Kiddie Academy Early Learning Centre

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 Kiddie Academy Early Learning Centre are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Kiddie Academy Early Learning Centre is a privately owned service. A centre manager is responsible for daily operations. The philosophy prioritises bicultural practices that reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Multiculturalism and inclusiveness are also valued. There are a small number of Māori tamariki, and Pacific tamariki enrolled, amongst a diverse range of other ethnicities. 

3 Summary of findings 

The curriculum for older tamariki is mana enhancing. Responsive kaiako support these tamariki to build on their strengths and interests. Kaiako provide a learning environment that intentionally facilitates opportunities for tamariki to self-direct their learning and to develop their thinking in order to make sense of their world. 

Younger tamariki experience language-rich conversations with kaiako who are responsive to their verbal and non-verbal cues. While kaiako engage in respectful care routines, these routines also restrict opportunities for infants to be empowered and to be able to make choices about their learning experiences. The environment for toddlers hinders opportunities for these tamariki to be independent and to determine their own play. The service is working towards enacting kaiako practices that better support younger tamariki as competent and capable learners. 

Tamariki Māori regularly experience te reo Māori and aspects of tikanga Māori in the daily curriculum. Tuakana | teina relationships between older and younger tamariki, are well supported in a shared outdoor environment. Te ao Māori is evident in the curriculum through waiata, poi, kapa haka, piu piu, titī tōrea, Maui legends, and arts and crafts.  

Tamariki with Pacific heritages experience their cultures through books, tapa designs, music, and through kaiako use of basic Samoan language. The service respects diversity by celebrating cultural language weeks. Leaders have identified that promoting the cultures, languages and identity of all tamariki in the daily curriculum is an area for improvement. 

Tamariki with additional needs are well supported. Kaiako model respect and inclusiveness. They are skilled in supporting all tamariki to be aware and respectful of the uniqueness of each individual tamaiti. 

Leaders and kaiako have identified that developing assessment and planning processes is a priority. Kaiako are yet to have a shared understanding of how to use the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, to document the learning and progress of tamariki. 

Leaders are currently developing systems to help focus their decision making on what is happening for tamariki and their learning. Staffing changes mean that kaiako are working to build collaborative and shared approaches about ways to support learning for tamariki. An internal evaluation process has been established. There is some evidence documented about how this process contributes to improvement over time. A process for the professional growth cycles of kaiako is being established. 

4 Improvement actions

Kiddie Academy Early Learning Centre​ will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning: 

• Build kaiako’ shared understanding of how the valued learning outcomes of Te Whāriki can be used to document the learning of tamariki in curriculum planning, assessment and evaluation records. 

• Increasingly include the home languages and cultures of all tamariki into the curriculum. 

• Facilitate a learning environment and kaiako practices that better supports younger tamariki to extend their independence and grow their learning.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kiddie Academy Early Learning Centre 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:

• 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)

• 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)

6 November 2023 

6 About the Early Childhood Service