10 Gills Road, Albany, North Shore City
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 Reach Forward Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning Conditions
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Whakaū Embedding |
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre Albany is one of three privately owned centres under the same ownership. The centre’s philosophy is guided by the Christian faith and aims to provide a joy and passion for living and learning. The centre has three learning spaces that cater to children’s developmental ages with a shared outdoor environment.
Children experience learning opportunities that encourage them to extend their mathematical, literacy and science concepts. The service’s responsive curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children benefit from a well-resourced learning environment that challenges and encourages exploration and inquiry. They are involved in a range of group and individual learning activities, and they navigate through this with autonomy and independence.
Teachers who work with infants and toddlers create an environment that is calm and respectful. Increased consideration of learning priorities for this age group to meet their developmental needs and promote their independence is a focus for leaders and teachers.
Children make decisions about their learning that are respected and supported by their teachers. The environment is calm, and children are confident and very well settled. Children have a sense of security in being able to predict what will happen next, and transitions between activities are unhurried.
Respectful relationships are well established with children, parents and whānau. Parent aspirations are valued, and teachers use these in assessment information about children’s learning. The environment reflects the diverse cultures of children and their families and there are some opportunities for parents to share their language in activities. Teachers have yet to embed practices which make children’s languages, cultures and identity visible in their planning and assessment documentation.
Systems and processes are informed by review, evaluation, and inquiry. Leaders have established useful processes for internal evaluation, and they allocate sufficient resources to support change and improvement. Leaders and teachers agree to further embed strategies for documentation to sustain improvement and strengthen the continuity of children’s learning outcomes.
Teachers are provided with development opportunities and have the professional knowledge to respond meaningfully to children’s interests. Leaders provide a positive working environment that facilitates low turnover of teachers and is conducive to the building of the quality adult-child relationships evident in the centre.
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Supporting learner identity by making children’s languages, cultures and identities visible in planning and assessment processes.
Strengthening curriculum practices to ensure they meet the individual development needs of children up to the age of two.
Strengthening strategies for monitoring improvement actions to ensure that improvements made are sustained over time.
Before the review, the staff and management of Reach Forward Early Learning Centre 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 service provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliances:
Equipment, premises and facilities are checked on every day of operations and includes all considerations of hazards required under this criterion (HS12).
A record of excursions that includes evidence of parental permission and approval of adult:child ratios for regular excursions (HS17).
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
8 June 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
45332 |
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Location |
Albany, Auckland |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
47 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
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Service roll |
44 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 7, South African 11, Chinese 9, other Asian 11, other ethnic groups 5 |
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Review team on site |
May 2022 |
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Date of this report |
8 June 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, April 2019; Education Review, April 2015 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Reach Forward Early Learning Centre Albany, provides education and care for 47 children, including 15 up to the age of two years. Children play and learn in three learning areas that cater for children's developmental ages and stages. The teaching team reflects the cultural diversity of children and their families. The centre enjoys long-standing family connections.
The centre's philosophy is guided by faith statements of Christianity, and three main principles help guide the philosophy in practice. These principles are creating a nourishing environment, providing good quality learning resources, and offering a robust educational curriculum. The centre aims to provide an environment that promotes a joy for living.
The centre is privately owned and is one of several centres under the same ownership. The experienced director/owner and lead teacher work in partnership for day-to-day operations. There are good levels of qualified teaching staff.
Since the 2015 ERO report there have been changes in the teaching teams, although continuity in leadership has remained. The centre has responded positively to the recommendation in the report to strengthen assessment practices.
Children and family/whānau are welcomed by staff. Children are friendly and quick to settle into their routines for the day. Parents appreciate the care and nurturing practices their children experience across the centre. Children learn in a culturally diverse and inclusive environment.
Children experience opportunities to play in mixed-age groups to help to develop their social skills. The outdoor physical environments provide a safe place for children to explore and build their interests. Indoor environments are well presented and orderly.
Teachers work respectfully with children. Children with additional learning needs, and those for whom English is not their home language, are well catered for across the centre.
Children up to two years of age have their own space and benefit from good quality care. Teachers promote a peaceful, unhurried environment. Care routines are appropriately individualised. Thoughtful transition processes support children as they move between rooms.
Teachers have a strong focus on building children's early literacy and numeracy knowledge and understanding. Children are supported to develop their problem solving and thinking skills in science, music and creative arts through project topic opportunities that stem from their initial interests. These inquiry topics are combined with focused learning experiences and children's independent play.
Teachers are continuing to refine programme planning through considering stronger evaluation practices that show how teaching practices can be adapted over time. Centre managers plan to continue to interweave the centre’s Christian philosophy with the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Teachers identify areas where Māori concepts can be used to promote bicultural aspects in the programme. Centre managers plan to integrate the bicultural lens more explicitly in planning documentation.
Relationships with parents and whānau are well established. Teachers encourage parents to be involved in centre programmes through multiple platforms. Teachers value the information that parents and whānau share about their aspirations for their children's learning. Children's individual learning stories provide good information for parents about children's programme participation.
Leaders recognise individual teacher strengths and interests, and provide teacher development and leadership opportunities. Relevant induction processes are in place to support new teachers to the centre and to embed centre processes and practices. Very good provision for teacher professional development is provided by the director. Leaders are focused on supporting newly formed teaching teams to build their evaluative practice, and document how this contributes to positive learning outcomes for children.
A comprehensive set of policies and procedures and a relevant strategic plan guide the centre's operation. High expectations and a culture of improvement continue to support useful and extensive internal reviews.
Key next steps are to:
further integrate te ao Māori in planning documentation
continue to build evaluation capacity to support improved positive outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Reach Forward Early Learning Centre 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
11 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.
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Location |
Albany, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45332 |
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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 |
47 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
37 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 21 Boys 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
15 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2019 |
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Date of this report |
11 April 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2012 |
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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:
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.