53 Bethlehem Road, Bethlehem, Tauranga
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 Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
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Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whāngai Establishing |
A not-for-profit and community-based service, Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc is governed by a parent management committee. The centre manager oversees a team of six part time kaimahi (staff). Approximately a third of enrolled tamariki are Māori and a small group from diverse ethnic backgrounds attend.
Tamariki learn in a calm and well-resourced learning environment. Transitions within the service are well promoted. Tamariki have many opportunities to learn through teacher-led activities and role modelled experiences.
Respectful relationships between whānau and kaimahi are established. Some parents and whānau contribute to the curriculum through sharing their skills and goals for their tamariki. Kaimahi are working alongside external agencies to implement a range of strategies that support tamariki with additional learning needs. Positive relationships with kaimahi nurture the wellbeing of tamariki.
Aspects of bicultural practices are emerging through the environment, some te reo Māori, whakatauki, waiata and Matariki celebrations. The cultural identities of some tamariki are acknowledged through the curriculum. Kaimahi have yet to consistently implement culturally relevant experiences for all tamariki.
The service is working towards strengthening assessment and planning. Kaimahi are yet to deliberately identify and plan for intentional teaching strategies that respond to and deepen the learning of individual tamariki. A shared understanding of the intended learning outcomes of Te Whariki, the early childhood curriculum, including learning dispositions are not evident as the basis of assessment for learning.
Management is beginning to develop organisational conditions for the newly established team to build their capability. Kaimahi have some opportunities to grow professional knowledge. A new professional growth system has been established. Leaders have engaged with external support to develop systems and processes that strengthen governance and decision making. These conditions are not fully embedded and therefore their effectiveness and impact on the outcomes of tamariki are not known.
Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Further unpack the valued learning outcomes of Te Whariki to build a shared understanding of how these are progressed in a play-based context.
Strengthen planning for the learning of individual tamariki to identify intentional teaching strategies to deepen learning over time.
Embed the newly developed processes and systems to ensure consistent implementation of management’s expectations.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
22 December 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc |
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Profile Number |
45004 |
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Location |
Bethlehem, Tauranga |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
35 children aged over 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
25 |
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Review team on site |
November 2022 |
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Date of this report |
22 December 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018; Education Review, March 2015 |
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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.
Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc is located in the Tauranga suburb of Bethlehem next to the local primary school. It operates from 8.30am - 3.00pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 8.30am to 12.45pm on Wednesday and Friday. The service is licensed for 35 children from two and half years to school age. The preschool is governed by a parent management committee, is not-for-profit and community based. All teachers are qualified and fully registered early childhood teachers.
The preschool philosophy aims to create a warm and welcoming environment that is responsive to the needs of children and the community. The centre seeks to build strong partnerships with children and their whānau and to develop their wellbeing and a sense of belonging. In addition, the centre focuses on ensuring teachers provide learning opportunities based on children’s interests and encouraging them as life-long learners.
Since the last ERO report in 2015 the centre has worked to improve self-review processes, strengthen the appraisal system and further develop bicultural practices.
Children and their families experience positive and responsive relationships with teachers. Whānau aspirations and expectations are gathered to encourage them to take an active role in their child’s learning. These collaborative approaches are contributing to positive relationships among teachers, whānau and children. Strong connections are made with whānāu and parents and all voices are valued and affirmed. Children experience a service that values parents as partners in their child’s learning.
Teachers effectively respond to children’s strengths, interests and capabilities. Children are empowered to take responsibility for themselves and others. Routines are structured and children have a sense of security in being able to predict what will happen next. The centre’s programme is inclusive and values all cultures, and the diversity is represented in the service. Adequate policies and procedures are in place to cater for children with identified needs. The learning environment promotes rich problem solving opportunities and allows children to take risks and face challenges. Children are developing skills and knowledge that are supporting them to become competent and confident learners.
The curriculum provides a wide range of learning experiences that reflect the uniqueness of all children. Literacy and numeracy are purposefully woven into the programme. The environment is well resourced and attractively presented. It provides many opportunities for children to follow their interests and test their working theories. Children actively contribute to decisions that affect their learning through a mix of teacher-directed and child-led learning. Transitions into the centre and on to school are managed positively and flexibly in response to each child's needs. Assessment, planning and evaluation focus on dispositional learning in the context of children’s strengths and interests. Assessment requires further strengthening to show children’s progress over time. Teachers provide a programme that effectively promotes positive learning outcomes for all children.
