99 Trafalgar Street, Lower Hutt CBD, Lower Hutt
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Waterloo Kindergarten provides sessional education and care for up to 44 children, aged over two years. Of the total roll of 59, six children are Māori and three are of Pacific heritage. The kindergarten serves a culturally diverse community.
The philosophy emphasises inclusion and relationships. The teaching team are mainly long-serving with the recent addition of a new teacher. They are all fully qualified.
Waterloo Kindergarten is one of 19 in the Lower Hutt region, governed and managed by Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Since the June 2015 ERO report, a new senior leadership team has been appointed. This includes a general manager and two senior teachers, guided by a team leader. The governance board has also undergone significant changes.
The previous ERO report identified key next steps these included: strengthening assessment, planning and evaluation; increasing the use of te reo Māori; and acknowledging ethnic backgrounds of other children. Responsiveness to Māori and children from other ethnic backgrounds remain areas requiring development.
The association also had some areas for development, including: strategic planning; cultural responsiveness to Māori and Pacific families; evaluation; and the appraisal process. Good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of eight in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
Children benefit from positive, respectful relationships with their peers and teachers. Teachers sensitively promote children’s social competence and wellbeing, with a range of respectful strategies. Children play confidently with their friends for sustained periods.
Reciprocal relationship with adjacent Waterloo School supports confident transitions to school.
The curriculum effectively promotes sustainability, garden and nature exploration, active movement and risk taking. Useful learning spaces are provided to support children’s emerging interests and their growing visual arts and early literacy skills.
Teachers acknowledge that the philosophy requires urgent review, to reflect the current aspirations and valued learning outcomes of the kindergarten's community. Plans are in place to do this work. Teachers should ensure that this work includes establishing specific agreed teaching practices and indicators of success.
ERO's evaluation confirms senior leadership identification that development of the bicultural curriculum is a key next step. This is likely to be supported by the association’s current strategic focus on bicultural practices. Association leaders should focus on building teachers’ understanding of specific strategies, in partnership with whānau, to promote the learning success of Māori and Pacific children.
A strong, purposeful cycle of assessment, planning and evaluation is in place. This is a kindergarten strength. Teachers liaise closely with parents to construct meaningful and relevant goals and strategies that are tailored to individual children. This planning is enacted in practice and monitored and evaluated for success through clear evidence of children’s progress over time. As a next step, teachers should ensure that planning for individual children makes use of rich information about their culture, language and identity. Group planning is effective.
Teachers acknowledge that they are not yet sufficiently engaging with internal evaluation processes. They are being supported to grow their evaluation practice through very useful association systems and tools. Senior teachers should continue to work with teachers to build their capacity to evaluate the effect of their practice on children’s learning, particularly through the use of measureable indicators of success.
The senior teacher should continue to focus on providing challenge, guidance and monitoring in the areas identified in this review to progress key next steps.
A comprehensive, well-considered appraisal process is in place. Teachers challenge themselves to continually improve their practice through strategic goal-setting and professional learning. Plans are in place to further strengthen this system by developing an inquiry-based approach to teacher appraisal. ERO's evaluation confirms this direction. This should support teachers to better measure the success of improved practices in promoting outcomes for specific children and priority groups.
The governance board includes a wide range of community representation and useful skills. The board and senior leadership team work well together, with a shared commitment to meeting its goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Resource allocation clearly aligns with this focus. The board and senior leadership actively seek equitable and inclusive ways to eliminate barriers to children’s learning and wellbeing.
ERO, the governance board and senior leaders agree that the association's next steps are to:
monitor, evaluate and report on the extent to which children and their families’ outcomes are improved though systems, processes and initiatives. This should include consideration of impact on specific priority groups
consider ways to increase opportunities for whānau to actively contribute to the association’s operation and strategic direction.
The association's senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. Robust, linked systems and processes have been skilfully developed to guide and grow teacher capability and positively impact children’s learning. Leaders successfully foster a collective sense of responsibility for the vision, values and mission of the association.
ERO and kindergarten teachers agree that their priority next steps are to:
build culturally responsive practices
develop a bicultural curriculum
develop and embed internal evaluation.
The association agrees they should increase focus on:
measuring outcomes for children and their families
developing whānau and community partnership practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of Waterloo Kindergarten 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 Waterloo Kindergarten will be in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
12 September 2018
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 |
Lower Hutt |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5340 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
44 children aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
59 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 36, Girls 23 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
August 2018 |
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Date of this report |
12 September 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
August 2012 |
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Education Review |
March 2009 |
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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.
