252 Otumoetai Road, Otumoetai, Tauranga
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 |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Shalom Kindergarten is a not-for-profit, community-based early childhood service for children aged two years and above. The service is located in Otumoetai and is governed by C3 City Church Trust Board. The centre manager leads a team of 12 teachers. The service’s full licence was reissued in May 2021.
The curriculum is responsive to children as socially competent and confident learners. Children lead their learning, and their preferences are respected. Adults providing education and care for children engage in positive and meaningful interactions with them. A range of learning experiences and opportunities extend and enhance their learning both indoors and out.
The curriculum is inclusive and reflects the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua. It is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation and underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
There are regular opportunities for parents and whānau to share aspirations for their children. A philosophy statement and annual plan guide operations.
Next steps include:
Continuing to develop a localised curriculum in consultation with parents and whānau to reflect the valued priorities for learning for children and strategic goals for the service.
Documenting the languages and cultures of all children in assessment to reflect their home contexts and enhance their learner identities.
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 August 2022
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Shalom Kindergarten |
| Profile Number | 40046 |
| Location | Tauranga |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
50 children aged over 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
Service roll |
55 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
19 August 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2020; Education Review, February 2017 |
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 regulated 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; police vetting; teacher certification; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
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 |
Shalom Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Shalom Kindergarten is a community-based early childhood service located in the suburb of Otumoetai in Tauranga. It is licensed for 50 children and offers full day education and care to children from two years to school age. The service is affiliated to C3 City Church Tauranga and is governed by a trust board. The trust board delegates the day-to-day running of the kindergarten to the manager who provides professional leadership and guidance to the supervisor and supports the teaching team. At the time of this ERO review 48 children were enrolled, including six who identify as Māori.
The kindergarten’s philosophy is committed to providing quality care and education founded on Christian principles, where children, parents and whānau learn together and are valued, loved and encouraged. The kindergarten’s values are based on: 'kindness; resilience; respect; curiosity; team work'.
Since the February 2017 ERO report, there have been many changes in the teaching team. The manager and supervisor are long serving in their roles. The centre has responded to the areas identified in the previous report. An ongoing challenge for the centre is to develop sustainability of centre practices due to the significant changes in personnel.
The curriculum responds well to the emerging interests and needs of children. Regular observations of children by teachers in everyday activities build a picture of what they know, think and can do. Parents and whānau have opportunities to be involved and contribute their knowledge, skills and aspirations for their children. Te reo Māori is promoted through waiata and simple conversations. There is a need to strengthen the place of language, culture and identify for Māori and other children in the kindergarten’s planning, assessment and physical environment. Special events and visitors to the kindergarten enrich curriculum learning and promote children's engagement. Children with additional learning needs are well supported through personalised planning and inclusive practices.
Teachers use deliberate strategies to enhance learning. Children’s skills for social and emotional competence are fostered through caring and respectful relationships. Intentional teaching promotes oral language development and scientific exploration. The outdoor environment provides many opportunities for children to exercise choice, take risks and solve problems. Leaders and teachers may consider ways to extend this further into the indoor environment. A planned approach for positive transitions into the centre contributes to a sense of belonging for children and their families.
Collaborative leadership is focused on building teacher capability. Professional learning is prioritised to support ongoing improvement. A planned approach to staff induction contributes to a positive team culture and the smooth running of the centre. High levels of respect and a shared commitment to upholding the centre’s special Christian character promotes calm and settled environments for learning.
The philosophy is well embedded in centre practices. It reflects the values and beliefs of parents, whānau, the local community and teachers. The trust supports equitable opportunities for children and their families. Detailed strategic planning provides clear direction to centre programmes and practices. A useful framework for internal evaluation has been implemented and is responsive to identified priorities for improvement. There is a need to strengthen aspects of internal evaluation to further support improved outcomes for children.
Strengthening collective knowledge and use of Te Whāriki Early Childhood Curriculum is needed. This should support leaders and teachers to:
develop the kindergarten’s local curriculum in consultation with parents, whānau and community
implement individualised planning that shows increasing complexity in children’s learning over time and that is well aligned to learning outcomes
strengthen culturally responsive practices across the kindergarten.
Before the review, the staff and management of Shalom Kindergarten 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance in relation to governance, management and administration.
