ASPIRE Learning L3

1 Evaluation of Little Giggles In-Home Childcare 2

How well placed is Little Giggles In-Home Childcare 2 to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Little Giggles In-Home Childcare 2 is the second homebased network managed by Skool Stars Care Limited. It has been in operation since 2016. This is ERO's first review of this network. The service's office is in Dannemora in East Auckland. The owners are responsible for the overall governance of the service.

The service is licensed for 80 children with a maximum of 40 children under two years. It currently employs 37 educators across Auckland. Children are cared for in educators' homes in groups of up to four children. The educators and children are from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with a high percentage of Chinese children and a small number of Māori and Pacific children across the network.

The two programme coordinators are registered early childhood teachers. Their role is to regularly visit and support the educators to provide educational programmes. The coordinators model new ideas and ways to extend children’s learning. Skool Stars Care Limited also employs a head programme coordinator who works across both networks.

The philosophy indicates that the service is guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It focuses on learning through play, nurturing care and respectful relationships between children, whānau and educators.

The Review Findings

Educators' and programme coordinators' records of children's learning suggest that children benefit from familiar environments. These records show established routines and respectful relationships that support children's sense of wellbeing and belonging.

There are effective systems in place to monitor and support educators. The service provider and programme coordinators check the safety of homes before placing children with an educator. Coordinators consider the children's cultures and home languages when placing them with educators.

The programme coordinators regularly visit homes to check that health and safety requirements are being met. They support educators to provide appropriate care and education. Visits with educators are clearly documented to assure the service provider that requirements are met.

Programme coordinators provide useful advice and guidance to educators about how to assess and plan for children's learning. Good progress is being made in this area as some educators begin to write learning stories. In the best examples, children's learning is recognised and the portfolios show that coordinators and educators plan relevant programmes for individual children, based on their interests.

Coordinators organise regular playgroups for educators and children. As well as providing opportunities for children to learn together, these groups provide opportunities for good teaching practices to be modelled.

Parents are invited to discuss their goals for their children. Programme coordinators could now consider how they can support educators to show how they integrate these goals into their planning. Parents of children under two years of age are encouraged to share information about their child's interests, routines, and preferences to enable the educators to cater appropriately for their child.

The service is committed to promoting the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is reflected in the resources and some aspects of the programmes. Coordinators support educators to increase their knowledge and confidence in including te reo and tikanga Māori in their interactions with children.

A comprehensive policy framework guides service operations. Appropriate procedures support coordinators and educators to meet the intentions of the policies. There are effective documented processes to guide recruitment, induction, and the management of staff performance. Professional learning and development is accessed to meet the needs of managers, coordinators and educators. Coordinators and educators are currently focused on increasing their understanding of Te Whāriki 2017.

Service personnel work collaboratively with parents. In addition to ongoing communication about the children and their education and care, parents are encouraged through surveys and informal discussions to provide feedback on the service's operations.

The service manager and programme coordinators engage in significant internal evaluation to support ongoing improvement. Their evaluations could be strengthened by making greater use of evaluative questions to guide their inquiries. Similarly, strategic planning could be strengthened by ensuring that strategic goals are clearly stated and progress towards improvement is monitored.

Key Next Steps

Centre managers agree that the key next steps are to strengthen processes used to:

• assess children's learning and plan appropriate learning programmes for individuals by ensuring that next steps and possible teaching approaches are clearly identified

• plan strategically for ongoing improvement by setting clear development goals and plans of action

• evaluate service operations by establishing clear evaluative questions to guide the review process.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Little Giggles In-Home Childcare 2 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:

• 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 improve practice, the service provider could strengthen excursion preparations by including plans to respond effectively to health and safety incidents and other emergencies that might occur.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Little Giggles In-Home Childcare 2 will be in three years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

4 October 2018

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 Home-based Education and Care Service

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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014

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.