Totara North Early Childhood Centre

1 Evaluation of Totara North Early Childhood Centre

How well placed is Totara North Early Childhood Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Totara North Early Childhood Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Totara North Early Childhood Centre provides full day education and care for children in the rural, coastal Whangaroa Harbour area. The centre is situated next to Totara North School and is operated by a community trust.

The centre's licence was amended in 2017 to increase the maximum roll to 37 children, including up to 10 children aged under two years. This amendment followed the development of Hinekā, a new space for babies and toddlers, in a historic residence leased from the adjoining school. The original centre, Ngākau Aroha, now accommodates the older children.

The increased centre capacity has resulted in additional staffing. The centre has also increased the number of weeks it is open, in response to community needs.

The recently reviewed centre philosophy is based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and values. It sets a challenge for the centre to reflect the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand in its programmes for children. Whanaungatanga, manaaki and aroha are core values that guide the centre's response to children and partnership with families/whānau.

The centre continues to have the positive education and care environment, and strong community connections, noted in previous ERO reports. Progress is evident with the next steps identified in the 2015 ERO report.

The Review Findings

Whanaungatanga guides teachers' thinking and actions. It is evident in the strong knowledge of, and support for, children and families. Interactions and relationships clearly show that these practices are embedded.

Children learn in an environment where relationships are respectful and positive, where they are affirmed as capable, competent learners. They enjoy their interactions and the choices they are encouraged to make about play. Through their play and conversations, children are beginning to learn about the languages and cultures of Aotearoa New Zealand. They also learn about caring for the environment around them.

Teachers provide programmes for individuals that are supportive and learning focused, based on their good knowledge of each child's background and development. Infants and toddlers experience nurturing care and education that responds effectively to their needs, strengths and interests. Older children's learning is extended by teachers using open-ended questions to prompt thinking.

Parents express confidence in the centre's provision for their children and feel included in decision making. The community trust board meetings provide a forum for community and parent/whānau contributions. The revised philosophy includes the voices of trustees, staff and whānau and reflects the shared vision of the centre community. To extend centre responsiveness to parents, teachers could ensure there is more visible inclusion of parent aspirations in records of children's learning.

Centre leaders have supported teachers to build collaborative and collegial teams for both Ngākau Aroha and Hinekā. Staff support the growth of the service and are responsive to new ideas that enhance programmes for children. Leaders could seek ways to draw on the leadership strengths and interests of individual teachers to support centre developments.

Staff have a shared commitment to the environment and people of Whangaroa. They are eager to extend their knowledge of te ao Māori through professional learning. This should provide a strong foundation for responding to the challenge of developing programmes and practices that align with the centre's bicultural philosophy.

Internal evaluation practices are developing. Teachers reflect on their practice and the curriculum they provide for children. Leadership and teacher inquiries contribute to collective and individual growth. Staff should continue to develop and embed evaluative practices to inform quality teaching practice.

Trustees monitor progress with the implementation of strategic plans and ensure policies and procedures are regularly reviewed. The centre manager is considering ways to strengthen strategic planning and processes that assure the board about compliance with licensing requirements.

Key Next Steps

Centre leaders agree that key next steps include continuing to:

• develop and embed internal evaluation to inform the board and leaders about the quality of programme planning and practices and the extent to which they align with the philosophy

• strengthen the quality of teachers' assessment of and planning for children's learning

• build teachers' confidence to increase the integration of te ao Māori in programmes.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Totara North 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:

• 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.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

20 November 2019

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

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

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.

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.