Waterloo Kindergarten is located in Hutt City and provides education and care for children from two to five years of age. It offers morning sessions five days a week for older children and a shorter session for younger children, three afternoons a week. The kindergarten is licensed for up to 44 children. The roll has become increasing diverse and now includes families with a range of cultural backgrounds.
The teaching team is fully qualified. The programme is further assisted by support staff. The kindergarten has a positive reporting history with ERO. Plans to extend and redevelop the outdoor play area are likely to come to fruition later this year.
The August 2012 ERO report identified areas requiring further development. These included: the need to strengthen self review; further develop children and teachers' understanding of tikanga Māori; development of te reo Māori; and review some of the kindergarten’s routines. Professional learning and development has been accessed to improve aspects of practice. Teachers are committed to the ongoing acquisition of professional knowledge.
The kindergarten is governed by the Hutt City Kindergarten Association (the association). Two professional practice managers (PPMs) are employed by the association to provide professional support and guidance to teachers. Since the previous review there have been several changes to the General Manager.
This review was part of a cluster of ten kindergarten reviews in the Hutt City Kindergarten Association.
Children engage in sustained and purposeful play. They make choices from a wide range of learning experiences offered to arouse their curiosity, extend their interests or provide new directions to focus their attention. Teachers support them to problem solve and broaden their play. Well known routines provide a framework to the day.
Teachers welcome children and whānau as they arrive at the kindergarten. Parents are comfortable to settle at an activity with their child and talk with other parents or with the teachers. Teachers are respectful and keep parents informed of their child’s learning and kindergarten happenings. A warm, calm and inclusive atmosphere prevails.
Literacy is interwoven throughout the day and the programme. It is a strong feature of the curriculum. A well-considered approach ensures that there are many opportunities for children to increase their knowledge and participate and develop a wide range of literacy skills. Children’s physical, social and emotional development is well supported. As a result, they are confident and articulate in the kindergarten environment. They are willing to experiment and take risks in their learning.
Teachers, with support from the PPM, should improve their understanding of the purpose of assessment. Profile books and their learning stories are the main formal source of assessment information. These give a broad picture of the child’s participation and friendships and are informative and attractive for parents. Profile books should be strengthened by more regular entries focused on identifying children’s significant learning. Teachers should use this to plan how they can add depth and complexity through the use of intentional teaching strategies.
As an outcome of the 2012 ERO report findings, teachers planned an extensive self review. They developed an appropriate set of criteria, gathered information through a variety of methods and then collated and analysed this prior to making decisions. This is a workable and manageable process that could now be usefully applied to aspects of curriculum.
Te reo Māori is very evident in kindergarten documentation and the environment. However, teachers need to further develop their confidence and increase their use of te reo Māori in their interactions with children and whānau. They should consider how the cultural backgrounds of other families can be better acknowledged.
The association is part way through the implementation of a new approach to appraisal. Once fully established this should assist leaders to provide a robust, supportive and developmental process. Kindergarten leaders should then undertake regular monitoring of how well appraisal is being implemented in each kindergarten.
The board receives a range of useful information. A key next step is for leaders to provide more evaluative reporting to assist in decision making and ongoing resourcing. The strategic plan provides a vision and shared direction to guide development. Establishing clearer measures of success should strengthen evaluation of progress towards goals. In addition, strategies that promote cultural responsiveness to Māori and Pacific families should be highlighted in strategic documents.
The PPMs provide half-yearly written reports. These provide information about how the kindergarten is meeting legislative requirements and at times, make recommendations. These reports should be strengthened by providing critical feedback on the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving outcomes for children.
The association provides guidance and support for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. This includes:
At the time of this review the association was involved in a process of a formal review to determine the future direction of Hutt City Kindergartens. ERO identified that, within the current operating model, the capacity of senior staff to provide targeted support that promotes ongoing improvement to teaching and learning is limited.
ERO identified that priorities for improvement should include:
The association should:
Before the review, the staff and management of Waterloo Kindergarten 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)
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 Waterloo Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
22 June 2015
|
Location |
Lower Hutt |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5340 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
44 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
72 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 37, Boys 35 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Asian Pacific Other European |
8 43 16 3 2 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
May 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
22 June 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2006 |
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:
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.
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.