BestStart North Road

Education institution number:
45952
Service type:
Education & Care Service
Total roll:
74
Telephone:
Address:

122 North Road, Invercargill

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Edukids North Rd - 30/06/2017

1 Evaluation of Edukids North Road

How well placed is Edukids North Road to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Edukids North Road is owned and operated by the BestStart group. It provides full-day education and care for up to 67 children in a purpose-built facility. Children come from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds.

Children play and learn in three separate age-based areas; Tuatara (nursery), Paihamu (2-3.5 years), and Pukeko (3.5-5 years). There is a separate outdoor area for infants and toddlers. Older toddlers and young children share an adjoining playground.

Since the 2014 ERO education review, staffing has remained stable. The centre is staffed by a combination of qualified early childhood teachers and caregivers. BestStart have assisted the centre by funding an extra qualified teacher to support teachers in improving assessment and planning. The centre has made very good progress since the last ERO review in strengthening assessment records.

This review was part of a cluster of reviews in the BestStart Group in Southland.

The Review Findings

Strong leadership and a well-developed philosophy are very effectively guiding teachers' decisions about learning and helping to promote positive outcomes for all children. Teachers have clearly identified key Māori concepts and intended learning, including some valued outcomes, for each age group.

All children experience rich bicultural programmes and practices. The key values of whanaungatanga (relationships) and whakamana (independence) are well understood and evident. Leaders and teachers have been considered and intentional in the way they have built their own capabilities and culturally responsive practice. This is contributing to Māori children and their whānau knowing that their language and culture are valued and included.

Children and their whānau feel a sense of belonging to the centre and the local community. Teachers form respectful, reciprocal and responsive relationships to support children's learning and well-being. They actively seek families' expertise to support children's learning. Children who have diverse needs are well supported. Teachers acknowledge all children's diverse culture, language and identity.

Children experience a rich and varied curriculum based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki (the early childhood curriculum). Children's learning benefits from the many opportunities to explore current areas of interest and projects over time. They revisit their experiences to deepen, understand and extend learning. Teachers are intentional in the way they help children to think, problem solve, and extend their interests. Teachers provide authentic and interesting learning contexts for literacy and numeracy. Teachers support and build children's oral language skills through conversations around topics of interest.

Infants and toddlers benefit from close relationships with key teachers. Their teachers are responsive to infants and toddlers and engage in positive one-to-one interactions. The children in the under-two's Tuatara room benefit from a well-resourced environment that is calm and provides physical and emotional wellbeing.

Children's transitions into, within the centre, and to school are well supported. The service has built strong partnerships with the local school. Teachers have made transition the focus of internal evaluation and constructed tikanga to support the transition process. This has resulted in children and their families being well supported in all stages of transition.

There are effective systems to plan for individual children and assess learning over time. Teachers regularly collect and respond to parent aspirations for their children.

Leaders follow a useful process of internal evaluation, both planned and spontaneous, to make improvements to programmes and practices. These reviews have led to positive outcomes for children. The centre manager has a good understanding of evaluation processes and practices and is building capability for internal evaluation within the team.

The service is very well supported by Best Start Educare. Support includes regular visits from managers who provide constructive advice and guidance. The organisation has a useful policy and procedure framework, provides targeted professional learning for leaders and teachers, and has very effective regional quality assurance and strategic planning practices.

Key Next Steps

Key next steps for the service have been identified by the manager and head teachers and ERO agrees. These are to:

  • continue to improve internal evaluation, including the use of more purposeful indicators to evaluate against

  • review and refine each room's tikanga to clearly show desired outcomes for children. 

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids North Road 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.

To strengthen current practice service leaders should ensure risk-management plans specifically reflect the focus on how teachers will respond to an identified risk, should it occur.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Edukids North Road will be in four years.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)

30 June 2017

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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. 

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service 

Location

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

45952

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

67 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

88

Gender composition

Boys: 43

Girls: 45

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Pacific
Other

16
61
4
6

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:4

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

April 2017

Date of this report

30 June 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

Education Review

January 2014

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.