Partnerships with Māori are well promoted. There is a strong commitment by leaders to honour the Treaty of Waitangi through the appointment of an expert Māori kaiako who supports and guides teachers' practice. Teachers actively use te reo and embrace tikanga Māori through waiata and karakia. To further develop the centre's bicultural curriculum, teachers should ensure children's language, culture and identity are evident and reflected in assessment processes.
Leaders effectively develop collaborative relationships and provide opportunities for leadership at all levels. There are high levels of relational trust among all who are involved in the service. Professional learning and development is targeted to teachers' individual goals and linked to strategic goals for centre improvement. Leaders are focused on improving teaching and learning through ongoing self review. The head teacher is committed to building teacher capability through a newly revised teacher appraisal system. This system requires formalising to ensure it aligns to Education Council New Zealand guidelines. Leaders support children to develop a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing through positive and reciprocal relationships.
The philosophy and vison have been recently reviewed to reflect a stronger commitment to bicultural practice. Governance promotes strong connections with parents, whānau and the local community to support positive outcomes for children.
To further improve practice leaders and teachers need to:
formalise the appraisal system to meet the requirements of the Educational Council New Zealand
clearly align the strategic plan and internal evaluation to ensure the plan provides a sound foundation for ongoing review and development
strengthen assessment practices to reflect children's language, culture and identity.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc 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 Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
20 June 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 |
Bethlehem, Tauranga |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45004 |
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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 |
35 children, aged over 2 |
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Service roll |
49 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 26 Girls 23 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2018 |
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Date of this report |
20 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
August 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2008 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc is located in the suburb of Bethlehem in Tauranga, and is situated on the local primary school site. The preschool provides both sessional and full school day education and care for children from two years to school age. The centre is licensed for 35 children and at the time of this ERO review the roll of 38 children included seven who identified as Māori.
A committee of parent volunteers continue to support the experienced head teacher and administrator in ensuring the centre is providing a high-quality learning environment. The preschool is a long established service and has maintained a stable roll and staffing. The head teacher and staff have a collaborative approach to decision making, and the day-to-day operations of the centre.
The centre has a positive reporting history with ERO and has focused on further developing the performance management systems and improving planning and assessment practices.
The centre philosophy is to provide an environment which is welcoming and responds to the community. Children are given opportunities to develop a firm sense of belonging and can learn and grow alongside one other.
Children are welcomed into a friendly and settled learning environment where they are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves, others and their surroundings. They are building strong, trusting and respectful relationships through the many opportunities to play and learn alongside their friends, teachers and parents.
Children and their families demonstrate a strong sense of belonging to the community preschool. Parents are highly evident in the daily life of the centre and contribute to the many events and fundraising activities that are organised by the active parent committee.
Teachers know children, parents and families well and work in partnership with them to plan learning programmes. Teachers share individual learning portfolios with parents that celebrate children’s success and identify where to extend their learning. Parents spoken to by ERO expressed high levels of trust and confidence in teachers and their ability to provide an environment where each child is respected and valued.
The centre’s programme provides children with appropriate learning opportunities for independent exploration and teacher supported activities. There are many occasions for children to extend their skills in, and understanding of, literacy and mathematical concepts. Teachers continue to incorporate te reo Māori into everyday learning. They make good use of a wide range of high-quality resources that encourage children to become confident, independent learners.
The head teacher supports staff with clear guidelines and expectations for teaching and learning. She works collaboratively together with the administrator and parent committee to ensure teachers have access to relevant professional development in early childhood education. Open communication between management and teachers is contributing to the successful operation of the service and positive outcomes for children and their families.
Teachers are making good use of self-review processes to improve centre operations. This could be further strengthened by identifying specific criteria and indicators of best practice in order to evaluate the effectiveness of learning programmes.
A strengthened approach to self-review should assist management and teachers to further develop approaches to tikanga Māori. There is benefit to be gained from deeper learning partnerships between the preschool and local Māori resources. Such resources include local schools, marae and historical sites significant to local hapu.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc 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 Bethlehem Community Preschool Inc will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
16 March 2015
|
Location |
Tauranga |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45004 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
35 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
38 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 20 Girls 18 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
7 28 3 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:9 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2004 |
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.