To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following area:
prominently display at the service for parents and visitors the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA 1]
To improve current practice, the early childhood service management should:
ensure all emergency drills are carried out and evaluated, including lockdown procedures [HS8]
ensure all staff qualifications including first aid certifications are on display for parents and visitors [GMA1].
During the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that showed the compliance and improve practice areas for GMA1 were satisfactorily addressed.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
9 April 2020
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 |
Tauranga |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40046 |
||
|
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 |
48 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Male 19 Female 29 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2020 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 April 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2017 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2013 |
||
|
Education Review |
July 2010 |
||
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.
Shalom Kindergarten is located in the Tauranga suburb of Otumoetai. It was established in 1984 as a community-based early childhood service attached to City Church Tauranga. The service is governed by a trust board with close links to the church and provides education and care for children from a wide geographical area in and around Tauranga. The service is licensed for a maximum of 50 children from two years to school age. It operates from Monday to Friday and offers both all day and sessional services between 8am and 4.30pm.
Since the previous ERO review in 2013 there have been significant changes to the teaching team. The experienced manager continues to provide professional leadership for the staff and kindergarten community. The kindergarten philosophy documents the intent to provide education and care from a Christian world view. Children are encouraged to become 'all they have been gifted to be through play, guided activity and respectful relationships'.
The teaching team of six, includes four with early childhood and two with primary teaching qualifications. Teachers and children are supported by an administrator and two teacher aides.
The centre has made very good progress in addressing the areas for review and development identified in the 2013 ERO report. Very good progress has been made in developing the staff appraisal system. Teachers have also responded to the large number of boys enrolled by undertaking professional learning about play and activities targeted to meet the needs of this active group of learners. Given the significant number of staff changes, a more recent focus has been to build the new teaching team culture and develop shared expectations for kindergarten practice.
Leaders and trustees are continuing to revisit and rationalise the kindergarten policy framework.
The service continues to provide education and care where children are valued and encouraged to learn through play. The approach to programme planning is based on children's preferences and is responsive to their interests. This approach enables children to choose from a wide range of activities and make decisions about their level of involvement with play. Teachers respect these choices and work closely alongside children to support each child's learning, and assist them to develop ideas. Leaders acknowledge that further development of centre planning processes is necessary to provide consistency of practice amongst the new team.
Teachers record significant learning in individual child portfolios. These documents provide a valuable record of children's engagement in play and exploration and of their level of involvement in the kindergarten programme. A useful next step for teachers and leaders is to review assessment processes to ensure narratives about learning include information about how teachers are building complexity into children's learning over time.
Teachers are highly responsive to children's need for support, encouragement, care and guidance in their learning. Relationships between teachers and children continue to be respectful, positive and strongly reflective of the centre philosophy. These relationships form the basis for the high levels of trust between children and adults that are evident in the kindergarten.
The organisation of the kindergarten environment enables children to experience early literacy and mathematical learning integrated throughout activities, interactions with teachers, daily routines and events. Literacy learning is focused on oral language development, good modelling by teachers, an abundance of print-based resources, and increasing opportunities for children to interact with text.
The service is strongly committed to providing inclusive education and care for children with identified high learning and developmental needs. The manager is knowledgeable about provision for these children, which includes external agency support when necessary.
The kindergarten continues to be very well resourced with equipment to support children's learning across all curriculum areas. The outdoor area, in particular, is extensive and provides many interesting places for children to explore, along with areas for active physical play.
Leaders continue to provide effective well-informed leadership and strong direction for the service. Leaders and teachers have a good understanding of the role of self review for ongoing improvement. Regular policy review and reviews of aspects of the environment have contributed to improvements for children and adults. A more detailed approach to strategic and annual planning is now needed to provide a stronger basis for ongoing strategic review and improvement.
ERO and centre leaders agree that useful next steps for the kindergarten are to focus on further developing:
the approach to annual and strategic planning
shared understandings about programme planning
processes for individual assessment of children's learning and development
the way teachers include te reo and aspects of tikanga Māori naturally throughout the programme.
Before the review, the staff and management of Shalom Kindergarten 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.
The next ERO review of Shalom Kindergarten will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
17 February 2017
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 |
Tauranga |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40046 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children aged 2 years and over |
||
|
Service roll |
68 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 34 Boys 34 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā South East Asian Indian |
6 56 4 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratio of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
December 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
17 February 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
July 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
September 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:
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 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.