2 Tennyson Avenue, Takapuna, 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 Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre 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 |
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 |
Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre is a well-established privately owned service. A manager and supervisor are responsible for governance and management. They provide professional support for a team of seven qualified kaiako and three unqualified staff. A small number of Māori children are enrolled.
ERO’s 2016 report identified sound governance systems and positive relationships between kaiako, whānau and children. These strengths continue to be evident.
Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging in this service. They have an active role in leading the programme. Children are very well supported by kaiako to make choices, take risks, and engage in a wide variety of play.
Children under the age of two years develop secure, trusting relationships with kaiako. They experience a well-paced and predictable routine that responds to their changing needs and preferences. Leaders and kaiako have a strong focus on supporting children to develop social and emotional competence based on a kaupapa Māori approach.
Service leaders have a sustained commitment to teaching and learning practices that contribute to positive outcomes for children. Leaders and teachers implement a rich localised curriculum that is supported by active engagement with the community. The service’s relationship with local kaumatua and kuia, supports staff to develop a deeper knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. Expertise in the Pupuke Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning, in which the service is involved, also supports kaiako growth and knowledge.
Parents who spoke with ERO highlighted the positive partnerships they have with kaiako, centred on children’s learning and development. Leaders ensure children’s and whānau perspectives influence service operations.
A system for internal evaluation helps leaders and kaiako gather relevant data to identify priorities and actions for ongoing improvement. Service leaders are now working towards ensuring the same depth of reflection is evident in curriculum planning.
A distributed leadership model has led to professional accountability and collective responsibility among kaiako. The long serving leadership team has created a positive working environment that facilitates low turnover of staff and is conducive to the delivery of a high-quality curriculum.
Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Takapuna Kids Early Childhood 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
15 April 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre |
| Profile Number | 20079 |
| Location | Takapuna, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
53 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 3 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
15 April 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2016 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre is a privately owned centre in Takapuna, Auckland. It provides full-day care and education for infants and toddlers and for children up to five years of age. The service provider is an experienced manager in early childhood education. The supervisor and many of the staff are experienced teachers and long-serving staff members at the centre.
The centre is well designed and resourced to create an attractive and stimulating learning environment, with separate areas for different age groups. The large outdoor areas invite exploration, promote challenge, and provide opportunities for children of all ages to extend their physical skills.
The centre philosophy focuses on developing children as competent and capable learners through a holistic programme and respectful relationships. Teachers provide a very good standard of education and care, with an emphasis on knowing and valuing children as individuals. Staff are committed to developing strong relationships and effective communication with families/whānau.
The centre has a positive ERO reporting history. Centre leaders and staff have responded well to recommendations from the 2013 ERO review.
Children have a strong sense of belonging and ownership of the centre. They have many opportunities to make choices and to contribute to decisions about activities and routines. Teachers use effective strategies to help children to develop independence and social skills. Interactions between teachers and children are affirming and respectful.
Teachers use conversation and questioning well to extend children’s vocabulary, knowledge and interests. They encourage problem solving, and imaginative and creative play. High levels of engagement in learning and sustained play are evident. Teachers incorporate early literacy and numeracy learning into conversations and activities.
Learning programmes are based on children’s emerging interests and underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Teachers plan responsive learning programmes which incorporate group and individual focuses. The programme for children under two includes a particular focus on children’s developmental stages and individual needs. Ongoing programme review continues to strengthen teachers’ understanding and implementation of these approaches. Teachers are currently looking at strengthening ways in which they develop children’s language skills and respond to children’s verbal and non-verbal communication.
The centre is well resourced. The spacious environment is organised into separate areas of play where children are able to play independently or cooperatively. Positive relationships are evident between children of different ages in each room, and babies and toddlers have opportunities to interact with older children. Transition within the centre is well considered and responsive to individual children’s requirements. Staff have good processes to support older children’s transition to school and are continuing to enhance these processes.
Staff maintain positive relationships with family and whānau. Teachers use a range of strategies to provide parents with good information about their children’s learning and development. Parents have opportunities to input into centre programmes, reviews and decision making. The introduction of an electronic system for sharing children’s learning is enhancing communication and enabling greater input from families into their children’s learning.
Teachers are making good use of external professional development, staff strengths and whānau support to strengthen ways in which they reflect the bicultural heritage of New Zealand. Leaders have identified this as an area for ongoing development to further build the confidence and capability of all teachers in the use of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori.
The service provider and supervisor provide high quality professional leadership and promote a culture of collaborative practice and ongoing improvement. Professional learning and development is well considered. Improved staff appraisal processes reflect current best practice. There are many opportunities for teachers to take on responsibilities and ownership within the centre. Centre leaders are considering ways to further develop this shared leadership model.
The centre philosophy is evident in programmes and interactions. Leaders have a clear strategic direction that is supported by effective systems. Good self-review practices that involve all teachers have been established, and leaders are continuing to extend these practices. Strategic and annual planning processes and documents have been expanded. Ensuring that the alignment between these good management processes is clearly evident in strategic planning documentation should further enhance centre capacity and sustainability of practices.
ERO affirms the centre leaders’ plans to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Takapuna Kids Early Childhood 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.
The next ERO review of Takapuna Kids Early Childhood Centre will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
7 March 2016
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 |
Takapuna, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20079 |
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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 |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
55 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 24 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Korean |
5 48 2 |
|
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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 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
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Date of this report |
7 March 2016 |
||
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
December 2006 |
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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.