(International Airport) 6 Uenuku Way, Auckland Airport, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Airport Lollipops Educare is licensed for 125 children, including up to 40 aged under two years. Children and families come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Māori children make up 10 percent of the roll, 32 percent have Pacific heritage and 10 percent are Indian.
Infants and toddlers have separate indoor and outdoor play spaces. Two rooms for older children share an outdoor area. The manager and four head teachers lead teaching teams that include seven qualified teachers, four teachers in training, and six unqualified staff.
The service's philosophy is strongly underpinned by whakawhanaungatanga and a belief that environments should be "inclusive, flexible, sustainable, caring and filled with aroha".
The 2015 ERO report affirmed the centre's flexible programme and representation of children's cultures. Good opportunities and space for infants and toddlers to engage in uninterrupted play were noted. These practices continue to be evident. Areas for development included programme planning, internal evaluation, and bicultural practices. A review of health and safety policies and procedures was also suggested. There has been some progress in these areas.
The centre is owned by the Evolve Education Group. Evolve provides an overarching governance and management framework and visiting personnel to support the operation of each centre. A recent re-branding of centres has occurred, with a view to building a greater sense of unity across the organisation. Initiatives that have been recently introduced are intended to improve staff stability in centres, promote effective internal evaluation and lift the quality of teaching practices.
This review was part of a cluster of eight reviews in the Evolve Education Group.
Children are articulate, friendly and confident, and choose to play with friends or on their own. Teachers' welcoming approach has supported the development of strong relationships with parents and whānau, many of whom contribute resources and ideas to the programme.
Teachers support children's learning and wellbeing by:
providing high teacher child ratios that foster trust and relationship building
providing a consistent teaching team for infants, toddlers and others
supporting smooth transitions for children as they move through the centre.
They should now review how they can:
involve children in taking greater responsibility for their immediate environments
use group times effectively to encourage children's involvement and promote child-led learning
build effective partnerships with whānau, based on planning for children's learning.
Teachers are gaining confidence in using te reo Māori with children. They are committed to deepening their knowledge of Māori culture and strengthening their bicultural practices. Increasing the provision of multicultural resources would help to recognise and support the cultural identity of all children.
Teachers plan activities and resources in response to group interests and dispositions. Building on individual children's prior learning, ideas and theories in their planning would help teachers to provide a more responsive curriculum.
Leaders are embedding the use of a new appraisal system. Targeted professional development and individual mentoring approaches related to teachers' goals, will strengthen professional practice. To strengthen internal evaluation leaders and teachers should evaluate the impact of changes made on outcomes for children.
The centre is managed effectively. More consistent use of centre audits established by Evolve would help to implement policies, procedures and the curriculum. Centre leaders and teachers have begun to establish a strategic plan to guide the centre's development.
The centre manager agrees that key next steps include:
developing an annual plan to support the achievement of the centre's strategic goals
reviewing and implementing a centre philosophy that aligns with Te Whāriki 2017
increasing the rigour of programme evaluation by critically examining how effectively teaching practices improve outcomes for children
developing deliberate teaching approaches to promote complex thinking and child-led learning.
Evolve Education Group managers agree that key next steps include:
ensuring the company’s vision, values, philosophy, goals and systems reflect the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi
developing clear strategic goals to inform improvement focused annual plans at regional, area and centre levels, that include Te Whāriki 2017 and a strategy for supporting Pacific children and families
ongoing moderation and monitoring of the roles and responsibilities of personnel in positions of leadership, including centre managers
ongoing monitoring of appraisal practices to ensure effective implementation is lifting teaching practice
reviewing how effectively levels of resourcing in centres support children’s learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Airport Lollipops Educare 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.
The next ERO review of Airport Lollipops Educare will be in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
18 October 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.
|
Location |
Auckland Airport |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25124 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
125 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
114 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 53% Girls 47% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
11% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
18 October 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2008 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Airport Lollipops Educare is a well established early childhood centre, providing care and education for children from birth to school age. The centre is located in purpose-built premises within the vicinity of Auckland Airport. It is part of the Lollipops franchise, independently owned and operated by a Trust. The centre is licensed for 110 children, including a maximum of 40 children up to 2 years.
The 2012 ERO report identified some good practices that contributed to positive outcomes for children. Management and operations of the centre were well organised. Robust systems that were then in place continue to guide decision-making. Strong relationships with families have been maintained and children continue to enjoy positive, affectionate relationships with adults at the centre.
Children are cared for in four age-related groups. The outdoor environment is divided into three main play areas: one area for infants and toddlers, another for toddlers and younger children and the other for preschoolers.
The leadership team is made up of the centre owner, who oversees the operational and administrative aspects of the service, the centre manager and the curriculum manager. The four rooms are led by class coordinators who are responsible for the smooth running of daily programmes.
Children are confident and are capable communicators. They have developed skills to build and sustain friendships. Children know routines well and trust that adults are there to support their needs. They have a strong sense of wellbeing and belonging.
The learning environment is accessible for children with good indoor and outdoor flow. The curriculum areas are well defined and children involve themselves in the activities that they choose. The programme is flexible and allows for children to engage in sustained periods of play. Children with Pacific heritages can see their cultures displayed in different areas of the learning environment. It is timely now for teachers to consider how they could strengthen the programme to further support children in their identity, culture and language.
Infants and toddlers are provided with ample play space which provides them with good opportunities to enjoy uninterrupted safe play. They respond well to the easy pace of the programme. Infants and toddlers are familiar with staff and older toddlers show developing capacity to initiate conversations with adults. Some teachers are in tune with children’s non-verbal communication.
Staff are positive, sensitive and responsive to children and their families. They are committed to providing an inclusive programme for all children. The ethnic diversity of the teaching team reflects the community they serve. Some teachers use te reo Māori and children’s home languages when communicating with children as they play.
Children’s language development is supported well by adults. Staff could now increase the use of questioning to extend the complexity and creativity to children’s thinking.
Programme planning identifies and responds to the learning attributes of individual children. Teachers work with parents to gather and include their ideas and aspirations for children’s learning in their child’s portfolio.
Children have meaningful opportunities for literacy and mathematics learning throughout the programme. The infant and toddler teaching team continue to embed the learning they have gained through their professional development in 2014.
Parents interviewed by ERO indicated they felt welcomed and supported. They appreciate the efforts that staff take to settle their children and are satisfied with the programme. Parents affirm the strong relationships they share with the staff.
Since the 2011 ERO review, appointments of key personnel in the centre have supported the centre manager and increased leadership capacity. The leadership team is improvement focused. Teaching teams are becoming more involved in self review so that it contributes to positive outcomes for children.
Centre leaders agree that for teachers to further improve outcomes for children, they could consider:
In addition, leaders could review:
Before the review, the staff and management of Airport Lollipops Educare 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.
The centre is aware of the need for all staff to be Police vetted and for vets to be current.
To improve current practice the early childhood service management should:
The next ERO review of Airport Lollipops Educare will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
11 February 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 |
Auckland Airport, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25124 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
120 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
111 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 57 Girls 54 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Samoan Tongan Cook Island Māori Niue Chinese Fijian Tokelauan other Asian other European other |
28 32 9 9 8 6 4 3 2 2 2 5 1 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
11 February 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 2006 |
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.