Edukids North Rd - 30/01/2014

1 Evaluation of Edukids North Rd

How well placed is Edukids North Rd to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Edukids North Road is an education and care service that is owned by Kidicorp. It is licensed for up to 67 children, including 20 under two years. Families are drawn from a wide catchment area. 

The purpose-built centre is divided into three classrooms. These include a nursery for infants and toddlers, a preschool room for children aged two-to-three and a half years old, and a ‘prep’ room for older children. Each room has head teacher who has overall responsibility for children’s education and care in that area. 

This centre has been open for 15 months and has experienced a time of rapid growth. This has been competently managed by the centre manager. Six of the teachers are qualified, five are in training and five have no formal qualification.

The centre is owned and managed by the Kidicorp company. A regional business manager works with the centre manager. After a long vacancy, a professional services manager has been appointed to oversee professional support for teachers in this and other Kidicorp centres. 

This is the centre’s first ERO report.

The Review Findings

The centre philosophy is evident in what happens each day. Children are settled in their play and learning. The programme is child-centred and play based. Flexible routines support the children’s developing independence. Children enjoy an environment that encourages active exploration and regular literacy and musical experiences.

Teachers are warm and welcoming to children and their families. They know the children and their families well. They work closely with parents to help new children settle. Children confidently approach their teachers and teachers effectively support their developing social and emotional competence. They also encourage children to help each other with their learning.

Children’s successful transitions between the classrooms are planned with parents and carefully monitored by teachers. There are appropriate resources, learning experiences and support provided to older children to help them make a successful transition to school. Teachers are continuing to improve transition-to-school processes.

Infant and toddlers’ needs and interests are well responded to by the teachers. Resources in the outdoor area support children's physical development.

Teachers work alongside the children to support and extend their learning. Some teachers provide specific feedback to children and use effective questioning. Children’s cultural backgrounds are valued and teachers intentionally learn about and celebrate these.

Teachers are beginning to include aspects of te reo me ngā tikānga Māori in the programme. The next step is for leaders to strengthen this and then regularly review how well Māori language and culture is valued in the centre.

Centre leaders have identified that they want to better understand what success for Māori might look like at Edukids North Road. They plan to:

  • look further at Kahikatia (the Ministry of Education strategy)
  • ask parents of Māori children to identify what they view as success for their child.

Planning is responsive to children’s interests and used well to extend the curriculum. Learning could be strengthened through regular evaluation of programmes and using this information to inform future planning.

Well-presented portfolios highlight children’s involvement in the programme, developmental milestones, emerging relationships and, at times, dispositional learning. Teachers use a range of ways to gather parents’ perspectives and aspirations about their child’s learning.

The next step is to strengthen assessment records to better show:

  • parents’ wishes for their children’s learning
  • how teachers respond to these
  • the teachers’ role in supporting children’s learning
  • how teachers have added depth and complexity to children’s learning over time.

The centre manager understands the importance of relationships with parents, children and teachers. This has been a strong focus in the centre’s first year. Teacher’s strengths are recognised and used well to support others.

Teachers are developing their understanding of self review and evaluation. They have established a clear process for this and regularly seek input from parents. Leaders and teachers need to continue to build staff understanding of effective review to support ongoing improvement in the centre.

There is a strong commitment to developing staff skills through ongoing professional support and learning. This is based on teachers’ identified needs. Kidicorp has a detailed framework for staff appraisal and supporting provisionally-registered teachers. The next step is to better implement Kidicorp’s expectations in these areas.

Kidcorp’s frameworks, procedures and guidelines set out clear expectations for staff. In most areas these have been well implemented.

Centre leaders have identified several next steps to strengthen centre practices. These include:

  • developing a strategic and annual plan that better reflects the centre’s priorities
  • undertaking staff appraisal in a timely and thorough way.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids North Rd 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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Edukids North Rd will be in three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

30 January 2014

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Invercargill

Ministry of Education profile number

45952

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

67 children, including up to 20 aged under 2

Service roll

97

Gender composition

Girls: 58

Boys: 39

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

Asian

Pacific

Other

10

80

4

2

1

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%

Based on funding rates

50-79%

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:5

Meets minimum requirements

 

Over 2

1:10

Meets minimum requirements

Review team on site

November 2013

Date of this report

30 January 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

 

No previous ERO reviews

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.