306 West Coast Road, Glen Eden, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Talented Tots Early Childhood Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Talented Tots Early Childhood Centre in Glen Eden provides full-day education and care for 40 children, including 12 up to the age of two years. The culturally diverse roll includes small numbers of Māori and Pacific children. Children are catered for in two age-based rooms, with children from three months to approximately three years in the Fantail room, and older children in the Pukeko room.
The centre is owned and operated by CTA Enterprise Ltd, which owns three other centres in Auckland. Governance and management are the responsibility of the owner, with the assistance of an administrator. An external advisor has been employed by CTA Enterprise Ltd, to support the three centres with many aspects of centre operations. A centre leader has oversight for day-to-day operations.
The centre's philosophy is consistent with the intentions of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and acknowledges the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It promotes respectful and caring relationships, partnership with parents, and a rich learning environment to support children’s learning.
The 2016 ERO report commented positively on teachers' partnerships with parents, the strategic approach to improvement, support for children to transition to school, and for the centre leader and her staff. The report identified areas for improvement, including performance management, internal evaluation, the use of te reo Māori and provision for children with additional learning needs and abilities. Good progress has been made in these areas.
Children experience positive relationships with their teachers and with each other. They have many opportunities to learn in all areas of the curriculum. Their interactions with teachers support their oral language development effectively.
Each teacher working with children under two years of age has a primary caregiving role for a small group. This approach supports the establishment and maintenance of learning partnerships with children's parents.
Teachers know children and their families very well. They use a broad range of approaches to talk with parents and discuss their children’s learning. Teachers and parents work together to ensure that transitions into and within the centre, and on to school, are well managed.
The learning environment is generally well resourced, and children have ready access to the indoor and outdoor areas. The spacious outdoor areas encourage children to engage in physical activity. Children in the younger age group would benefit from easier access to a wider range of resources.
Good progress has been made to strengthen the assessment of children’s learning and programme planning. Teachers actively seek parents’ aspirations for their children and include these in their learning plans. Improving the ways that they record and share their knowledge of children's cultures and languages, would help all staff to support children in their cultural identity.
Planning for group learning is thoughtful and supports responsiveness to children's interests. Aspects of te ao Māori are intentionally included. Programme evaluation encourages teachers to consider the effectiveness of plans to enhance children's learning. Teachers could now specifically identify the strategies and activities that they intend to use to extend children's learning.
Teachers are well supported to improve their practice. The service provider has strengthened the appraisal process and ensures that targeted professional development is well resourced. The external mentor has unpacked Te Whāriki (2017) with the staff, who are now using their new knowledge to inform and reflect on their practice.
The service provider and staff have a clear vision and shared values that guide decisions related to the curriculum. A policy framework guides centre operations. Some policies and procedures were updated during the course of this review.
Centre leaders have a strong focus on improvement, and this is supported by a strategic plan that is informed by internal and external evaluation. The managers are exploring how they can strengthen processes for monitoring and evaluating progress towards strategic goals.
Key next steps include:
strengthening programme planning by being more specific about the teaching strategies and learning experiences that teachers will use to support the learning of individual children
making more explicit how teachers are working in partnership with whānau to support children's home language and cultural identity
regularly evaluating progress towards strategic goals.
Before the review, the staff and management of Talented Tots 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:
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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
24 January 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 |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25329 |
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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 |
40 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
43 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 22 Girls 21 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese Indian Samoan other ethnic groups |
2 12 8 8 4 9 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
24 January 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2019 |
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Education Review |
October 2012 |
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Education Review |
April 2009 |
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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.
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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.
Talented Tots Early Childhood Centre is situated in West Coast Road, Glen Eden, Auckland and provides education and care for children from three months of age to five years who come from a diverse range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. There are seven children of Māori descent and four from Pasifika cultures enrolled. The centre is licensed for 40 children, including 12 up to the age of two years.
