1 Kawakawa Place, Westgate, Auckland
View on mapNew Shoots Children's Centre - Westgate
New Shoots Children's Centre - Westgate
1 ERO’s Judgements
Akarangi | 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 New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
|
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakawhanake Sustaining Whakawhanake Sustaining |
2 Context of the Service
New Shoots Childrens Centre - Westgate is one of 17 services under the same ownership. Three co-owners oversee operations and provide governance support. A newly appointed centre director leads a well-qualified teaching team at this service. The roll is ethnically diverse and includes small numbers of children who have Māori or Pacific heritages.
3 Summary of findings
Children are empowered to engage in learning of their choice. Long periods of uninterrupted play support their sustained focus and promote deeper learning. Children appear relaxed and to have a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing in the environment.
Te ao Māori is intentionally and authentically woven through documentation, children’s learning records and in teaching practices. The languages, cultures and identity of all learners are acknowledged and celebrated. Children’s mana and identity as successful learners are enhanced.
Careful consideration of group sizes and high teacher to child ratios enable teachers to be highly responsive to children’s needs and requests. Teachers’ sensitive, respectful practice deepens relationships with children and promotes secure attachments for infants and toddlers. Older children confidently lead their learning.
Leaders, teachers, children, whānau and external agencies work together to plan high quality learning programmes for individual children. Leaders ensure access to the service is equitable for all children. Learning plans are individualised to ensure progress and continuity of learning occur for all children. Parents’ contribution to learning plans and the curriculum design is highly evident. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, underpins the service philosophy, and teaching practices.
Governance and management of the service is collaborative and effective. Knowledgeable leaders ensure teachers’ interests and strengths are used to build their capability as developing leaders and to support ongoing improvement throughout the service.
A strategic plan and a clear vision guide the New Shoots group, and ensure ongoing review and development of improvement actions. Teachers’ professional goals align with the strategic objectives. Access to relevant professional learning opportunities is provided to continually grow teaching capability.
4 Improvement actions
New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate has identified the following action in its Quality Improvement Planning:
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Continue to deepen learning-focused partnerships with whānau, and review how new knowledge of children’s cultures can contribute to the curriculum provided.
The New Shoots governance group has indicated it will include the following in its Quality Improvement Planning to ensure that all services are working at a consistent level:
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Strengthen the collective capability of individual services to undertake and use internal evaluation to guide continued improvement over time.
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Continue to support all services to develop meaningful ways to celebrate the cultural identities of individual children and their whānau.
5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate completed an ERO 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:
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curriculum
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premises and facilities
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health and safety practices
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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:
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emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
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physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
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suitable staffing (including qualification levels; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
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relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
28 September 2023
6 About the Early Childhood Service
Early Childhood Service Name |
New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate |
Profile Number |
47373 |
Location |
Westgate, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
125 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
Service roll |
127 |
Review team on site |
June 2023 |
Date of this report |
28 September 2023 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Akanuku | Assurance Review, November 2019 |
New Shoots Children's Centre - Westgate
ERO’s Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
ERO’s Judgement
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
Curriculum |
Meeting |
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
Health and safety |
Meeting |
Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Background
New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate provides education and care for up to 125 children, including 40 aged under two years. Children are grouped according to age in six separate rooms with a shared outdoor space. The community is culturally diverse. The centre operates as part of the New Shoots Children’s Centre group. This is the first ERO review of this service, which opened in February 2018.
Summary of Review Findings
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.
The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups. The outdoor activity space can be easily and safely accessed by children.
An ongoing process of self-review helps the service maintain and improve the quality of its education and care.
Next ERO Review
The next ERO review is likely to be an Education Review.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
28 November 2019
Information About the Service
Early Childhood Service Name | New Shoots Children’s Centre - Westgate |
Profile Number | 47373 |
Location |
Westgate, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
125 children, including up to 40 aged under 2 |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
Reported ratio of staff to children under 2 |
1:4 - Better than regulatory standards. |
Reported ratio of staff to children over 2 |
1:8 - Better than regulatory standards. |
Service roll |
117 |
Gender composition |
Boys 57% Girls 43% |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 17% NZ European/Pākehā 42% Pacific 10% other ethnic groups 31% |
Review team on site |
November 2019 |
Date of this report |
28 November 2019 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
First ERO review of the service. |
General Information about Assurance Reviews
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
ERO undertakes an Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:
- having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
- previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
- that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
- that have been re-licensed due to a change of ownership
- where an Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.
As part of an Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)
- evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
As part of an Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
- discussions with those involved in the service
- consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
- observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.