201 Sandwich Road, St Andrews-Hamilton, Hamilton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Creators@Home-Nelson is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Creators @ Home-Southland is part of a national service which provides care and education for children from birth-to-school age in the educarer's own home.
Prior to 2014 the service was known as Footsteps Education Southland. The November 2011 ERO report of the Footsteps service, identified a range of practices requiring further development. Creators Education Trust worked in consultation with the Ministry of Education to meet full licensing conditions for all of its home-based services.
A national coordinator has oversight of all Creators @ Home early learning services. In the home-based services, regional leaders are responsible for managing the work of the visiting teachers. In this network, one teacher and the regional leader work together to support in-home educarers to provide suitable care and learning programmes for children.
Three models of support are in place: 'At home', where educarers care for children in private homes; 'Awhi' for caregivers of children under shared guardianship with Oranga Tamariki; and 'Awhi whānau' for whānau caring for the children of family members. The majority of children in this network are supported by the 'At home' model.
The philosophy of the service is based on the Reggio Emilia approach where positive relationships are promoted and children are at the forefront of learning.
This review was part of a cluster of four home-based education and care network reviews in the in the Creators @ Home service.
There is a strong focus on the service philosophy that places the child at the centre of all decision making and fosters partnerships in learning with parents and whānau. Children have many opportunities to learn about the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand in ways that are meaningful to them and respectful of Māori culture. Visiting teachers value the home cultures of children and families as the foundation for, and key to, their success. Children with additional needs, including English language learners, are well supported to develop a good sense of belonging and wellbeing to progress their learning.
The specific needs of infants and toddlers, including specific resourcing and appropriate learning experiences, are well considered. Visiting teachers and educarers work collaboratively to respond to each child’s changing needs and preferences.
Visiting teachers foster reciprocal relationships and partnerships in learning, based on a model of ako (learning together). They encourage inclusive learning environments where trust and a shared understanding of teaching, underpinned by Te Whāriki (2017) The Early Childhood Curriculum, supports children's learning dispositions. Visiting teachers encourage educarers to reflect on their values, beliefs and attitudes to support the development of culturally responsive practices. This informs the localised curriculum and encourages educarers to develop skills and confidence in tikanga and te reo Māori. Authentic relationships between teachers, educarers and whānau promote positive partnerships that are focused on the interests, strengths and capabilities of children.
Visiting teachers empower educarers to work in partnership with parents and whānau to support the learning and wellbeing of children. This collaborative approach helps tamariki to be confident and competent learners and communicators, which aligns with the service's philosophy. Parents and whānau are well informed about their children’s learning and wellbeing through a range of digital platforms which include learning stories and moderated social media.
There is very good provision of appropriate professional development for visiting teachers and educarers to build teaching capability and leadership capacity. Teachers make good use of external expertise to review the learning that matters to provide equitable opportunities for children. They are building a reflective teaching and learning culture that is focused on ongoing improvement.
ERO and the national leaders of the service agree that the key next steps to strengthen governance processes and practices are to:
ERO and the national and regional leaders agree that the key next steps for the network are to:
The national and regional leaders must ensure that:
appraisal processes and practices for teachers align to the requirements of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Before the review, the staff and management of Creators@Home - Southland completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
16 April 2019
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 |
Hamilton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40328 |
||
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 80 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
88 |
||
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 47 Girls 41 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
11 |
|
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
2 |
||
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
||
|
Review team on site |
January 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 April 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
2011 |
|
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
Footsteps Education Limited is a national home-based education and care provider with networks of various sizes throughout the country. Footsteps employ regional leaders and visiting teachers to provide support for children and caregivers.
Some of the common features of the service include:
Footsteps have links with agencies involved with the families and the children in their care. This includes the Child Youth and Family Service and other community-based services. Many children attend other early childhood education (ECE) services in their local community.
There is a national leadership structure and an extensive range of documents to support the delivery of their services. Communication and professional development involves wide use of information and communication technologies.
Particular strengths of this network include:
The most significant areas for review and development include:
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Footsteps Education Ltd was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the network to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the network (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atFootsteps Education Ltd.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
The services provided by Footsteps Education staff focus on monthly visits to children and their caregivers. These visits incorporate discussions with, and feedback from, caregivers, and interactions with children. Further contact happens through telephone conversations between visits.
Detailed and well-presented assessments are completed and then sent to caregivers following the visit. These assessments include suggestions regarding resources and ideas to guide the child’s future learning.
Children’s individual programmes successfully build on their interests and day-to-day experiences. Teachers make good use of their interactions with children, discussions with caregivers and the documents caregivers complete to determine how best to support caregivers and children.
Significant recent initiatives in Footsteps are supporting teachers to extend their ability to incorporate aspects of biculturalism into their practices and children’s programmes.
