued, celebrated and affirmed for who they are, and what they bring to their learning. Collaborated ways of working are fostered with all staff, and roles and responsibilities are shared. Regular policy review and improvements to the monitoring and evaluation of the way children learn, and how adults plan in the centre contribute to centre progress and improvements. It is important for the centre to continue to review how they record the way children learn.

Key Next Steps

The following aspects for further development and review include:

  • the strengthening of te reo and tikanga Māori and sharing cultural experiences

  • building whānau voice in portfolios

  • continuing to review how teachers record the way children learn

  • extending opportunities and catering for the interest of boys.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Rotorua Community Creche & Kindergarten Inc. will be in four years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

5 August 2016

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

Rotorua

Ministry of Education profile number

40049

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

38 children, including up to 8 aged under 2

Service roll

52

Gender composition

Boys 23 Girls 29

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Tongan

Asian

11

38

1

2

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

June 2016

Date of this report

5 August 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

March 2013

Education Review

February 2010

Education Review

May 2007

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 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.