Unit D2 17 Corinthian Drive, Albany, Auckland
View on map| Not well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Kia ora Kids at Home Childcare 1 is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kia ora Kids at Home Childcare 1 provides home-based education and care for children from infants up to five years of age. The service is a standard funded network. Kia ora Kids philosophy and vision aim to grow each individual child through connections to family, community and nature.
The service, previously known as Apples At-Home Childcare, was purchased in 2019 by AWA Homebased Childcare Limited. The management team includes the owner/manager, two visiting teachers (VTs) and an office manager. The qualified VTs provide support and guidance for educators to deliver teaching and learning programmes.
A recently renovated house in Stanmore Bay is used as a local office and playgroup venue, with plans for a community facility to be used by the networks.
This review was part of a cluster of three home-based network reviews of AWA Homebased Childcare Limited and is one of two networks operating as Kia ora Kids.
Respectful partnerships between managers, VTs, educators, children and their families continue to be a strength of this service. Families and educators are matched carefully to support children’s wellbeing, learning and development. Documentation reflects the service's philosophy and positive practices that focus on children's security, care and learning.
The programme is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum and includes some te reo Māori me ōna tikanga Māori practices. Parents’ and whānau aspirations for their children's learning are valued, responded to, and enhance connections for children between their home and the service.
Assessment records show that VTs recognise and respond to opportunities to engage and extend children’s learning. Children play and learn in home settings that are responsive to their individual and developmental needs. They have meaningful learning experiences to develop their creativity and sense making.
VTs use current theories of learning to support educators to design the curriculum and decide how they structure time, space and resources. They provide ongoing professional development for educators that builds their professional practice. Positive and regular feedback enables educators to constructively reflect on their practice to improve learning outcomes for children.
It is timely for the service provider to engage external support to appraise the well qualified and experienced VTs. The appraiser should support VTs through professional learning conversations to enhance, extend and challenge their reflective practice.
The service provider encourages all those at the service to be involved in internal reviews. Good systems for self-review have been developed that focus on quality outcomes for children. The monitoring and evaluation component of self-review could be strengthened.
The playgroup facility is well resourced with a variety of provocations for children’s learning experiences/opportunities. The service's resource library supports educators to provide a well-resourced environment in their homes.
The new owners and managers have reviewed and adapted service operations and documentation to reflect the service community's values and align with AWA Homebased Childcare Limited. A framework of policies and procedures guides service operations. A new digital platform supports stakeholders' actions within the service. There are systems in place to identify, monitor and report physical, emotional and health and safety for all involved in the service.
Key next steps include the service provider:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kia ora Kids at Home Childcare 1 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:
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 | Te Tai Raki
18 February 2021
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 | Stanmore Bay, Auckland | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 46791 | ||
| 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 | 30 | ||
| Standard or Quality Funded | Standard | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā other ethnic groups | 3 21 6 | |
| 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 | November 2020 | ||
| Date of this report | 18 February 2021 | ||
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Previously Apples at Childcare: Education Review |
April 2018 | |
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:
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.
Apples At-Home Childcare operates under the privately owned organisation of Apples Education. This newly established service provides homebased education and care for children up to five years of age in Auckland's North Shore and Rodney districts. Of the 80 children currently enrolled, approximately 75 percent children are Pākehā, six percent have Māori heritage, and 19 percent identify to other ethnicities.
After opening in 2016 the service was granted its full licence and then relicensed in 2017 due to significant growth. A second coordinator has recently been employed. The management team includes the owner, a manager, business manager and two coordinators. The managers and coordinators are fully registered teachers. The management team provides support and guidance for educators across the network.
This network is a standard funded service. A team of experienced educators provides programmes for up to four children at a time in their homes. The owner provides ongoing professional development for all educators to increase their qualification levels.
The service's vision has an emphasis on growing each child through connections to families, community and nature. The Apples At-Home Childcare philosophy is currently under review to ensure there is cohesiveness in practice across the service.
The service is community focused, and is fostering respectful, reciprocal relationships between the service, educators and families. Parents who spoke with ERO appreciate the good systems that are in place to regularly monitor the physical and emotional health and safety of their children. A belief in the value and benefits of home-based education and care for children and their whānau is evident.
Coordinators support children well to settle into educators' homes and to foster nurturing relationships with their educators. Documentation indicates that children learn in small mixed age groups, and build positive relationships with others. Coordinators make regular home visits to the educators and report on children's development.
Educators provide a range of learning opportunities for children in homes and in the community, including weekly playgroup meetings. Regular excursions into the community provide for broader learning opportunities for children to learn about the local environment. The management team has introduced a new planning framework to plan educators to guide children's learning experiences.
Children's learning programmes are underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Coordinators support educators to meet the needs and interests of each child, and to provide programmes that promote children’s curiosity and interests. The management team acknowledges the need to strengthen bicultural practices and ensure this commitment is included in the service's philosophy.
Managers work collaboratively to build consistent practices, and are committed to ongoing improvement. They have focused on building an effective team and using clear frameworks to guide educators. The owner provides generous provision of professional development for the management team. This has positively impacted on the increasingly good systems and processes used by the service.
Strategic and annual planning guides the service's future direction. The service has established internal reviews. However, these could be better aligned to the strategic plan and the evaluation process should be strengthened. A new teacher appraisal system is soon to be implemented. Governance policies and procedures are regularly reviewed. It is timely to ensure all policies and procedures reflect current practice.
The management team agrees that key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Apples At-Home Childcare 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:
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 Apples At-Home Childcare will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
5 April 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.
|
Location |
Stanmore Bay, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
46791 |
||
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
80 |
||
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Standard |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 42 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
|
|
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 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
5 April 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
||
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.