ERO observed teachers using some effective teaching strategies. For example, they:
Regular assessments help teachers and caregivers notice and recognise children’s learning and development. Teachers put significant time and effort into children’s learning journal entries which are attractive, informative and well presented. Children enjoy looking at their learning journals and were observed referring back to these during the onsite stage of the review.
The overall quality of relationships and interactions between teachers, children and caregivers is good.
Features of the interactions and relationships evident during review visits include:
Children benefit from the strong focus that teachers place on providing a wide range of resources that help to build on their interests. Teachers use these well to add to the resources caregivers already provide to support children’s learning.
Teachers encourage caregivers to use the immediate environment and learning experiences available in the wider community.
Teachers and regional leaders are extending links with other agencies and organisations to support them in their work and those they work with. This is particularly evident in the efforts to establish effective working relationships with children’s social workers.
Footsteps Education has an extensive range of policies, guidelines and procedures that help to clarify expectations and promote consistency in the way the service is delivered.
Staff benefit from the opportunities they have for professional development and support. Teachers get regular feedback from regional leaders. Appraisal practices are well established. Staff use a variety of ways of sharing ideas, including at regional and national meetings.
The quality and usefulness of assessments could be enhanced through:
National leaders have developed an ongoing programme of self review. This has a strong focus on evaluating Footsteps Education guidelines, policies and procedures.
The next step for Footsteps managers is to build on this programme and place greater focus on evaluating:
Regional leaders and teachers have identified areas where their support for parents, caregivers and children could be extended. The next steps for the service are to implement and build on planned initiatives to further support children, caregivers and parents.
These steps also include the development of training modules for caregivers and identifying and informing caregivers of community-based professional development opportunities.
ERO observed significant variation in the nature and quality of the environments children are provided with and caregivers work in. Some environments had better provisions for ensuring children’s safety than others. Priority needs to be given to addressing the areas outlined as actions in the Management Assurance on Legal Requirements section of this report.
ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports. This information will be used as the basis for long-term and systemic educational improvement.
As part of this review, ERO evaluated the extent to which:
Footsteps Education philosophy focuses on meeting the needs of all children, but, in particular, those children and families who face significant challenges. There is a commitment from teachers and staff to ensure that they are inclusive and welcoming. Teachers have a range of ways they communicate and share information with parents and caregivers about children.
Footsteps Education has established some useful relationships with agencies in the community who are able to support them with children who have moderate to severe special needs. This includes links with education services and social agencies. Where appropriate, children’s progress, and achievements are shared between Footsteps Education staff and other people with key responsibilities for children.
Footsteps Education have good processes in place that support them to transition children and families into their service. A formal initial visit provides useful information for caregivers and teachers that helps them to meet children’s needs.
Additional support and visits are also available to children and families during the transition into the service if required.
In several instances, Footsteps Education reports that they have funded extra support for children with significant learning and behavioural needs to help them successfully transition to school.
Before the review, the staff of Footsteps Education Ltd completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-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 documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
The Centre Management Assurance Statement completed by the Footsteps Education licensee and director indicated that health and safety obligations were being met across the networks.
The service has a range of documents and procedures that focus on meeting the health and safety requirements outlined in the Home-Based Care Order 1992.
During the review, ERO identified some health and safety issues in most homes that were non-compliant with the Home-Based Care Order.
In order to address these, the licensee must ensure that:
Teachers with regional leader support have been responsive in working towards addressing these concerns.
ERO, in consultation with the Footsteps Education licensee and regional leaders, developed the following recommendations. That:
the licensee, regional leaders and teachers extend monitoring systems and provisions for minimising the risks to children and ensuring their safety
regional leaders and teachers strengthen aspects of assessment practices
the licensee, regional leaders and teachers improve self-review practices in ways that help them to better evaluate the quality of services and outcomes for children.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore, ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
|
Type |
All day Early Childhood Education and Care Service |
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including 25 children up to aged under two |
|
Roll number |
66 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 36; Boys 30 |
|
Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 56; Māori 1; Other 9 |
|
Review team on site |
September 2011 |
|
Date of this report |
25 November 2011 |
|
Previous three ERO reports |
First Review |
25 November 2011
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Footsteps Education Ltd.
Footsteps Education Limited is a national home-based education and care provider with networks of various sizes throughout the country. Footsteps employ regional leaders and visiting teachers to provide support for children and caregivers.
Some of the common features of the service include:
Footsteps have links with agencies involved with the families and the children in their care. This includes the Child Youth and Family Service and other community-based services. Many children attend other early childhood education (ECE) services in their local community.
There is a national leadership structure and an extensive range of documents to support the delivery of their services. Communication and professional development involves wide use of information and communication technologies.
Particular strengths of this network include:
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this centre.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.