YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Since the onsite visit the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie is on the site of the Ellerslie Recreation Centre. It is one of four centres governed by YMCA Auckland Inc. The centre manager is a registered teacher and leads a team of four qualified teachers.

Summary of Review Findings

The service provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development.

A philosophy statement and annual plan guide centre operations. An ongoing process of self-review helps maintain and improve the quality of its education and care. Parents are provided with opportunities to communicate with teachers about the care and learning of their child.

Compliance

The service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:

• Providing sufficient spaces for equipment and materials to be stored safely. Stored equipment and materials can be easily and safely accessed by adults and where practicable, by children (PF8).
• Monitoring that kitchen and cooking facilities or appliances are designed, located, or fitted with safety devices to ensure that children cannot access them without adult assistance or supervision (PF17).
• Having a tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting hot water temperature (PF24).
• Heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).
• Ensuring adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with the children on an at least a three-monthly basis (HS8).
• Monitoring that water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
• Ensuring that when children leave the premises on an excursion, the permission slip shows parental approval prior to the excursion (HS17).
• Where food is provided by the service, foods that pose a high choking risk are not to be served unless prepared in accordance with best practice as set out in Ministry of Health: Reducing food-related choking for babies and young children at early learning services (HS22).
• Ensuring children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014. Safety checks must be undertaken, and the results obtained before the worker has access to children. The results of the safety checks must be recorded, and the record kept as long as the person is employed at the service (GMA7A).

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

14 October 2021 

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
• previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
• that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
• that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
• where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)
• evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

• discussions with those involved in the service
• consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
• observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.

1 Evaluation of YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie

How well placed is YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

The centre requires external support to continue to improve the quality of the programmes for children, and to meet the requirements of the Education Council and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care 2008.

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

Background

YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie is one of five centres under the umbrella of YMCA of Auckland Inc. Early in 2018, the service's group manager, early learning services, left her position. At the time of this ERO review the position remains vacant. The review of three centres has identified significant areas for development.

YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie provides both sessional and full-day options for children and whānau. The service can cater for up to 30 children in a mixed-age setting. It operates in the YMCA Recreation Centre. Families come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Most of the teachers are qualified. Some have not yet reached full registration as practising teachers. The YMCA provides a framework of policies, procedures and documentation to guide operations. The centre is led by a relieving centre manager.

This review was part of a cluster of three reviews in the YMCA of Auckland Inc organisation.

The Review Findings

Teachers greet children and their whānau warmly on arrival. They know children and whānau well and converse with whānau to strengthen partnerships. Teachers are calm, positive and encouraging with children and provide very good care. Children settle quickly and play well with their peers. Tuakana/teina relationships are evident, and this particularly supports the youngest children and those with additional needs.

Teachers respond to children's initiatives and encourage child-led play. The environment is attractive and resources are generally good quality and plentiful.

Children participate in a number of activities outside the centre during the week, making links with the local community and experiencing other spaces. It is important for teachers to now evaluate the outcome of these excursions for children. This would help to shape and inform their planning.

Bicultural understanding and knowledge is growing in the centre. Teachers use te reo Māori with children and they respond appropriately. Resources reflect the bicultural heritage of New Zealand, and displays celebrate the language.

Teachers acknowledge and value whānau input into their children's learning and the life of the centre. Whānau are confident to share information about their cultures and home experiences. Centre staff assist and support whānau in a number of ways to manage day-to-day challenges.

The relieving centre manager has initiated a number of positive changes in a short period. She has begun the process of building staff understanding of the revised early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki. Discussions amongst staff are helping teachers to become more confident to use this document's principles and strands. The centre manager encourages teachers to use the limited space in the centre as effectively as possible and to improve their practice. The impermanence and limited direction she has regarding her role has, she reports, hampered her making other positive changes.

Key Next Steps

Systems and practices requiring improvement include:

• developing more focused internal evaluation to gauge the quality of teaching and learning

• growing and supporting teachers' understanding about effective assessment, planning and evaluation

• developing a plan to outline centre goals and aims for teachers' work with children

• implementing appraisals for teachers that are focused on improved outcomes for children and are aligned to Education Council requirements.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie 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.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to management by YMCA of Auckland Inc. To meet requirements the service needs to:

• provide appraisal systems that reflect the requirements of the Education Council

• provide leadership training for teachers, especially centre managers

• monitor and evaluate teaching and learning practices to meet the requirements of Te Whāriki, and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008

• develop a strategic plan to guide its early childhood services.

Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, Regulation 47(1) (a), (b) (ii), (c) (i), (e), Regulation 43, (1) (a), (i), (iii), (iv), (vi), (b), C1, C2, C3, C4,C6, C11, PF13.

Development Plan Recommendation

ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of YMCA Early Learning Centre Ellerslie will be within two years.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

23 January 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 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.