78 Central Park Drive, Henderson, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | 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 Lovingcare Kindergarten are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakaū Embedding |
Lovingcare Kindergarten is a well-established service that operates as part of the Auckland Christian Mandarin Church. It is governed by a management committee consisting of members of the church, parents, and a centre manager. The service has a bilingual Chinese curriculum and welcomes all cultures, valuing the diversity of the local community.
Children’s home languages are respected and frequently spoken by teachers on a regular basis. Children have many opportunities to learn other languages. They are encouraged to share their cultures and to use their language with others.
Children experience an environment where te reo Māori and tikanga Māori practices are naturally woven throughout the curriculum. Younger and older children continuously learn with and from each other. Children’s learning is highly visible within the environment. This has been an intentional focus by teachers that has resulted in partnerships with parents/whānau that focus on children’s learning.
Children are viewed as articulate and capable learners. They engage confidently with their teachers and peers, sharing ideas and choosing their areas of interest. The well-designed indoor play space and expansive outdoor environment provoke children’s curiosity and imaginative play, as well as supporting risk-taking and physical development.
Curriculum planning and assessment processes are well embedded. Teachers intentionally plan for and extend children’s interests and learning dispositions. Assessment records show children’s learning and progress. Teachers respond to families’ aspirations for their children’s learning.
Internal evaluation documents clearly show the changes and improvements that have contributed to improved learning outcomes for children. Service leaders encourage shared leadership within the teaching team. Leaders and teachers participate in regular professional learning to increase their professional knowledge.
Leaders collaboratively enact the centre’s philosophy, vision, goals and priorities for children’s learning. There are high levels of relational trust amongst the centre manager, staff, whānau and the board.
Lovingcare Kindergarten will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
To use resources such as Tapasa and Tātaiako, to grow leaders’ and teachers’ cultural competency and shared understanding of effective teaching practices for Māori and Pacific children.
To strengthen planning and assessment by documenting children’s critical thinking and how they make meaning about their world.
Before the review, the staff and management of Lovingcare Kindergarten 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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
20 January 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Lovingcare Kindergarten |
|
Profile Number |
10110 |
|
Location |
Henderson, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
30 children over 2 years of age |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
|
Service roll |
26 |
|
Review team on site |
December 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
20 January 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2019; Education Review, April 2015 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Lovingcare Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Lovingcare Kindergarten in Henderson, Auckland, provides all-day and sessional education and care for up to 30 children over two years old. The centre's philosophy focuses on fostering children's sense of themselves as unique through a nurturing and supportive environment with Christian beliefs.
The centre operates as part of the Auckland Christian Mandarin Church. It is governed by a management committee consisting of members of the church, parent representatives and centre managers. The church set up the kindergarten to contribute to the local community and provide ways for the members and Chinese families to engage with other members of the community.
The 2015 ERO report highlighted teachers' skilful use of home language to communicate with children and parents, and the centre manager's professional approach to centre operations. These continue to be a feature of the centre. The report identified a number of suggestions, including reviewing programme routines, integrating te reo Māori into the programme, and strengthening internal evaluation. The centre has responded positively to these recommendations.
Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. Teachers maintain a calm tone, where respectful interactions contribute to children's strong sense of wellbeing. Parents value the approachability of the staff and appreciate having a voice in centre operations. Many aspects of the centre philosophy are enacted by teachers. Children have opportunities to feel proud about their cultural heritage. Teachers celebrate important festivals and include recognition of cultures in children's portfolios and the centre environment.
Children's emotional and social competencies are well promoted. Children play in collaborative and friendly groups.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, continues to be the guiding document for centre planning and assessment. Centre-wide planning is based on children's interests. Teachers should now document intentional teaching and learning outcomes in the planning. This could help them to develop more learning challenges and opportunities for deeper exploration and meaningful learning within the context of children's play.
Teachers include te reo Māori through greetings, waiata, stories and numeracy. They continue to work towards increasing the use of spoken te reo Māori at group times and in their conversations with children.
Parents are provided with good information about their children's learning and involvement in the programme. Teachers gather parent aspirations and use these for developing children's learning experiences. Teachers record children's individual learning and progress over time very well.
The centre is well managed. The centre manager values a collaborative working approach. Good systems are in place, and strategic and annual plans guide practices. Centre leaders agree it is timely to strengthen the use of strategic goals. Internal evaluation is used well to inform ongoing improvements. Performance management systems have been strengthened to deepen teachers' reflection on their practice. Individual 'teaching as inquiry' has been introduced.
There is a strong sense of mutual respect and confidence between the governance committee and the centre. The committee is well informed about systems and processes that guide centre operations. Generous financial provision supports teachers' professional learning and development. This training impacts positively on learning outcomes for children.
The key next steps are to:
consider ways to use the learning environments to better support children to be problem solvers, critical thinkers and active explorers
document and evaluate intentional teaching and learning outcomes in programme planning
develop measurable indicators for strategic goals, and then evaluate how well these are being met over time.
Before the review, the staff and management of Lovingcare 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
7 March 2019
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.
|
Location |
Henderson, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10110 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
27 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 March 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
April 2015 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
July 2012 |
||
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2011 |
||
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 will depend on how well the service promotes 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.
Lovingcare Kindergarten is a small centre in Henderson, Auckland that provides all day education and care for up to 30 children over two years old. The centre operates as part of the Auckland Christian Mandarin Church and is governed by a management committee. Christian beliefs and values are reflected in the centre programme and the philosophy.
Progress has been made in responding to areas for development noted in ERO’s 2012 report. Planning and assessment processes and performance management have improved. Good management and leadership continue to be evident.
Children explore the environment freely and make decisions about their own play choices. The learning environment is well organised and children have easy access to appropriate learning resourcing.
Some good teaching practices that support children’s play are evident. Teachers skilfully use home languages to communicate with parents and children. They provide activities for children, but not all children engage well with these activities. Teachers could review routines such as group times and early pack up times and how they impact on children’s learning. Teachers also need to increase the quality of conversations and interactions amongst children and with staff to better support children's engagement.
Teachers collect good planning and assessment information. They know children well and keep good records about their individual interests. Portfolios reflect children’s participation in the programme. Teachers could use this information to better show how they respond and extend children’s learning interests over time.
Teachers are currently carrying out a review of their bicultural curriculum. Some basic words and phrases in te reo Māori are displayed in the centre. As part of the review teachers could consider:
The centre manager has a professional approach to centre operations. She receives good support from the governing committee. Teachers access appropriate professional learning and development. The centre manager has well-established processes in place that support self review. Self review is closely aligned to the centre’s strategic plan and includes input from staff and parents.
Centre leaders and ERO agree that key next steps for ongoing centre development include:
ERO recommends that centre managers access professional learning and development for teachers to support these improvements.
Before the review, the staff and management of Lovingcare 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:
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 Lovingcare Kindergarten will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
10 April 2015
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.
|
Location |
Henderson, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
10110 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
44 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 13 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese South East Asian Pacific Nations (Niue, Tuvalu, Samoan) Other |
5 8 13 7 6 5 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
10 April 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Supplementary Review |
July 2012 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2011 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
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.