44 Cutfield Street, Inglewood
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Topkids Inglewood (formerly Rainbow Inglewood) is one of nine early learning services in the Taranaki region, owned and operated by Best Start Educare Limited (BestStart). It provides an all-day service for 65 children, including 25 aged up to two years. Children up to two years of age are cared for in a designated area. The toddlers and preschool areas have recently merged. Both play spaces have their own attractive outdoors area. Fourteen percent of the children enrolled identify as Māori.
This is the first ERO review since the change of ownership. Significant changes in regional leadership and local staffing have occurred since the centre's ownership changed. A business manager and newly-appointed professional services manager oversee the centre. Daily operation and curriculum implementation is delegated to a centre manager who is supported by two head teachers. Most teaching staff are qualified. The new owners have made significant improvements to the external areas.
This review was part of a cluster of five reviews in the BestStart organisation.
Children are encouraged to be independent, respectful learners. A range of experiences are provided to support them to progress. Teachers treat them as competent learners and encourage them to express their feelings and ideas. They are well supported in their play and to make their own decisions.
Babies and toddlers are offered and supported to make choices and decisions about their participation. Children confidently interact with adults and others in a family-like atmosphere. The learning environment is well designed to support interactions and is suitably resourced to encourage exploration.
Teachers model expected behaviours and actively support the development of children's sense of belonging. They encourage them to express their ideas and to build relationships with others. Teachers work with external agencies to plan programmes for children requiring additional learning support. The progress of these children is regularly monitored.
Children are well supported in their transition into and within the centre, through thoughtful and sensitive transition processes. The centre has strengthened its relationship with local schools and support agencies through an increased exchange of information and membership of the local Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.
The curriculum is responsive to the needs and interests of children. It acknowledges the cultures of centre families and places of significance in the local community. A next step is for teachers to deliberately plan learning opportunities that integrate literacy and numeracy into the curriculum and provide more deliberate support for the development of children's oral language.
Interactions and relationships are positive and supportive of children and their families. Teachers are strengthening their relationships with parents and whānau to develop partnerships for learning. They have worked to develop their understanding of te ao Māori and use of te reo Māori. Families from other cultures provide rich opportunities for other centre families to be involved in events of significance to them. These events are highly valued within the centre. Teachers should continue to grow their confidence and competence in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and in working with other cultures and to enrich the learning experiences for children.
The introduction of a digital assessment tool has promoted and enabled parents to give greater feedback and contribution to children's learning records. Leaders and teachers have identified a need to continue to develop their assessment, planning and evaluation processes. ERO's evaluation affirms this decision. Professional leaders should continue to support teachers to widen the range of teaching strategies and inquire into their effectiveness in adding depth and complexity to individual children’s learning. In particular they should:
plan specific, challenging teaching strategies to support individuals
monitor children's progress over time
explicitly address parent aspirations for their children's learning.
Useful frameworks guide mentoring and appraisal. Professional leaders have indicated that these systems are currently under review. This review should include consideration of how to strengthen:
individual goals and critical feedback and feed-forward
evidence to clearly demonstrate progress
individual teacher inquiries into the impact of their teaching practices on outcomes for children.
Self review is currently used for research and development. Leaders agree that they should now make the shift to using internal evaluation to support decisions about improvement. ERO's evaluation affirms this decision.
BestStart managers are supportive and improvement focused. They use knowledge of current best practice to guide and inform change. In 2017, this support has been disrupted while new regional managers have been appointed. This process has been completed. New managers should to resume regular support to individual centres through providing ongoing feedback on centre operation, feedback to teachers and regular professional development based on teacher needs and centre priorities.
BestStart management and centre leaders have identified that key next steps are to:
continue to strengthen assessment, evaluation and planning processes
review and strengthen the appraisal process
strengthen understanding and implementation of internal evaluation practices.
ERO agrees with these priorities. In addition ERO identifies the need for teachers to:
explore and implement an extended range of teaching strategies
integrate meaningful literacy and mathematics learning into the daily programme.
