BestStart Porchester Road

Education institution number:
46460
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
81
Telephone:
Address:

504 Porchester Road, Randwick Park, Auckland

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Topkids Porchester - 22/12/2016

1 Evaluation of Topkids Porchester

How well placed is Topkids Porchester to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

This is the first Education Review for Topkids Porchester, a purpose-built centre that opened in 2014. The centre is licensed for 110 children, including up to 20 children aged under two years in mostly all-day and some sessional provision. The indoor environment is divided into age-related rooms. The large spacious outdoor area is shared and allows for mixed-age play opportunities. Children aged up to two years have their own outdoor space.

Children and their families reflect the diverse cultures of the local community. Most children are either Māori, Pākehā, Samoan or Indian. Smaller numbers of other ethnicities also attend. Nearly two-thirds of all children have English as an additional language.

The recently reviewed centre philosophy and vision guide practices and developments at the centre. An important aspect of the service's philosophy is the development of a sense of whanaungatanga, including respectful relationships and encouraging reciprocal communication between whānau, teachers and staff.

The BestStart Education and Care Centres organisation provides this service with an overarching governance and management structure and support. It provides a van service to transport children who otherwise may not be able to attend an early childhood centre. The centre manager and head teachers provide leadership in the centre and work closely with a designated Professional Services Manager (PSM) and a Business Manager from BestStart. Most teachers are qualified or are in training. The centre has an administrator, cook and a van driver.

The Review Findings

Children and their families are warmly welcomed to the centre. Relationships and interactions with infants and toddlers are positive. Responsive caregiving supports infants' and toddlers' care needs.

Children participate in a semi-structured programme and are able to explore the environment freely. They make decisions about their own play choices. The learning environment is well organised and children have easy access to appropriate learning resources. Children who have additional learning needs are well supported.

Some good teaching practices are evident and teachers provide activities that support children's play choices. These practices could be enhanced by teachers using specific strategies to increase the quality of interactions amongst children and engaging in more in-depth conversation with them.

Some teachers use te reo Māori as part of the programme. Children learn waiata and older children participate in pōwhiri to welcome manuhiri to the centre. Teachers use home languages skilfully to communicate with parents and children. The diverse languages and cultures of children and their families are represented in centre activities and displays.

Parents participate and contribute to the curriculum and are welcome partners in their children's learning. Teachers offer many formal and informal opportunities to meet with parents to discuss their children's learning progress. They gather family aspirations to contribute to programme planning. On-line learning records allow families immediate access to information about their children’s learning. Teachers keep good quality records about children's individual interests, learning and development. Revisiting this information would help teachers respond to and extend children’s learning interests over time.

Well considered practices support children's sense of belonging as they transition into and within the service, and when moving on to school. Parents have the opportunity to learn about the Be School Ready programme. The centre manager and teachers are developing relationships with local schools to ensure that children make positive transitions to school.

The centre is well led by the centre manager and two team leaders. Very good use is made of the BestStart organisation's internal evaluation processes, appraisal and performance management systems. These processes are helping teachers to reflect on and improve their teaching practice. All staff are well supported by targeted and appropriate professional learning and development opportunities. This support is helping teachers to develop shared understandings about the practices that best promote children's learning and wellbeing.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders and BestStart personnel acknowledge that key next steps for ongoing improvement include:

  • continuing to develop the service's bicultural curriculum and practices

  • developing a child-centred curriculum that promotes children’s creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to build on their individual interests

  • fostering children's language development through meaningful conversations, learning experiences and the use of open-ended questions that allow their interests to lead learning

  • reviewing the infants' and toddlers' indoor learning environment to ensure the provision of comfortable spaces that encourage children's exploration and intellectual stimulation. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Topkids Porchester 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:

  • 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; 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Topkids Porchester will be in three years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

22 December 2016

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service 

Location

Takanini, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

46460

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

110 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

134

Gender composition

Boys 48% Girls 42%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Indian

Samoan

Chinese

Fijian

Middle Eastern

Cook Island Māori

other

15%

17%

19%

17%

5%

5%

5%

4%

13%

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:5

Meets minimum requirements

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

October 2016

Date of this report

22 December 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

No previous ERO reports

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.