51 Albert Street, St Clair, Dunedin
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
St Clair Kindergarten is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
St Clair Kindergarten is one of 24 kindergartens in the Dunedin Kindergartens (DK). It provides early childhood education for children aged two years old to school age in a purpose-built facility. It is licensed for up to 42 children.
Day-to-day operations are led by a head teacher with the support of two experienced, qualified teachers. A senior teacher from DK provides professional support.
Teachers aim to support children's developing capabilities in communication, emotional and social competence, independence, critical thinking, physical wellbeing, early literacy and numeracy and sustainability. Teachers promote the values of ako (supporting one another), mahitahi (working together), aroha (compassion for others) and awhina (helpfulness).
The kindergarten's philosophy states that teachers will achieve these outcomes through providing a broad, engaging and responsive curriculum; opportunities to participate in small and large groups; and partnership with parents and whānau.
The team has made good progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the December 2015 ERO review. These include strengthening group planning and internal evaluation.
This review was one of a cluster of 11 kindergartens within the Dunedin Kindergarten Association.
Children's initiative, individuality and independence are respected and fostered. Teachers observe and listen to children closely and communicate regularly with families to get to know children's strengths, interests and preferences. They use this information to identify personalised learning goals and to plan relevant learning experiences to extend children's developing dispositions and capabilities.
Teachers are highly responsive to children's ideas, follow their interests and join in child-led play. They collaboratively develop kindergarten expectations and values with the children and pay attention to children's own aspirations for their learning and assessment of their progress. Children's cultures, languages and identities are acknowledged, celebrated and used as the basis for their learning.
Children experience a broad and varied bicultural curriculum that effectively supports them to make progress in the learning areas prioritised by teachers and parents. The values of awhi, aroha, mahitahi and ako are woven through the daily programme and well known by children. The learning environment is purposefully set up to provide for socio-dramatic play; early literacy and mathematics learning; physical development and challenge; critical thinking and problem solving. Teachers ensure younger children have access to the breadth of the curriculum and to age-appropriate learning experiences, such as sensory play.
Teachers have respectful, reciprocal and learning-centred relationships with families and whānau. Families have many opportunities to share their aspirations for their children's learning and wellbeing and to be involved in reviewing children's progress. They also contribute to aspects of the kindergarten's curriculum and operations.
Children are very well supported as they transition into the kindergarten and then on to school. New children's sense of belonging in the kindergarten is nurtured by teachers valuing their strengths and individual dispositions, helping them to quickly learn the routines and expectations of the kindergarten; encouraging their positive relationships with other children and making links to their lives beyond kindergarten. Children's transitions to school are very effectively supported through clear communication with children and families about what to expect, regular visits to the local school; an explicit focus on fostering readiness for school dispositions and capabilities and proactive communication with new-entrant teachers.
Teachers are collaborative, reflective and committed to ongoing improvement. They have developed useful systems for ensuring all children's learning is planned for, monitored and extended. They are well engaged in ongoing professional learning focused on improving learning outcomes for children. Teachers use internal evaluation processes well to know about the effectiveness of teaching and to identify areas for development.
The DK board has made good progress in addressing the governance recommendations from ERO's 2015 reviews. The association's mission and strategic priorities are well known and reflected in each kindergarten's strategic and annual plans. The association 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 association actively supports equity of outcomes for all children by funding additional teaching resources to support children with additional needs.
Teachers need to continue to embed and build on recent improvements and ensure there are effective systems to sustain improvements.
The board has clearly identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for the association to further improve outcomes for children are to ensure that:
reporting and monitoring at all levels are evaluative, to clearly show how desired outcomes for children have been improved in relation to the DK's and kindergartens' priorities for learning and other strategic priorities
a robust and systematic quality assurance framework is implemented to inform and monitor ongoing improvements in each kindergarten.
Before the review, the staff and management of St Clair 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
18 February 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 |
Dunedin |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
83029 |
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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 |
42 children aged two years to school age |
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Service roll |
35 |
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Gender composition |
Female 23, Male 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other |
2 28 5 |
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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 |
N/A |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2019 |
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Date of this report |
18 February 2020 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
December 2015 |
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Education Review |
August 2013 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
St Clair Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
St Clair Kindergarten has recently come under the umbrella of the Dunedin Kindergarten Association (DK). It had previously been a small, stand-alone community kindergarten with 100 years of history. The community initiated and has strongly supported the move.
The kindergarten operates a six-hour session and now caters for 30 children in the morning and 20 in the afternoon. The teaching team has mainly stayed the same since 2009. The head teacher is new to the role but was already part of the existing teaching team.
The kindergarten is temporarily housed in a hall on the DK site after the June 2015 floods in the South Dunedin area. The DK is exploring options for building a new facility in consultation with the kindergarten community.
Teachers aim to develop a culture that fosters the principles of tuakana/teina, mahi tahi, aroha and awhina. They aim to work in partnership with families and the community to provide a curriculum that responds to children’s knowledge, skills and interests. ERO found this to be evident in the interactions and daily programme.
This review of St Clair Kindergarten was one of 24 kindergartens under the Dunedin Kindergarten Association (DK).
Children have adapted very well to the changes, including moving into a temporary building and extensive changes to the outside area, brought about by the South Dunedin floods.
Children:
Teachers have created a strongly inclusive, welcoming environment for children and their families. Children with particular needs are well supported to participate fully in the programme alongside their peers. Skilled teacher aides work with them and adaptations are made within the programme such as the use of sign language so all children can be included.
Children benefit from a well-planned and interesting curriculum. Teachers have set up the environment so that it encourages children to explore, be creative, ask questions, make choices and build on their learning. They provide resources to enrich and extend learning, including children’s passions and interests. Teachers seek children’s ideas about their learning. Children experience:
Teachers demonstrate their commitment to a programme that reflects the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Children hear and use te reo Māori, observe tikanga practices such as karakia, enjoy waiata, celebrate Matariki and learn about te ao Māori.
Parents are encouraged to share their strengths and interests to enrich the learning programme.
Children and their families are well supported as they settle into the kindergarten and in the transition to school process. Parents share information about their children, and teachers consult with parents about important matters concerning the direction of the kindergarten.
There is a useful system for planning for individuals. Children’s profile books show the wide range of experiences children have at the kindergarten. Teachers have frequent informal discussions with families about their child’s learning. Teachers should now find ways to show more consistently in the written records how they use these discussions to decide the next steps for learning and what they will do to support this.
Records of group planning would be strengthened by teachers stating more clearly the intended learning. Currently evaluations describe what has happened. These need to be evaluative and show how well the intended learning is met through the strategies and experiences provided.
The long-serving and experienced team work well together. They have a strong commitment to teaching and learning. They appreciate the support given to them through the process of becoming part of the DK.
Teachers are using a purposeful format for self review provided by the DK. They are developing their understanding of effective self review. This continues to be work in progress.
The teachers and parents, with the support of the DK, have managed the time of significant changes well.
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 that the next steps for improvement are to:
Teachers need to further develop their understanding and use of self review. This includes developing:
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 consistently high-quality practice across all kindergartens within the association.
Before the review, the staff and management of St Clair 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 St Clair Kindergarten will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
7 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 |
83029 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children aged between two and five |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 22 Boys: 18 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
|
|
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 |
7 December 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 2007 |
||
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.