30 Hilltop Road, Flat Bush, Auckland
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 Sunshine Christian Preschool are as follows: agree
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 |
|
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 |
|
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Kia rangatira ai te tipu Excelling |
Sunshine Christian Preschool is one of five childcare centres owned and administered by the Manukau Christian Charitable Trust (MCCT). The centre caters for 80 children up to school age, including up to five children under the age of two years. Children and staff come from the local ethnically diverse community.
Children experience respectful, reciprocal and responsive relationships with kaiako. Their mana is fostered in an environment that supports them to take increasing responsibility for their learning and the wellbeing of others. Children’s cultural identity is acknowledged and supported in the centre. Te reo and tikanga Māori are visible in the daily curriculum. Transitions into, within and beyond the service are responsive to each child, their parents and whānau.
Teachers promote tuakana/teina relationships, where older children support younger children. They thoughtfully resource the learning environment and encourage children to explore a wide variety of learning experiences. Kaiako working with infants and toddlers maintain a calm, unhurried pace that gives younger children space and time to lead their learning.
Service leaders and teachers take responsibility for their professional development. They share new learning and professional knowledge in collaborative ways. Leaders encourage kaiako to enquire, discuss and work collaboratively. Teachers draw on their curriculum and content knowledge, and their understanding of how children learn when planning learning activities and experiences.
Relational trust supports staff collaboration and openness to change and improvement. Leaders and teachers share responsibility for internal evaluation that contributes to positive outcomes for children. Relevant information, including parent feedback and focused evaluative questions, guide internal evaluation to improve professional practice.
Leaders advocate for and alongside children, parents and whānau to ensure all children have access to high quality, inclusive education and care. They work in partnership with the community to support the health, wellbeing and learning of children and their whānau.
Leaders model professional accountability and collective responsibility, and ensure children’s wellbeing and learning are the primary considerations for decision making. They lead governance and management processes that contribute to the service achieving its strategic direction, vision and goals.
Sunshine Christian Preschool will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunshine Christian 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:
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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
2 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Sunshine Christian Preschool |
| Profile Number | 45500 |
| Location | Manukau Heights, Manukau |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to five children aged under two. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
72 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 14 |
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Review team on site |
April 2021 |
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Date of this report |
2 June 2021 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2017 |
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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.
Sunshine Christian Preschool is one of four childcare centres owned and administered by the Manukau Christian Charitable Trust (MCCT). Christian beliefs and values underpin the centre philosophy and curriculum. The Trust Board is committed to providing early childhood education and care for children. This centre has made significant positive progress since 2015.
This centre caters for 80 children between two and five years of age from the local multicultural community. The majority of children are of Chinese heritage. Staff reflect some of the cultures of families and children attending the preschool. Transport is provided for families who cannot readily get their children to the centre.
Children are in age-related groups for part of the day. Teachers make use of the spacious environment to provide planned activities for these different groups. Children take part in a variety of structured and play-based programmes that emphasise the Christian faith.
There is a programme designed to prepare a small group of children, between five and six years of age, for school. There is also a Chinese language and culture programme available for children. These additional services are embraced by parents, who feel the centre has recognised the aspirations that they have for their children.
The centre manager, who is a trustee of MCCT, is supported by the centre's head teacher, lead teachers, teachers and teacher aides. An education advisor works in the Trust's four centres providing additional support.
Teachers know children and their families well. The start of each day is pleasant, with teachers and families sharing information about children, and children settling into play. The open door policy and the teachers' warm and caring greetings are features valued by the parents spoken to during the ERO review.
Teachers collaboratively design programmes that reflect their own knowledge and interests. The resource-based programme provides time for children to explore the rich range of resources and to enjoy each other's company. Teachers also provide opportunities for children to gain foundational knowledge and skills about literacy, numeracy, science, and Christian values and faith. Teachers work diligently with all age groups to meet the preschool mission statement of "We promise to prepare your children to read and write."
Teachers support children to learn about, and build their knowledge of New Zealand's bicultural heritage. All teachers include some te reo Māori in their conversations with children. Their knowledge about tikanga Māori is growing. Children are encouraged to engage in tuakana/teina relationships with their younger peers and to look after each other. Teachers are beginning to use positive strategies to encourage children to make independent decisions and choices about their behaviour.
Teachers contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. They use teaching practices that give children a sense of themselves as successful learners. Teachers are respectful and responsive in their relationships with children. They recognise children's strengths and provide opportunities for children to lead their learning. This sense of ako, learning together, supports teachers' thinking about their work with children. Teachers and the service are very responsive to the requirements of children with diverse needs. The inclusive nature of teachers' practice is a positive feature of the centre.
Children's portfolios are records of their participation in programmes, their developing dispositions and the experiences they enjoy with their friends. Teachers are beginning to offer opportunities to extend children's ongoing development and learning. Teachers would benefit from professional development to help them strengthen assessment and planning, and evaluation of the quality of their work with children.
Parents speak highly of the centre. They appreciate the positive values their children are learning and the notions of respect for self, others, and for the environment. They have many opportunities to contribute to children's portfolios and to the online communication system that teachers use to share children's progress. There are good transitioning processes in the centre. Families report that children happily move into, through the centre and on to school.
The service is well led by the documented frameworks of MCCT. The principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are evident in practice and in documentation. Policies include reference to bicultural intentions and guide teachers' practice. Strategic planning is linked to the annual plan and is currently under review by staff and families.
Effective personnel management systems include a newly developed appraisal process that meets the expectations of the Education Council. The new appraisal system is beginning to impact positively on teaching practices. MCCT provides opportunities for teachers to engage in professional development that is responsive to teachers' needs. Strategic staff appointments match the cultural and language needs of the centre's community. Teachers have opportunities to link up with teachers from the other centres administered by the Trust. This feature strengthens teachers' knowledge and learning through the sharing of good practices.
ERO identified the following areas for ongoing improvement. The centre manager and head teacher should continue to:
support teachers to extend children's interests and strengths using children's self-chosen investigations and play
use the centre's sound framework for internal evaluation to determine how well Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is guiding the programme.
Before the review, the staff and management of Sunshine Christian 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:
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 Sunshine Christian Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
3 April 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 |
Manukau, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45500 |
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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 |
80 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
74 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 41 Boys 33 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Samoan Indian other |
14 8 18 13 11 10 |
|
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2017 |
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Date of this report |
3 April 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
January 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 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.