Carol White Family Centre

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

Carol White Family Centre is located within the grounds of Selwyn College. It is governed by a management committee made up of centre staff, as well as school and parent representatives. A centre director oversees day-to-day operations with the support of two team leaders. There are two learning areas for different age groups of children.  Most children attending are of Afghanistani heritage.

Summary of Review Findings

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences.

The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. It supports the right of each child to be confident in their own culture and encourages children to understand and respect other cultures.

Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Ongoing monitoring is required to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.

Actions for Compliance

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

• Having a current Fire Evacuation Scheme that is approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (HS4).

• Ensuring equipment, premises and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children. Considerations of hazards must include but is not limited to cleaning agents, medicines, poisons, and other hazardous materials; electrical sockets; vandalism, dangerous objects, and foreign materials; windows and other areas of glass and bodies of water (HS12).

• Having a written child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014 (HS31).

• Having a written procedure for safety checking of all children’s workers before employment or engagement of the worker commences; and maintaining a record of all safety checks and the results, including risk assessment procedures (GMA7A).

Next ERO Review

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

Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

20 June 2023

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 regulatory 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)

• relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

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 Carol White Family Centre

How well placed is Carol White Family Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Carol White Family Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Carol White Family Centre is located in the Selwyn College Campus, next to classrooms where children's parents participate in the REAF (Refugee Education and Families) programme. The centre is licensed for 41 children, including 12 up to two years of age. Infants and toddlers have a separate indoor area but often mix with the older children.

The multilingual staff reflect the centre’s ethnically diverse community. Four qualified teachers are supported by additional staff and volunteers who provide pastoral care and language support for children and their families. Daily management of the centre is delegated to a director. The centre is governed by a management committee of representatives from the centre staff, the school and parents. The committee is responsible for the financial and operational management of the centre.

In 2015 ERO noted positive aspects of the centre included the quality of relationships, leadership, and the curriculum experienced by children. ERO recommended that the committee and teachers develop a strategic plan and improve teacher appraisal processes. Some progress has been made in these areas.

The Review Findings

Children at this centre are confident, enthusiastic learners who negotiate, play cooperatively and spend time in focused activities of their choice. Infants and toddlers have very good opportunities to explore resources and the environment alongside older children. The indoor and outdoor areas provide a range of equipment that is attractive and inviting for children.

Teachers' caring, and welcoming interactions are strengthened by their in-depth knowledge about children's languages and cultures. Their conversations acknowledge children’s interests and they listen carefully to children. Teachers are working to grow their understanding of tikanga and increase their use of te reo Māori. Children are well supported to learn and communicate in English, and often in several other languages. Teachers regularly integrate literacy experiences into children’s play.

Parents appreciate the high level of respect for their languages, cultural values and identities. They are well informed about their children's learning. Parents are encouraged to make comments and share their aspirations for children's learning in their first language. Families value teachers' and pastoral support workers' commitment to help them maintain their sense of wellbeing and belonging in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Teachers discuss each child's strengths and interests. They are increasingly using this information to record children's learning. Attractive individual learning records show that children have opportunities to investigate, ask questions and play cooperatively with others. Teachers skilfully assess each child's learning and recognise their progress over time.

Teachers now need to evaluate the impact of the curriculum on children's learning. It would be useful to regularly report this information to the management committee to celebrate the learning that is happening for children at the centre.

Centre staff enact a shared vision to empower children and families through culturally responsive teaching practices and effective pastoral care provision. The director supports teachers to grow leadership skills through having increased responsibility for aspects of centre operations. Teachers' capability is enhanced through extensive professional development, including participation in research projects. The management committee continues to support the director and staff to maintain operational requirements and make ongoing improvements.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps include:

• the management committee and teachers evaluating and documenting progress towards meeting the service's strategic goals

• the management committee and director implementing a teacher appraisal process that meets Teaching Council requirements

• teaching staff implementing and documenting a cycle of internal evaluation for improvement.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Carol White Family 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.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

2 October 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

The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

• Very well placed

• Well placed

• Requires further development

• Not well placed

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.