Before the review, the staff and management of Topkids Inglewood 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 Topkids Inglewood will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
25 September 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 |
Inglewood |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
50120 |
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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 |
65 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
100 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 59, Boys 41 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
14% |
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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 |
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Review team on site |
August 2017 |
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Date of this report |
25 September 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
This is the first review of this centre |
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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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rainbow Inglewood operates under the auspices of Kidicorp Ltd and is provided with strong support through the Professional Services Manager (PSM) and the Business Manager. The organisation also provides a sound policy framework, a wide range of procedures to guide performance and a budget that allows centres to operate with a high degree of individuality to suit their particular families and the neighbourhood in which they are located.
Over the past few months there have been several staffing changes with the appointment of a new centre manager, new head teachers and some new teachers. Developing into a strong team has been and still is a priority.
A recent building project to open up the infants and toddlers area has been a positive development. Since the previous ERO review in 2011, the centre has been relicensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and now operates under one licence. It provides education and care for up to 65 children, with a maximum of 25 up to two years old.
The philosophy of Kidicorp, “making a difference to children’s lives” supports the umbrella organisation’s beliefs and values. After extensive review as a result of the many staffing changes the centre philosophy has been the subject of in-depth and meaningful consultation. The resulting visual representation draws attention to the agreed virtues of enthusiasm, respect, caring, honesty and confidence.
Staff have written a statement indicating what respect will look like in practice. During ERO observations, these practices were evident in interactions between staff and children and among children themselves. Both children and adults use the language of the virtues.
Children take responsibility for leading their own learning. Their curiosity is encouraged and their decision-making assisted by the display of interesting, well-organised equipment and good quality resources. Children are engaged and busy. Literacy prompts and resources are placed throughout the centre and naturally incorporated into many aspects of play. Teachers know children well, respond to their cues, engage in conversations, use open questions and offer prompts and choices.
The centre is in the early stages of developing an understanding of tikanga Māori and making success for Māori visible. The centre manager has made links with the local iwi and others who may be able to work with centre personnel.
Infants and toddlers are encouraged to explore at their own pace. The atmosphere is calm, relaxed and geared to their natural rhythms. They have access to a wide range of appropriate resources.
Transition within the centre is unhurried and at the child’s own pace. Transition to school is an area the centre has identified for development and is working with schools and other centres to see how they can more actively support parents in the process.
The new manager is working with teachers and the PSM to develop a shared understanding about self review. The process is sound. Documentation indicates that both spontaneous and planned, longterm reviews have been undertaken. Staff are growing in confidence in using these processes which ultimately have a positive outcome for children. Self review should be strengthened through the use of a higher level evaluative question as a starting point.
Kidicorp has developed an improvement-focused appraisal process. The regular cycle for 2013 has been completed. Self reflection, discussion and appraiser feedback are integral parts of the system. The centre has identified that strengthening the quality of the feedback given to staff should make the procedure more useful. As well, the goals set need to be specific so that change and achievement can be more clearly evident and acknowledged. Professional learning and development is generally targeted to outcomes from the appraisal process.
Parents have been involved in some consultation and surveys. The area of partnerships for learning at the centre has been identified for further development. Questions and invitations are used to seek parental input in portfolios. Notice boards, with attractive informative displays aim to keep parents up-to-date with the programme and a range of activities of interest.
The assessment, planning and evaluation process is a work in progress. Staff are working on the notice, recognise, respond and evaluate procedures to guide programme development. At this stage, they recognise the interest and the learning taking place and are working on how to respond to this. Assessment for learning for individual children as part of this process is an area for development. In some instances portfolios and learning stories are incomplete.
Clear expectations for teaching, as defined by the centre, were evident in practice. Teachers successfully used these in a variety of situations when working with children. A positive development is that staff are beginning to discuss and evaluate their own practice.
The outside area for the up to two-year-old children is spacious and well set out. It provides challenge and is very easily accessible for these young children. The outside play area for the older children is in urgent need of a complete overhaul. Kidicorp Ltd is aware of the situation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rainbow Inglewood 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 Rainbow Inglewood will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services
Central Region
1 August 2014
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 |
Inglewood |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
50120 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education and Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
65 children, including 25 aged up to 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
103 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 58 Girls 45 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
14 86 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
1 August 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2011 |
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:
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.