Paradise Early Learning Centre

Education institution number:
65142
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
65
Telephone:
Address:

394 Herbert St, Invercargill

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Paradise Early Learning Centre

ERO’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.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Paradise Early Learning Centre, previously known as Salford Preschool, is a privately owned early childhood learning service. The owner is a certificated teacher and leads a team of mostly qualified teachers. The service roll is reflective of its multicultural community and includes a large number of Māori children and a small number of children of Pacific heritage. This is its first review under new ownership.

Summary of Review Findings

The service philosophy is guided by Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum. Children play and learn in two separate age-based areas. The design and layout of the premises support the provision for indoor and outdoor play. Children’s exploration is promoted through planned and spontaneous interactions with adults. There are opportunities for them to make choices throughout their day. Teachers are responsive to children’s needs. Infants and toddlers experience respectful relationships and opportunities for one-on-one interactions with adults.

There are suitable systems in place to manage the ongoing development and monitoring of health and safety practices. An annual plan guides the service operation.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • increasing opportunities for children to hear and use te reo Māori in meaningful learning contexts.

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

6 October 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Paradise Early Learning Centre

Profile Number

65142

Location

Invercargill

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

50 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified teachers

80-99%

Service roll

71

Review team on site

September 2022

Date of this report

6 October 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, December 2015

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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.

Salford Preschool - 12/03/2019

1 Evaluation of Salford Preschool

How well placed is Salford Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Salford Preschool is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Salford Preschool is licensed for 47 children, including up to 20 children under two. It provides all day care and education five days a week. The centre is divided into two areas. Children under two and half years learn and play in the 'Kiwi' room, with a separate outdoor area designed for their needs. Children over two and a half learn and play in the 'Tuatara' room, with an outdoor area that caters to their needs.

Salford Preschool has a leadership team of three teachers, one being the overall centre manager. The majority of teachers at the preschool are experienced, qualified teachers who have worked there for a significant length of time.

Through its curriculum and teaching practices, teachers aim to support children to become: confident, competent learners and effective communicators. They also seek to support all children to develop a sense of belonging and wellbeing, reciprocal, respectful relationships, inclusive attitudes and critical thinking skills.

Since ERO's 2015 report, two of the teachers within the preschool have taken on Team Leader roles. There continues to be stable teaching staff and management. Good progress has been made on most of the areas for development identified in the preschool's 2015 ERO report.

Salford Preschool is one of two preschools owned by the director.

The Review Findings

Teachers' reflective practices contribute to positive outcomes for children. The preschool's valued learning priorities, expressed as core values, are evident in practice. The learning programmes are underpinned by these values and the principles of Te Whāriki (2017), The Early Childhood Curriculum. Teachers are strengthening the use of these values in their planning and assessing of children's learning, and when reflecting on their teaching practice.

Children and their whānau experience a centre environment that is welcoming and inclusive. Teachers:

  • provide a well-organised learning environment with opportunities and experiences that enable children to participate in activities of interest to them
  • engage in responsive, reciprocal relationships with children and their whānau, enabling the frequent sharing of children's strengths, needs and interests
  • nurture children's developing independence and problem-solving skills and respect their ideas for play
  • are developing ways of strengthening the visibility of intentional teaching approaches and the positive impact these have on children's outcomes.

Children with additional needs are well supported through a collaborative teaching approach and the expertise of external agencies. By enabling smooth transitions into and through the preschool, teachers are following children's learning and development, which enhances their sense of wellbeing.

Children in the 'Kiwi' room benefit from caring and nurturing relationships with familiar adults. Teachers support them to feel a sense of belonging and security by working in partnerships with whānau to respect and include home routines. Strong collaboration and communication enables teachers to be responsive to children's developmental and learning needs. Teachers provide a well-planned environment that offers choice, challenge and opportunity. It encourages children to be curious and inquisitive. Recent internal evaluation has strengthened the place of diversity, language and culture within the planned curriculum.

