Wellsford Preschool Education Centre - 03/02/2021

• On this page:

• 1 ERO’s Judgements
• 2 Context of the Service
• 3 Summary of findings
• 4 Improvement actions
• 5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
• 6 Compliance
• About the Early Childhood Service

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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence. Information about Akarangi | Quality Evaluations can be found here.

ERO’s judgements for Wellsford Preschool Education Centre are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Wellsford Preschool Education Centre is a privately owned and operated service in the rural community of Wellsford. Twenty percent of children enrolled are Māori. Small numbers of children from diverse ethnic groups attend the service.

The service provider, who is also the manager, is responsible for daily operations. There are seven qualified and four unqualified teachers.

ERO’s 2017 report identified the need to strengthen the documentation of curriculum planning and teacher appraisal. Some progress is evident in these areas.

3 Summary of findings

Children have opportunities to explore and participate in a wide range of learning experiences. They experience positive relationships with their peers and are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and the wellbeing of others. Infants and toddlers benefit from engaging and responsive interactions with their teachers.

Teachers thoughtfully resource the learning environment to encourage children’s thinking and creativity. They provide good opportunities for children to explore and care for their natural world. Children are well supported as they settle into the service and then move onto school. The manager proactively seeks support for children with additional needs through liaison with external agencies.

Teachers have established positive relationships with parents. They could now prioritise working more closely with families in ways that focus on children’s learning. Teachers could also improve assessment records by increasingly making links with the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

The manager and teachers have created a positive and enthusiastic working environment. This has resulted in long-serving staff who are beginning to lead shifts in practice based on their individual strengths. Professional development has also contributed to teachers’ knowledge and thinking about ways to improve their teaching practice. Evaluating the impact of improved practices on outcomes for learners could assist teachers to sustain these improvements.

Leaders and teachers are developing a philosophy that shows their values and beliefs about how children learn. Opportunities for teachers to share leadership responsibilities are being explored. Systems and processes to guide service operations are established. Developing and evaluating long-term goals could help the team to document their priorities for children’s learning, monitor the effectiveness of operational systems and to progress their overall strategic direction.

4 Improvement actions

Wellsford Preschool Education Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• sharing the knowledge and skills within the team to increase the collective use of te reo Māori and integration of tikanga Māori in the curriculum

• establishing a process for internal evaluation that focuses on outcomes for learners

• developing and evaluating long-term goals to monitor and improve the effectiveness of systems and teaching practices.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Wellsford Preschool Education 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.

6 Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances relating to:

• gaining written authority from parents for the administration of medicines to children (HS28)
• implementing a process that consistently meets all aspects of safety checking requirements (GMA7A)
• having an annual plan that identifies ‘who’ in relation to key tasks undertaken each year (GMA8).

Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

3 February 2021

About the Early Childhood Service