7-9 Clark Road, Kamo, Whangarei
View on mapERO’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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
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.
Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre is one of three services under the same ownership. The two owners support a professional practice manager who oversees all three services. There are eight teachers at this service, four of whom are qualified. A small number of children enrolled identify as Māori.
The service curriculum is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are provided with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance their learning and development.
The service curriculum acknowledges and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. Children are given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Service leaders must ensure regulatory standards are implemented, monitored, and maintained.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Ensuring equipment premises and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards; and hazards to the safety of children are eliminated, isolated, or minimised (HS12).
All children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014; detailed records should include the date of the risk assessment required to be completed after all relevant information is obtained (GMA7A).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
28 April 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre |
|
Profile Number |
11559 |
|
Location |
Kamo, Whangarei |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
44 |
|
Review team on site |
March 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
28 April 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2019; Education Review, March 2015 |
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.
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.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre is located in a residential and business area of Kamo. It is licensed to provide education and care for up to 50 children from two years to school age. More than half of the children enrolled are Māori.
Teachers are currently reviewing the centre's philosophy to reflect their vision of positive outcomes for children. At the heart of the philosophy is celebrating each child as a unique individual and providing a curriculum that is responsive to their emerging interests and strengths. Teachers are committed to extending children's learning, sparking their curiosity and passion for learning.
The centre has a new head teacher since the 2015 ERO review. Most of the teaching team are qualified early childhood teachers. An untrained teacher and a teacher aide/kaimahi support the teaching team. The centre manager oversees all personnel matters.
The 2015 ERO report commented positively about many aspects of teaching that contribute to children's learning. These good practices are still evident. Leaders and teachers have reviewed and strengthened the identified areas for development. The head teacher is focused on building leadership capacity, and a reflective, inquiring and collaborative team culture, to achieve positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing.
Children are articulate and confident explorers who lead their own learning. They are independent, enthusiastically engage in activities and find an interest to explore. Children are sociable, play well with their peers and form strong friendships. They confidently approach and engage with teachers. Children have a deep engagement with te reo Māori that is purposefully integrated into the learning programme.
Children benefit from a calm, caring and settled environment that fosters their sense of belonging and meaningful engagement in play. A culture of care and kindness pervades the centre. Effective teaching practices include:
warm, inclusive and respectful relationships
interactions with children that foster their sustained engagement in play
skilful use of research and theory that builds teacher capability
teachers communicating with each other and children to support seamless transitions throughout the day
managing transitions within the centre and to school.
The principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, are embedded in the centre philosophy and underpin teaching practices and curriculum planning and assessment. The programme is child-led. Play and having fun are valued, and the environment is viewed as the 'third teacher'. The indoor and outdoor areas are inviting and stimulating. Teachers plan environments and play areas to provoke children's interests and support their engagement in learning.
A strong commitment to building resilient, independent and confident children underpins the curriculum. Teachers plan learning opportunities in science, environmental sustainability, creativity, and early literacy and mathematics. Increased integration of children's languages and cultures in the curriculum is evident.
Teachers have improved the quality of planning. Children's learning is well documented and analysed in portfolios. Teachers make appropriate links to research and theory to enrich the analysis of children's learning and development.
Teachers have strengthened their focus on building learning partnerships with parents and whānau. They actively seek parent aspirations and contributions, and use this to inform programme and individual planning. Teachers provide a range of approaches for parents and whānau to give feedback and use these valuable perspectives as part of internal evaluation.
Leaders and teachers have built a team culture that is highly reflective and open to learning. 'Teaching as inquiry' is supporting teachers to critically reflect on areas of interest in their teaching practice or within the curriculum. Sound appraisal processes support teachers to identify meaningful goals and be innovative in their practices. Leaders make very good use of external expertise to support the centre manager and head teacher.
The centre's well-defined mission statement guides all operations and practices. A clear policy framework and internal evaluation, support staff to review a range of practices. The centre manager is appropriately committed to building sustainable leadership for improvement.
Key next steps include:
deepening learning outcomes and teaching strategies in documented planning
continuing to build teacher capacity to challenge children's thinking and engage them in complex play
using the Quality Practice Template to strengthen links between teachers' evidence and reflections, and the Teaching Standards
involving all teachers in the development of strategic and annual plans, and including strategic goals for ongoing improvement.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kamo Kids Educational Childcare 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:
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
23 May 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 |
Kamo, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
11559 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children aged over 2 years |
||
|
Service roll |
58 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 33 Girls 25 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
36 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
January 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
23 May 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
April 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2012 |
||
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.
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.
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.
Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre in Whangarei provides full day care and education for up to 50 children over two years of age. An adjoining centre under the same management structure caters for children up to the age of three years.
One of the three owners has a key role in the centre’s administration. As a result of management restructuring last year, a head teacher now has oversight of both centres. She is supported by a team leader who manages Kamo Kids. Most teaching staff are qualified and registered. Many of the staff have worked in the centres for several years. This has helped staff to grow a shared team culture and develop knowledgeable relationships with parents and families.
The centre’s philosophy promotes acceptance and respect for children’s individuality and unique potential. It guides teaching practices that support children to become confident, self-managing learners.
The 2012 ERO report noted that the centre provided good quality care and education for children. Centre managers and staff responded positively to ERO’s recommendation about improving the assessment of children’s learning.
Teachers provide a friendly environment where children learn with support from attentive adults. They facilitate children’s exploration, self management and engagement in learning. Children are encouraged to play with each other and collaborate, and to follow their own interests which are often sustained over a long time.
The spacious learning environment is well resourced. It is adapted in response to children’s evolving interests. Children have ready access to outdoor areas that provide a broad range of engaging experiences. These include gardening and physically challenging activities. There are large trees for shade and interesting areas to spark children’s creativity and imagination.
Well-considered planning and assessment practices guide curriculum programmes. Teachers’ planning approaches are flexible. This enables teachers to respond to children’s diverse interests, strengths and needs. Programme planning is well documented and evaluated. Teachers have used professional learning to develop a new approach to assessing children’s learning. They are continuing to develop ways to record, and share with parents, information about children’s dispositions, interests and learning.
Teachers integrate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into the programme. This demonstrates the centre’s commitment to bicultural practices. Māori children’s identity as Māori is being fostered and all children are able to experience and learn about New Zealand’s bicultural setting.
The centre has useful self-review processes. This is helping centre leaders to monitor licensing requirements, teacher effectiveness, and to promote the achievement of the centre’s strategic aims. The centre’s self-review processes appropriately include staff and parent perspectives. The centre’s reflective culture is benefitting children’s learning and engagement. For example, a review of the two separate age-based rooms led to a decision to integrate them. This has opened up children’s exploration space and offers them more opportunities for collaborative play.
Centre managers demonstrate purposeful leadership focused on building teacher capability and accountability. Efficient administrative, personnel and support systems guide centre operations. Relevant, regular professional learning is offered for leaders and staff. As a result they are growing in their roles. The centre’s reflective, collaborative and consultative practices helping staff make well considered changes to improve outcomes for children.
ERO and centre managers agree that key next steps include further:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kamo Kids Educational Childcare 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:
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 Kamo Kids Educational Childcare Centre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
17 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 |
Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
11559 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
55 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 32 Girls 23 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Cook Island Māori Chinese Irish/British Czech Middle Eastern South African |
17 26 5 2 2 1 1 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
17 April 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
April 2012 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
February 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
December 2007 |
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.