Three Trees Learning Centre

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence. 

ERO’s judgements for Three Trees Learning Centre are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Three Trees Learning Centre is privately-owned. A new centre manager oversees daily operations. A professional services manager supports governance. The roll is culturally diverse. A number of children identify as Māori. Progress has been made in relation to key next steps identified in ERO’s 2020 report, particularly in relation to assessment.

3 Summary of findings

Children’s learning and development is well supported through intentional and responsive teaching practices. A key teacher approach fosters secure relationships with infants and toddlers. Older children benefit from a curriculum that includes aspects of the Reggio Emilia philosophy where their ideas and creativity are fostered and developed, through carefully prepared environments and learning experiences. 

Clear expectations have been developed to guide planning and assessment for learning. Learning goals are developed in consultation with parents and, where appropriate, external agencies. Children’s strengths, interests, developing capabilities and dispositions are summarised as a ‘celebration of learning.’ Their progress over time is yet to be consistently documented in relation to the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Greater visibility of the child’s culture, language, and identity is needed within assessment documentation. 

Further development is required to implement a rich bicultural curriculum. This includes extending opportunities for children to hear and use te reo Māori through the programme. Leaders’ understanding in relation to local places and histories has grown through consultation with mana whenua. This knowledge is beginning to be incorporated within curriculum experiences. 

Systems and processes are well established, including professional growth cycles. However, internal evaluation for improvement is not yet well understood by all teachers. Leaders agree the process needs refining to build capability across the teaching team.

Distributed leadership and good governance practices are evident. Leaders model accountability and collective responsibility, with a focus on teacher wellbeing. 

4 Improvement actions

Three Trees Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• Continue to build all teachers’ capability and confidence to use a greater range of te reo Māori within the curriculum.
• Further develop shared understandings of Te Whāriki learning outcomes and use these to document children’s developing capabilities and learning progress over time. 
• In partnership with parents and whānau, make visible children’s languages, cultures, and identities within planning and assessment practices.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Three Trees Learning Centre completed an ERO 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:

• curriculum
• premises and facilities
• health and safety practices
• governance, management and administration.

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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
• relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

 25 March 2024 

6 About the Early Childhood Service