283 Macandrew Road, St Clair, Dunedin
View on mapAkarangi | 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 St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre is one of two adjacent and privately owned centres. The owner/director, manager and a curriculum leader work across both services. Children from diverse cultures aged over two years attend. All teachers are qualified.
Children are viewed as confident and competent learners. Kaiako know them well and offer experiences based on their interests to promote their learning. Children are given the space and time they need to lead their own learning and develop a strong sense of belonging and agency. Teachers thoughtfully foster children’s social and emotional competence.
Leaders and kaiako develop respectful relationships and partnerships with tamariki, parents and whānau. Teaching is intentionally planned to meet the needs of each child based on parent and whānau aspirations and teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the child. Children with additional learning needs are well supported to succeed within a nurturing environment.
Leaders and kaiako design and implement a responsive and rich curriculum that enhances children’s mana and identity as learners. The use of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, is highly evident in assessment, planning and evaluation processes. Kaiako deliberately use the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki to guide and show children’s progress and achievement over time. While kaiako are increasingly integrating te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into the daily programme further work is required for children to fully experience a rich bicultural curriculum. Teachers have yet to make children’s languages, cultures and identities explicit in assessment documentation.
Distributed leadership creates a positive working environment and establishes organisational conditions that support robust debate, problem solving, and critical reflection on practice. This results in well-considered change and improvement. Teachers are further supported by sound induction and appraisal processes, clear expectations for best practice and regular opportunities to discuss children’s learning and reflect on their teaching.
Effective governance and management practices contribute to smooth centre operations, enabling leaders and teachers to focus on children and ongoing improvement. Leaders advocate to ensure all children have access to high quality, inclusive education. They use effective processes to evaluate children’s learning, aspects of the curriculum and other centre practices. These processes support continuous improvement to outcomes for tamariki and their whānau.
St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
7 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 83041 |
| Location | Dunedin |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
54 children, including up to 1 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
46 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 9, NZ European/Pākehā 28, Pacific 4, other ethnic groups 5 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
7 May 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2017; Education Review, May 2014 |
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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.
St Clair Corner Early Learning Centres are privately owned and are on two sites. The infants and toddlers are on one site and the older children on the other. Children come from a range of cultural backgrounds. This early learning centre is for children over two years. It provides full-day education and care for up to 54 children. Children learn in well-resourced learning areas. There is one outdoor area for the young children.
Leadership of the centres include the owner, who is the director; the centre manager/supervisor, and the assistant supervisor. The director and the manager have shared responsibility for both sites.
Some progress has been made in addressing the key next steps identified in the 2014 ERO report. Since the last review the owner, leaders and teachers have:
introduced an effective online planning, assessment and evaluation tool
embedded useful processes for evaluation
strengthened bicultural practices
sought and responded to parent and whānau views.
The shared mission and vision statements have recently been reviewed and promote a holistic play-based approach to learning with literacy and numeracy naturally integrated. This is evident in the programme and the way children are encouraged to be creative and explore the environment.
Children are cared for in a safe and nurturing environment. Their learning and wellbeing are supported by interesting programmes based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki - the early childhood curriculum.
A strength of the service is the careful thought given to transitions into, within and out of the service. Teachers work together within and beyond this service to ensure knowledge and ideas about children are shared. This increases the quality of the teaching and learning programmes.
Teachers deliberately share and build their own capabilities in te reo Māori and culturally responsive practices. The leaders and teachers value and provide opportunities for families and children to share their culture language and identity. These practices are supporting Māori children and their whānau to feel valued and have a sense of belonging.
Teachers have trusting and supportive relationships with children and their whānau. Leaders and teachers value their partnerships with parents and are seeking further ways to give whānau a greater say in key aspects of the centre. Children with diverse learning needs are well catered for.
The director and leaders have developed a well-used strategic plan to guide centre developments. This could be strengthened to reflect more explicitly professional development, actions and resources needed to achieve these objectives.
The owner and leaders have identified, and ERO agrees that the next steps are to:
regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of progress towards the goals in the strategic plan
continue to develop the new appraisal system to include expectations for observations and explicit links to Tātaiako.
Before the review, the staff and management of St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre 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.
The next ERO review of St Clair Corner Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
13 June 2017
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 |
Dunedin |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
83041 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
54 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
50 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 33 Girls: 17 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan |
14 35 1 |
|
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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 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
April 2017 |
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Date of this report |
13 June 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
October 2007 |
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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:
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.