1 Quail Place, Frankton-Hamilton, Hamilton
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 Little Waikato Scholars Educare are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakatō Emerging Whāngai Establishing |
Little Waikato Scholars Educare is one of two privately owned services that share governance. Children learn in three age-based areas. The service philosophy emphasises parents as first teachers. Serving an ethnically diverse community, approximately half of the children enrolled are identified as of Asian heritage and a quarter are Māori.
Children benefit from reciprocal relationships between parents, whānau and teachers, where their needs are considered. Infants’ care routines are upheld. An unhurried pace and meaningful interactions are established for younger learners. Children with additional learning needs are included in the programme. Teachers work with parents and external agencies to foster their ongoing development.
Assessment documentation variably shows children’s learning and progress over time. Planning and assessment acknowledge children’s interests. These do not yet reflect teachers’ shared understanding and use of the valued learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Relationships with parents provide some opportunities to be involved in their child's learning, however their goals for their children do not currently influence the curriculum.
The service has identified that integrating all children’s cultures and languages through the programme is an area for improvement. The expertise of teachers in the preschool room enables children in that room to engage in a curriculum that promotes English and te reo Māori. Other home languages are used by teachers across the service in greetings and during celebratory weeks. Māori ways of knowing, being and doing are in the early stages of being integrated into curriculum design.
The service’s organisational conditions are beginning to foster the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki. Teachers and leaders complete professional learning through a growth cycle process. Internal evaluation systems are in place. However, evaluation processes are yet to reflect what the outcomes and impacts are for children’s learning, as a result of changes made. Resourcing decisions currently result in inconsistent experiences for children across the service.
Little Waikato Scholars Educare will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation practices to identify children’s learning over time in relation to the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki.
Review the range and accessibility of resources across the service, to improve complexity and consistency of learning experiences for all children.
In partnership with parents and whānau, continue to build culturally responsive practices that recognise and respond to each child’s cultures, languages, and identity.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little Waikato Scholars Educare 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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
8 November 2023
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Waikato Scholars Educare |
|
Profile Number |
30347 |
|
Location |
Frankton, Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
35 |
|
Review team on site |
August 2023 |
|
Date of this report |
8 November 2023 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, October 2022; Akanuku | Assurance Review, March 2021 |
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.
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.
Little Waikato Scholars Educare is one of two centres that shares governance and organisational systems under the same ownership. The service provides education and care for a multicultural community, including a large number of Māori and a small number of Pacific learners. The 2021 ERO review identified a number of non-compliances with regulatory standards.
The service curriculum is inclusive and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Parents and whānau are provided with opportunities to be involved in decision making about their children’s learning. Suitable human resource management practices are implemented including provision of regular professional development for teachers. The curriculum is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation. A sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, equipment, and material is provided that is appropriate for the learning and abilities of the children attending.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
current Fire Evacuation Scheme approved by the New Zealand Fire Service (HS12)
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
19 October 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Little Waikato Scholars Educare |
|
Profile Number |
30347 |
|
Location |
Hamilton |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
35 children, including up to 15 aged under 2’s |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
39 |
|
Review team on site |
August 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
19 October 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2021; Education Review, September 2016 |
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.