This centre is one of four in Auckland owned and operated by CTA Enterprise Ltd, a private family-owned company. The centre owner, also the service provider, governs the centre and provides overall financial management. A group manager is employed to provide professional leadership, and support and guidance for the centre leader in all aspects of centre operation.
Since the 2012 ERO review, there has been significant organisational and personnel change in the centre. Most of this development has taken place quite recently. Management has revised the leadership structure within the centre and appointed a centre leader who has oversight of the whole centre. She took up this position in September 2015. More recently, the age-based rooms have been reorganised to cater for children from three months to three years (Fantail Room) and children from three to five years (Pukeko Room). In addition, there have been significant upgrades and modification of the centre environment, which has improved learning and care spaces for children and teachers.
The group manager, in her role as professional leader has strengthened self-review processes. The centre leader is beginning to implement this model with her teachers and the programme philosophy has been recently reviewed by the teaching team. This philosophy aims to provide a child-centred programme where children learn through play. There is a strong focus on developing and maintaining respectful and caring relationships, and teachers are increasingly focussed on establishing reciprocal partnerships for learning with parents and whānau.
In 2015, management employed an external consultant to provide professional learning and development for teachers about assessment, planning and evaluation. Teachers are enthusiastic about this professional learning journey, which is impacting positively on their practice. This important work is in the early stages. Teachers' confidence in, and understanding of, best practice in these areas is developing and will be an ongoing area for development.
The centre has a positive reporting history with ERO and was one of three CTA Enterprise Ltd. centres reviewed.
Children, toddlers and babies are quickly settled into play on arrival. They explore and learn in a well-planned and an interesting environment. There is a wide range of high quality equipment and materials for children to choose from. They use these for creative and imaginative purposes in their learning and play. They are developing early concepts of literacy and mathematics. Teachers are continuing to strengthen biculturalism in the curriculum through relevant contexts for learning and incidental use of te reo Māori. There is now a need for teachers to make routines for the younger children more flexible and responsive, and to improve the flow of sustained and uninterrupted play.
Teachers know families well and establish respectful, reciprocal relationships with parents and whānau. Parents and teachers regularly share important information about the care and wellbeing of children. Parents are invited to share information with teachers about the abilities, needs and interests of their children. Teachers develop and document individual children's Pathway Plans (IPPS) from this information. They regularly meet as a team to discuss children's interactions and development, and to plan programmes to meet identified needs and interests. They record and share children's learning and development with families through individual portfolios. Parents and children enjoy accessing their portfolios to share and revisit happy events, successes and learning experiences.
Teachers support parents and children to transition smoothly into school as they near school age. A reciprocal relationship with a nearby school has been developed, enabling children to become familiar with new people and routines.
The group manager has developed a respectful working partnership with the centre leader. A recent shift in strategic planning practice has resulted in centre leaders prioritising areas for development with their teams. This approach is leading to a strong sense of ownership and a clear vision for centre improvement amongst staff. Management recognises the importance of providing ongoing professional development for leaders in the area of strategic planning and self review.
The centre leader is establishing clear expectations for a newly formed team of teachers. She is focussed on building a collaborative team culture and staff appreciate her consultative style. Together with teachers, she is engaging in professional learning about teaching and assessment, with coaching and mentoring from an external consultant. This whole-centre ongoing approach is having a positive influence on teachers' work and they are beginning to reflect more closely on their practice. There is now a much stronger emphasis on noticing, recognising and responding to individual children, leading to improved learning outcomes for them.
The centre leader and teachers are benefiting from external and internal coaching and mentoring to improve their practice.
ERO team, managers and the centre leader agreed that the following priority areas for continuing development are to:
In addition, management should continue to work with an external provider to develop a strategic and systematic self-review system and processes that focus on all aspects of the service's operations. Particular attention should be given to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Talented Tots 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 Talented Tots Early Childhood Centre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
21 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.
|
Location |
Glen Eden, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25329 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
44 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 24 Girls 20 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Indian Samoan South East Asian Cook Island Latin American Other European |
7 17 6 3 3 2 1 1 4 |
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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 |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
21 March 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
||
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.