Little Magpies Home Based

Education institution number:
46301
Service type:
Homebased Network
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
47
Telephone:
Address:

24 Leyland Street, Onekawa, Napier

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Little Magpies Home Based

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 Little Magpies Home Based are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

(What the service knows about outcomes for learners)

Whakaū Embedding

Ngā Akatoro Domains

 

Learning Conditions
 
Organisational Conditions

Whakaū Embedding

Whakawhanake Sustaining

2 Context of the Service

This service (previously known as Village Kids Home Based) is one of two Little Magpies home-based care networks. Two visiting teachers provide support for educarers and children across the Hawke’s Bay. A small number of Māori and Pacific children are enrolled. The service values of respect, resilience and relationships are prioritised.

3 Summary of findings   

The local curriculum, values and learning priorities effectively promote positive learning outcomes for children. Educarers are well supported by visiting teachers who use their skills and strengths to build a shared understanding of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, in action. As a result, children engage in a range of meaningful learning experiences, responsive to their needs. Children’s wellbeing and learning are nurtured.

Visiting teachers successfully advocate for those children requiring additional support to enhance their learning. They work closely with educarers, whānau and external agencies to achieve children’s learning goals. Learning focused partnerships enable children and their whānau to be active participants in planning and enacting the curriculum. Younger children confidently participate in inclusive environments alongside their older peers.

Aspects of te ao Māori are celebrated regularly in educarers homes and at playgroups. Places of significance to local iwi are regularly incorporated into parts of the programme. Children have opportunities to revisit the history of the area through meaningful literacy activities. The visibility of Māori children’s cultural worldviews within assessment documentation is not yet embedded in practice. Leaders continue to work towards deepening their cultural knowledge alongside whānau to promote a culturally responsive curriculum.

Comprehensive systems and processes are in place to improve the quality of teaching practice. Internal evaluation is used well to identify actions for improvement. Coherent processes align with achieving the services strategic objectives to promote equitable outcomes for children. Leaders receive regular information regarding children’s progress. They are yet to use this data to identify how well groups of children are progressing in terms of the service’s valued outcomes.  

4 Improvement actions

Little Magpies Home Based will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • work alongside whānau Māori and Pacific to identify what is culturally significant for their children to continue to strengthen leaders’ responsiveness to children’s learner identities

  • increase the visibility and recognition of children’s cultures, languages, and identities within learning experiences to further enrich the curriculum

  • strengthen the use of data related to groups of children within internal evaluation to gain insight into how well equitable outcomes for children are being achieved.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Magpies Home Based 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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

20 October 2022 

6 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Little Magpies Home Based

Profile Number

46301

Location

Napier

Service type

Home-based service

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2

Service roll

51

Review team on site

August 2022

Date of this report

20 October 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, February 2018; Education Review, March 2015

Village Kids Home Based - 21/03/2018

1 Evaluation of Village Kids Home Based

How well placed is Village Kids Home Based 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

Village Kids Home Based is a home-based education and care service located in Havelock North, Hawkes Bay. The roll of 67 children includes eight who identify as Māori. The service is one of two Village Kids home-based care networks in Hawkes Bay. It is part of the Village Kids early childhood services.

A director and management coordinator oversee service operation. The quality of education is the responsibility of three coordinators who are qualified early childhood teachers.  A childcare consultant supports relationships with parents and whānau when they enrol their children, by providing a key point of contact.

The service has responded well to the areas for development identified in the March 2015 ERO report.  These included: reviewing how culturally responsive teaching is supported and embedded into the programme; and strengthening coordinators' appraisal process.

The Review Findings

Village Kids Homebased is improvement-focused and committed to providing high quality education and care. Well-aligned systems and processes contribute to improvement, sustainability and positive outcomes for children.

The service's philosophy emphasises the Village Kids organisation PAUA beliefs of:  the importance of play, appreciating others, understanding your attitude and attention to others. The philosophy is well known and reflected at all levels of the service.

Coordinators support educarers to provide a high quality programme, underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Educarers offer a wide range of learning experiences within the home environment and community, to support and extend children's interests. They encourage children’s input into and enjoyment of the learning process. Children's engagement and participation in the programme is well captured through a range of documentation.

Coordinators provide comprehensive support to educarers to undertake assessment, planning and evaluation. They model best practice through regular visits, playgroups and special events. This successfully contributes to responsive teaching and positive outcomes for children. There is a focus on supporting educarers understanding of and capability for working with Te Whāriki.  

The service has strengthened the integration of te ao Māori through the curriculum. Educarers are supported to build their knowledge and understanding of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. Incorporating local places of cultural significance into teaching and learning has been identified as a next step. ERO's evaluation confirms this, to make the curriculum more inclusive for Māori children.

Parents are valued partners in their child’s learning. Coordinators know the children and their families well. Regular sharing of information enables the service to incorporate what parents value for their child’s education and care.

Children up to the age of two years are well supported through a carefully considered placement process responsive to the needs of the children and their parents. This successfully contributes to these young children's sense of belonging and need for secure attachments.

The service actively works with external agencies to provide a programme that appropriately responds to those children who require additional learning support. There is a well-considered approach to the placement of these children with an educarer.

A highly collaborative culture prevails. The skills, strengths and expertise of the team are valued and acknowledged through very clear roles and responsibilities. Opportunities for leadership are promoted. A robust appraisal process for coordinators contributes to their ongoing professional growth and development as teachers. Evaluation requires strengthening to determine the impact coordinator support has on educarer practice and how this improves outcomes for children.

Key systems to guide centre operation and practices have been established, with a regular cycle of review. A well implemented review process contributes to improvement, sustainability and positive outcomes for children. Leaders agree that strengthening evaluation should enable them to better know what is working, or not working and for who and why.

Key Next Steps

ERO and service leaders agree that key next steps are to continue to strengthen internal evaluation and strategies that support success for Māori as Māori.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Village Kids Home Based completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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 Village Kids Home Based will be in three years.

Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

21 March 2018 

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 Home-based Education and Care Service 

Location

Havelock North

Ministry of Education profile number

46301

Institution type

Homebased Network

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2

Service roll

67

Standard or Quality Funded

Quality

Gender composition

Girls 39, Boys 28

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Other ethnic groups

  8
58
  1

Number of qualified coordinators in the network

3

Required ratios of staff educators to children

Under 2

1:2

Over 2

1:4

Review team on site

January 2018

Date of this report

21 March 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

March 2015

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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014

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.