BestStart Faringdon

Education institution number:
46844
Service type:
Education & Care Service
Total roll:
107
Telephone:
Address:

53 Chandler Way, Rolleston

View on map

Edukids Faringdon - 29/06/2017

Here is the latest report for the Governing Organisation that this service is part of

 

1 Evaluation of Edukids Faringdon

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

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

Edukids Faringdon is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Edukids Faringdon operates under the BestStart Educare Ltd management structure.

The service was opened in October 2015, in a newly-established subdivision in Rolleston. The purpose-built facilities provide full-day education and care for children aged from birth to school age. Children play and learn in four separate rooms. Infants and toddlers have separate indoor and outdoor areas. Children in the preschool and prep rooms have their own indoor space but share the outdoor area.

There is a mix of qualified and registered early childhood teachers, some of whom are in training. Experienced caregivers provide the necessary support for individual children. An on-site cook prepares meals and snacks to meet children's dietary needs.

The centre manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the service. There is a head teacher for each of the four separate learning areas. A BestStart business manager and professional services manager visit regularly to support the staff. Together with the centre manager, they make up the centre's management team.

This is the first ERO review for this centre.

This review was part of a cluster of seven centre reviews in the BestStart Group in Canterbury.

The Review Findings

Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the centre. They learn and play in calm, settled learning environments. Teachers actively promote positive and respectful relationships.

Children are presented with a well-considered, broad range of experiences and activities that meet their interests and stages of development. They are actively involved in the free-choice learning programme and happily play alongside others for sustained periods of time. A wide variety of resources effectively challenge children's thinking and physical development.

Teachers respectfully build children's confidence, social competency, independence and sense of belonging. Good use is made of local resources and personnel to support the programme and children's understanding of the world around them. The centre values are effectively integrated within the programme, teaching practices and documentation.

Children's language and cultural backgrounds are recognised and valued. Teachers have built close links with the local iwi and wisely used the expert knowledge they have gained. Bicultural aspects are incorporated in the centre programme and documents, and evident in teachers' practices.

Infants and toddlers experience warm, nurturing relationships with familiar adults who provide unhurried routines paced to meet individual needs. Teachers readily respond to children’s non-verbal communication. They give careful consideration to the arrangement of spaces to provide freedom of choice and encourage children’s exploration.

Children's transitions into, within and from the centre are well planned and flexible to meet individual needs. The centre has close links with the local primary school. This relationship is supporting children’s smooth transition to school.

Parents and whānau are well informed about their children’s development and learning. They are encouraged to provide feedback and be actively involved in developing appropriate learning goals for their children.

Teachers work collaboratively within and across teaching teams. They are reflective and consider the effectiveness of their practice on supporting positive outcomes for children. They make good use of the advice and guidance from agencies and specialists to support children with specific needs.

Centre leaders utilise teachers' strengths well and provide good opportunities to build leadership capacity. Leaders and teachers benefit from regular and targeted professional learning opportunities that further build their knowledge and capabilities.

The centre's management team works effectively, implementing BestStart systems to ensure accountability and continuous improvement. The managers have clear expectations for teaching and learning and appropriate systems for supporting teachers' and leaders' capability and professional growth.

Key Next Steps

Centre managers have identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for the service are to continue to focus on:

  • the consistency of assessment practices
  • building a shared understanding of Pacific cultures
  • further strengthening the evaluative focus of their internal evaluation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Edukids Faringdon 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 Faringdon will be in four to five years.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)

29 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 

LocationRolleston
Ministry of Education profile number46844
Licence typeEducation & Care Service
Licensed underEducation (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
Number licensed for100 children, including up to 25 aged under 2
Service roll126
Gender composition

Boys 53%

Girls 47%

Ethnic compositionMāori 
Pākehā 
Pacific 
Asian
Other ethnicities
6% 
75%
1%
8%
10%

Percentage of qualified teachers

0-49% 50-79% 80%+

Based on funding rates

80% +
Reported ratios of staff to childrenUnder 21:4Better than minimum requirements
Over 21:8Better than minimum requirements
Review team on siteMay 2017
Date of this report29 June 2017
Most recent ERO report(s) First ERO review 

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.