Older children choose from a range of interesting and creative learning activities. Teachers build on their knowledge of each child to prepare individual and group plans that respond to parent aspirations and the strengths, needs and interests of children. Planning is evident in profile stories which show children's progress and ongoing feedback from whānau. Children have many opportunities to explore their interests and working theories through a play-based programme.

Teachers have undertaken ongoing professional learning to strengthen their understanding of the bicultural curriculum and cultural competencies. The preschool's purpose includes all children experiencing aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand's bicultural heritage. As a result of this, there is increasing use of te reo and tikanga Māori in the design of the curriculum, and planned experiences for children.

The director is committed to providing the conditions for effective early education and care. Since ERO's 2015 report, she has;

  • strengthened reporting systems to be better assured of children's health and safety

  • strengthened teacher appraisal processes

  • supported teachers to build their capability to deliver a bicultural curriculum

  • provided opportunity for teachers to build their understanding of Te Whāriki 2017 The Early Childhood Curriculum and to undertake internal evaluation into identified learning priorities.

The director could make better use of internal evaluation to be assured about the implementation of the preschool's values and how well children are progressing and achieving.

Key Next Steps

To better enact the director's vision of high quality care and education, the director needs to improve the consistency of professional leadership across her two preschools to ensure effective practice and desired developments are well implemented.

To continue to build the rigor of internal evaluation, the director, leaders and teachers should:

  • ensure that they adequately evaluate current practice before they move onto planning new developments

  • use indicators of effective practice to support judgements about quality

  • systematically collect and analyse evidence of teaching practice to 'test' findings.

Aspects of assessment, planning and evaluation processes have been strengthened. However, some variability in process and quality across the director's two preschools still remains. To continue to strengthen assessment and planning practice, leaders and teachers need to:

  • ensure identified aspects of good practice are more consistently implemented across the centre
  • better document and evaluate teachers' planned strategies to extend and progress children's learning, for individuals and groups
  • develop quality assurance systems and guidelines for assessment and planning across both preschools, that reflect the service's indicators for effective practice.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Salford Preschool 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.

To improve current practice, the preschool needs to:

  • strengthen processes for identifying and managing hazards

  • include planning for emergencies in risk management planning for excursions

  • involve parents more in regular review of preschool policies and procedures

  • consider cultural perspectives when reviewing policies

  • ensure teachers have formal observations of practice as part of appraisal.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

12 March 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 Early Childhood Service

Location

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

65142

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

47 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

77

Gender composition

Boys: 42

Girls: 35

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Other ethnicities

12
52
13

Percentage of qualified teachers

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

December 2018

Date of this report

12 March 2019

Most recent ERO reports

 

Education Review

December 2015

Education Review

October 2012

Education Review

March 2009

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 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.

Salford Preschool - 23/12/2015

1 Evaluation of Salford Preschool

How well placed is Salford Preschool to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Well placed with ongoing external professional support for the leaders.

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

Background

Salford Preschool provides education and care for children up to school age. The centre is one of two services that have the same owner/director. Salford has a leadership team of four with one being the overall centre manager. The service is licensed for 47 children and the centre is divided into two key areas. Children under two spend most of their time in the 'kiwi' room. Their separate outdoor play area is close to the over-two outdoor space. Children over two work and play in the 'Tuatara' room. Many of the teachers at Salford have worked there for many years and know the community well. 

There has been some progress since the 2012 ERO review but most of the recommendations still require further work. These include assessment and planning for learning, and bicultural development.

The Review Findings

Children settle quickly at the centre and are meaningfully involved in activities and experiences that they enjoy. They have warm and trusting relationships with their teachers and are very familiar with the well-established daily routines. 

A sense of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga is evident throughout the centre. The teachers organise events to involve the wider whānau and encourage parents to share their knowledge and skills. Parents’ contributions are valued by the teachers and the children. Teachers support the aspirations parents have for their children’s learning. Leaders have a system in place to help ensure all teachers share knowledge about the children’s interests and learning. 

Teachers are responsive to children’s emotional and care needs. In the under-two area, the teachers provide a calm and settled environment for learning. This helps to enhance children’s wellbeing.

Children have easy access to a range of equipment and resources appropriate for their development and can choose where they wish to play.

