95 Onewa Road, Northcote, 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 Tots Corner are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakawhanake Sustaining Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Tots Corner is a well-established centre that provides education and care for children from one to five years of age. The service’s philosophy is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which respects children as capable decision makers. A small number of children enrolled are Māori. The service has a history of positive ERO reports.
Observations of children show them to be independent, confident, and highly engaged learners. Learning through play is highly valued by teachers. The service’s curriculum is child-led and responsive to children’s interests, strengths, and capabilities. Teachers foster a learning environment that encourages children to follow their curiosities and to apply their own ideas and understandings in making sense of their experiences.
Children are welcomed into a calm and settled environment. Teachers know the children very well. Infants up to two years of age benefit from consistent care. Teachers respond to their individual needs with care and respect.
A clear vision and shared understandings underpin teachers’ collective teaching practices. Teachers engage in respectful, reciprocal, and responsive relationships with all children. Their interactions with children are purposeful and intentionally focused on extending children’s learning. Children’s language and thinking is fostered through authentic dialogue with their teachers and peers in meaningful contexts. Their contributions are valued. Teachers recognise and respond to the prior knowledge and expertise that children and whānau bring with them to the service.
Teachers sensitively recognise each child’s language, culture, and identity. Tikanga Māori concepts are woven naturally into the curriculum and physical environment. A strong commitment to teachers’ ongoing learning of te reo Māori is evident.
Curriculum planning is responsive and flexible. Children experience a localised curriculum that reflects the history of the community. There are regular opportunities provided that extend children’s knowledge of the natural world. Parents are encouraged to be part of these excursions and experiences.
Children’s assessment records clearly show their individual learning. Well-established learning-focused partnerships with parents and whānau enable teachers to extend and enrich children’s learning and progress.
An experienced and capable owner/manager promotes a collaborative team culture that supports high levels of trust and professionalism amongst staff. Capable and knowledgeable teachers continually evaluate the quality of their practice with a focus on continuous improvement. Leadership is shared across the teaching team.
The owner/manager is involved in several early childhood professional forums. Through this role she advocates strongly for early childhood education to be valued within the local community. Effective leadership, connectedness with families and high-quality provision for children are strengths of this service that have been sustained over time.
Tots Corner will include the following action in its Quality Improvement Planning:
To continue to use evaluation processes to deepen assessment that shows the extent to which teachers regularly respond to and document children’s identity, languages, and cultures.
Before the review, the staff and management of Tots Corner 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
10 March 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Tots Corner |
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Profile Number |
20485 |
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Location |
Northcote, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
45 |
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Review team on site |
January 2023 |
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Date of this report |
10 March 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, February 2018 Education Review, August 2013 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Tots Corner in Northcote is a well-established centre that provides education and care for children from six months to five years of age. The centre operates in a converted villa that has three separate spaces for children of different ages. The 'Nest' caters for infants from 6 months to approximately two years of age, the 'Kiwi' room is for children from two to three and a half years of age, and the 'Tui' room is for children up to school age. The majority of children attend full-time.
Teachers incorporate practices from Reggio Emilia, an early childhood teaching model that respects children as capable and competent learners and decision-makers. This complements the practices outlined in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
The centre has a positive history of ERO reporting. Effective leadership, connectedness with families, and high quality care for children are the characteristics that continue to define the centre.
Children and families arrive each day to a calm, settled centre and warmly welcoming staff. Teachers and parents have a strong partnership bond. There is a gentle pace to the day and teachers provide children with respectful and mindful care. All of this contributes to children having a sense of belonging and trust that allows them to relax, enjoy friendships, play and achieve deep learning. Transitions into and through the centre are calm, responsive to children's needs, and developed in partnership with parents.
A strong, shared vision guides practices. The centre programme is child-focused and child-led. Teachers are actively involved in children's learning and provide support when necessary. The emphasis is on enabling children to make decisions and manage their own learning as capable and competent learners. Children's thinking is challenged through conversations with teachers, and their interests are recognised, nurtured and extended. The centre's vision and philosophy are strongly evident in teachers' practices.
Learning through play is highly valued by teachers. Creativity, in all its forms, is supported using prompts in the environment. These prompts provide opportunities for children to explore, experiment, design, make and record their thinking. Teachers extend these opportunities through their conversations with children. This is helping to build children's persistence, research and experimentation, leading to learning that affirms their sense of themselves as successful leaders and learners.
Programme planning is flexible and responsive. As well as the daily programme, teachers plan excursions and experiences beyond the centre to broaden and enhance children's knowledge and learning. The once-weekly visits the older children make to a local ngahere (forest) are strengthening children's understanding and enjoyment of the natural world and developing their nature-based creativity. Children share their ngahere experiences with enthusiasm.
Children's portfolios are meaningful records of their individual learning journeys. They also outline for parents the learning arising out of children's group experiences. The centre uses an online portal to keep parents informed about their child's learning. Many parents respond through the portal by sharing information from home to add to teachers' knowledge about children. Teachers aim to continue to deepen partnerships and connections with families and to invite further input.
Teachers are actively improving their use of te reo Māori with children, following attendance at professional language courses. They sing waiata, use words and phrases in conversations with children, and say a karakia before kai. Tuakana/teina relationships are evident in play, through good support by older children for their younger peers. Including reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the philosophy would affirm the centre's moves to embrace the principles inherent in the document.
Management of the centre is efficient, well-developed and highly supportive of staff. The owner/manager and senior staff inspire teachers to continually evaluate the quality of their practice. They also provide, and support staff to attend relevant and useful professional development. Leadership is shared across the centre utilising the different skills and knowledge that teachers are able to provide.
The owner/manager is involved, at a management level, in a number of early childhood professional forums. She brings enthusiasm and passion to her work for children. Her leadership is a key driver in ensuring the effectiveness of the centre. She is a founding member, and is on the Stewardship Committee of the Kāhui Ako (Community of Learners) group with local schools. Through this role she advocates strongly to support understanding of the value to children, of early childhood learning.
Management and teachers should continue to sustain the excellent quality of programmes for children by maintaining the high standards they have set in teaching and learning practices.
Before the review, the staff and management of Tots Corner 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 Tots Corner will be in four years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
7 February 2018
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.
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Location |
Northcote, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
20485 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
37 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
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Service roll |
48 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 29 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
December 2017 |
||
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Date of this report |
7 February 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
August 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2007 |
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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.