Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school

Education institution number:
20249
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
21
Address:

108 Hinemoa Street, Birkenhead, Auckland

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Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school

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

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school operates in a converted villa and has been under new ownership since 2021. The centre manager, who is part of an external agency, provides governance oversight with the support of a curriculum leader. A head teacher leads a group of qualified teachers, and they are trained in the Montessori approach.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation that demonstrate an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau, and life contexts.

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

The environment provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include strengthening the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their identity, languages and cultures.

Next ERO Review

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

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

18 November 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school

Profile Number

20249

Location

Birkenhead, Auckland

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

30 children over two years of age

Percentage of qualified teachers

100%

Service roll

22

Review team on site

September 2022

Date of this report

18 November 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, May 2018; Education Review, June 2014

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.

Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school - 29/05/2018

1 Evaluation of Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school

How well placed is Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

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

Background

Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school operates in a converted villa and provides care and education for up to 30 children over the age of three. The roll includes small numbers of Māori and Pacific children. Some children continue to attend the centre until they are six years of age.

One of the owners manages the day-to-day running of the centre with the support of an experienced head teacher. The head teacher and four other permanent staff are registered teachers and are trained in the Montessori approach to education.

The centre's philosophy follows the teachings of Maria Montessori and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Some of the children's learning is supported through the use of Montessori equipment. Outcomes for children that are valued by the centre include happiness, social competence, respect, independence and an intrinsic motivation to learn. Teachers encourage resilience, risk-taking, and self-control.

The 2014 ERO report described a calm and inviting environment, a flexible programme that supported learning, and robust management systems. It identified areas for improvement that included extending children's learning, promoting teachers' reflective practices and developing a more bicultural curriculum. These improvement areas are being addressed.

The Review Findings

Children have many opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are part of the expected outcomes of the Montessori curriculum. They enjoy positive and supportive relationships and show respect for other children, their teachers and their environment. Children are confident, communicate well, and develop self-help, early literacy and numeracy skills.

Teachers are knowledgeable about the Montessori approach to education and their teaching is consistent with the centre's philosophy. The specialist art teacher successfully supports children to enjoy the activities as they learn. Teachers work respectfully with children. They give children time to think about the tasks that they are completing and to work out solutions for themselves. Children learn in a calm unhurried environment.

Centre managers have thoughtfully developed the centre's philosophy to ensure that it is relevant to the context of Aotearoa New Zealand and the 21st century, and could now incorporate a direct reference to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Teachers have made some progress towards making the curriculum more bicultural. Teachers use te reo Māori in the programme, especially at mat time and in karakia prior to meals. Teachers should continue to increase their knowledge and confidence to include te reo more naturally during their interactions with children. They could also include other aspects of te ao Māori in the programme.

Teachers gather information about children’s learning and interests through observation and discussion. Parents’ aspirations are ascertained at the time of enrolment, through an online tool and during informal discussions. Teachers could now consider how to record this information so that it is more easily accessed and updated.

Generally the centre is well resourced with children being able to access a wide range of good quality resources including specific Montessori resources. The centre environment is attractive, well organised and spacious. Children are able to move between the various areas. This movement is self-monitored by children with systems set in place by teachers to ensure that there are the specified number of children inside, outside and in the art studio.

The centre has established good relationships and communications with parents and the local community. Managers welcome families' contributions to decision making.

Transitions into the centre are well managed. Preparation for children's transition to school is supported by a readiness for school programme that children attend for part of their day. The programme promotes relevant learning dispositions as well as skills and knowledge to support literacy and mathematical learning. This learning is appropriately at the child's pace, rather than being imposed by the teachers.

There are good processes in place to support teachers to develop their professional practice. Professional learning and development is linked to centre goals and to individual improvement goals. Strengthening the teaching inquiry approach would help to support improvements in teaching practice. The managers should ensure that a certificated teacher appraises the head teacher.

Managers have developed processes for evaluating centre operations. These processes could be strengthened through greater involvement of all staff. Managers could also strengthen the centre's strategic planning by developing clear improvement goals and linking these to internal evaluation. The policy framework that guides centre operations is kept up-to-date and resources are well managed.

Key Next Steps

Centre managers agree that key next steps for ongoing improvement in outcomes for children, could include strengthening:

  • bicultural curriculum practices

  • the 'inquiry' approach to staff appraisal

  • goal-setting processes for strategic planning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Birkenhead Point Montessori Pre-school will be in three years.

Julie Foley

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

29 May 2018

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

Location

Birkenhead, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

20249

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, over 2 years of age

Service roll

44

Gender composition

Girls 23 Boys 21

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Pasifika

2
40
2

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:7

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

March 2018

Date of this report

29 May 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

June 2014

Education Review

May 2011

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.