Kiddz Homebased Childcare 1

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 Akarangi Quality 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 Kiddz Homebased Childcare 1 are as follows:

2 Context of the Service

Kiddz Homebased Childcare 1 is one of four networks within the Kiddz Homebased Early Childhood Education Service Company. Children who attend the service are culturally diverse. There are small numbers of children who identify as Māori or are of Pacific heritage. The majority are Chinese. Managers, qualified visiting teachers and translators support in-home educators to deliver learning programmes for up to four children at any one time. The service has maintained existing good practices and is making steady progress in addressing the key next steps identified in the March 2022 Akanuku |Assurance review report.

3 Summary of findings

Children, including infants and toddlers, learn in a language-rich, child-led curriculum aligned with the organisation’s identified philosophy, learning priorities and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. They benefit from a wide range of indoor and outdoor learning experiences in educators’ homes and in the wider community.  

Visiting teachers effectively mentor educators to grow their teaching practice to ensure a culturally responsive curriculum. Leaders and visiting teachers are highly responsive to Māori, Pacific, Chinese and other families’ cultural aspirations. While significant progress has been made in developing the bicultural curriculum, continuing to build visiting teachers’ and educators’ knowledge and confidence to use and weave te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into daily curriculum is an ongoing priority.

Curriculum planning, informed by well-developed assessment practices, extends, and promotes positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for children. Opportunities for learning focused conversations between educators and parents occur daily. Children with additional learning needs and their families are assisted to access the resources and support they require. Parents are well informed about their children's progress over time in relation to the Te Whāriki learning outcomes and the service’s learning priorities.

Educators benefit from the visiting teachers coaching and mentoring and modelling best practice based on current teaching and learning. A recent sustained focus has resulted in educators being more responsive to children’s oral language development.

Internal evaluation is well used to focus on key aspects of practice that impact on children's learning and results in changes and improvements to visiting teacher and educator practice. For greater effectiveness, aspects of internal evaluation practice can be further developed. 

The organisation is very well managed and governed. Improving outcomes for children is a key consideration in all decision making. Comprehensive strategic planning guides the implementation of positive innovations, policy review, induction, teacher, and educator appraisal. A range of rigorous and coherent systems are in place to promote consistent and sustainable practices across the four networks. 

Kiddz Homebased Childcare 1 will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

• continue to build visiting teacher and educator knowledge and confidence to weave te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into the daily curriculum and in assessment documentation

• when undertaking internal evaluation develop measurable indicators of effective practice to better understand how well the service is doing in relation to these and the difference made for children.

4 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kiddz Homebased Childcare 1 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.

Kathy Lye
Director Review and Improvement Services (Acting, Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

17 February 2023 

5 About the Early Childhood Service