ERO observed conversations between teachers and children that support children's language development, thinking and problem-solving skills.

The teachers are focused on children’s learning in the programme. Children have many opportunities for oral language development, literacy, exploration and risk taking. They have a wide and varied range of interesting and worthwhile learning experiences. These experiences are likely to challenge and extend their learning. Children have a range of regular excursions into the local community to build their sense of belonging and community. Older children participate in a “bush” programme which is being trialled. This is providing new challenges for children’s learning. Wall displays and newsletters make learning visible for parents and provide opportunities for children to revisit their experiences.

Teachers are working to improve planning systems. This has been an ongoing issue and an effective system for individual children’s planning is yet to be established. The stories teachers write however, are useful and identify the learning that is happening. Group plans provide a clear learning focus for teachers when working with children.

The leaders and teachers do not yet have a clear, shared understanding about the key learning priorities they want to promote in this centre. When they are clear, they will be able to be more purposeful in the programme they provide. Leaders and teachers should work this out in partnership with parents.

Recent professional development has supported teachers to build on their knowledge and appreciation of Pacific cultures. Aspects of Pacific culture are now part of the daily programme. This year, teachers brought a Pacific flavour to the centre’s Polyfest performance.

Aspects of Māori culture and language are evident in the daily programme such as waiata, karakia, and some te reo Māori words and phrases. The teachers want to further their knowledge and confidence with Māori language and culture. ERO has recommended in previous reports that the leaders work together to develop a planned approach to bicultural development by sharing and using the existing knowledge of the teachers. Without a planned approach it is unlikely that teachers will be able to build their confidence and skills and support children’s development more effectively in this area.

The director has developed a strategic plan that identifies three relevant priorities for development of the centre. These are: bicultural practices, sustainable practices, and building leadership. An action plan has yet to be developed to show how the strategic goals will be achieved across the two centres. An action plan will also help when monitoring progress.

The director manages the administrative component of the services. She regularly updates policies and keeps up to date with new information. She and her senior leadership team meet regularly. It would be helpful to focus these meetings more on leadership matters and on progressing the strategic goals. 

The director is receiving useful external guidance to help build her leadership skills. Leadership support should be continued and extended to the other centre leaders as well. The director has not yet developed clear expectations for her leadership team or standards for teaching practice. She must establish reporting systems that will assure her that expectations and compliance requirements are being met.

The director and centre leaders are working to strengthen appraisal processes. There is a new system in place this year that encourages teachers to reflect on their practice and regularly gather relevant evidence. The leaders need to continue to embed and strengthen appraisal practices and ensure they include observations in the process.

The Salford centre manager, senior leaders and teachers are improvement focused. They have begun to use some useful self-review processes resulting in positive outcomes for children. Leaders acknowledge the need to be more evaluative and make better use of indicators when they conduct reviews. They also need to develop a schedule for reviews to ensure those aspects of practice that impact most on children are reviewed regularly over time.

Key Next Steps

The director should:

  • access external professional support to develop leadership capacity within the service
  • establish clear expectations for the senior-leadership team and for teaching practice
  • implement systems to ensure expectations and compliance requirements are being met.

Leaders and teachers should:

  • in consultation with parents, identify the key learning priorities for children attending the centre
  • strengthen the planning system for individual children
  • implement a planned approach to bicultural development
  • build understanding and use of self review
  • develop a review schedule that includes the review of the quality of interactions against indicators of high-quality practice
  • embed and strengthen the appraisal process.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Salford Preschool 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.

To improve current practice the centre management should:

  • evaluate evacuation drills and undertake them at different times
  • include contingency plans in risk-management systems for excursions outside the centre
  • analyse accident records to identify trends and patterns
  • create a database to monitor police-vet requirements for staff.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Salford Preschool will be in three years.

Chris Rowe

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

23 December 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

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

65142

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

47 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

75

Gender composition

Boys: 39

Girls: 36

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Cook Island

Asian

12

58

3

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

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

November 2015

Date of this report

23 December 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

October 2012

 

Education Review

March 2009

 

Education Review

March 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 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.