25 Maxwell Avenue, Durie Hill, Whanganui
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Durie Hill Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Durie Hill Kindergarten is in Whanganui. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8:45am until 2:45pm. Full day places are available for children aged from two to six years.
The philosophy statement emphasises positive reciprocal relationships and learning through play. The kindergarten’s priorities for children’s learning are respect, independence, movement and resiliency.
The October 2015 ERO report identified that understanding and inclusion of te ao Māori, and self review required improvement. These remain areas for further development.
Durie Hill Kindergarten is one of 15 kindergartens governed and managed by the Whanganui Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association). The governing board is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction for the organisation. The day-to-day running of the association is the role of the general manager, who is responsible to the board.
Since April 2018, the association's programme of professional learning and development and curriculum implementation has been managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Free Kindergarten Association Incorporated. An association senior teacher and two senior teachers from Whānau Manaaki provide regular support for teachers.
This review was part of a cluster of 15 in the Whanganui Kindergarten Association Incorporated.
Children make choices about their learning and engage in a curriculum based on their interests. The kindergarten's philosophy and priorities for children's learning are highly evident in the programme. Children are encouraged to take risks, problem solve and extend their thinking.
Teachers effectively use a range of strategies to promote social and emotional competence. They take a positive approach to build children's independence, resilience and ability to manage themselves. There is a consistent focus on encouraging personal virtues and learning dispositions.
Strong, respectful relationships are fostered amongst those involved in the service. Teachers know the children and their families well. Children are supportive of their peers and tuakana teina relationships are evident. Teachers have multiple ways to seek parent aspirations for their children's learning. They are seeking ways to more clearly respond to these, and give opportunities for parents to contribute further to the programme.
The bicultural curriculum is developing. Children have opportunities to experience te ao Māori through activities, resources and routines. Teachers acknowledge that building the meaningful use of te reo Māori remains an area for strengthening. ERO's external evaluation affirms this.
Children's portfolios show each child's identity as a learner. Ensuring that assessment and planning, and therefore the curriculum, meaningfully acknowledges children's culture and language is a key next step. Staff are currently working to increase their knowledge and understanding of strategies that promote educational success for Māori children.
Assessment and planning practices are currently under review. Formalising individual and group planning, and sharing of expectations, should promote a consistent approach. Teachers should now consider how they:
clearly identify intended outcomes for children through their planning
identify intentional teaching strategies
align assessment to intended outcomes to demonstrate progress in learning over time
reflect the bicultural curriculum through assessment.
Teachers are reflective and work co-operatively to improve the programme. Strengthening understanding and use of effective internal evaluation is a priority. This should support teachers to identify how effective their practices are in improving outcomes for children.
The governing board is future-focused and has taken appropriate steps to strengthen opportunities for teachers’ professional learning and development. An association-wide appraisal process is in place to support teacher practice in promoting positive learning outcomes for children. Consistency of its implementation across all kindergartens requires strengthening.
Association leaders and ERO agree that for ongoing and sustained improvement, staff at Durie Hill Kindergarten should strengthen:
teachers' understanding and use of internal evaluation focused on outcomes for children
assessment, planning and evaluation processes
the bicultural curriculum
responsiveness to children's cultures and languages.
The senior management team of Whanganui Kindergarten Association Incorporated should continue to strengthen the implementation of teacher appraisal.
Before the review, the staff and management of Durie Hill Kindergarten 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:
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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
28 March 2019
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.
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Location |
Whanganui |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5245 |
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Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children, over the age of 2 |
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|
Service roll |
32 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 17, Boys 15 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2019 |
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Date of this report |
28 March 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2015 |
|
Education Review |
October 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2008 |
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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.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Durie Hill Kindergarten is situated in Whanganui. It is one of 14 kindergartens administered by the Whanganui Kindergarten Association. The kindergarten is licensed for 30 children and has a roll of 35. Sessions operate from 8.45am to 2.45pm. All teachers are qualified and registered.
The governing board is responsible for setting overall strategic direction for the organisation. The day-to-day running of the association is the role of the general manager, who is responsible to the board. Two senior teachers are employed to support the learning and development of teachers. Two cultural advisors were recently appointed to support teachers to realise potential and success for Māori and Pacific children.
There has been sustained progress in relation to areas for improvement identified in the October 2012 ERO review. This has been well supported by focused professional learning and development.
This review was part of a cluster of seven kindergarten reviews in the Whanganui Kindergarten Association.
Children learn through play. They are well supported to follow their interests, solve problems and take responsible risks. Teachers know children well. They notice, recognise and extend learning opportunities for children and promote their oral language development. Children are confident learners.
Teachers are responsive to children’s need for learning and care. They support and encourage problem solving and use open-ended questions to prompt thinking. Children are independent and are empowered to take responsibility for themselves, their learning, others and the environment.
The kindergarten’s philosophy focuses on priorities for children’s learning: ‘movement, independence, relationships, respect, responsibility and resiliency’. These are evident in inclusive and respectful practices that foster relationships with children and their families.
Children learn in spacious, well-organised and uncluttered environments. They have ready access to a wide range of resources and equipment that support exploration and investigation. Children have many opportunities to develop literacy and mathematical skills, knowledge and language in the contexts of their play.
The 'Priorities for Children’s Learning' initiative was guided by the senior teachers in response to a recent ERO national evaluation report. This comprehensive, sound and strategic framework is used to strengthen planning, assessment and evaluation processes in each kindergarten.
Programme planning uses ideas from children’s individual strengths and experiences as well as a balance of emerging interests. An important part of planning is the knowledge that children bring with them to kindergarten and share with others at mat time. Their interests, learning and progress are recorded in individual portfolio books and in displays around the centre walls. Parents and children enjoy reading and sharing these records together. Teachers continue to focus on increasing continuity of learning in assessment.
Teachers continue to develop their understanding of te ao Māori perspectives across the curriculum. Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori is incorporated into teacher practice and centre routines. Staff identify that this is an ongoing focus for development. Leaders and teachers are committed to extending the curriculum to promote success for Māori children.
Children and their families benefit from effective transition procedures for entering the kindergarten and movement to school. Practices include visits, liaison with schools, sharing information and providing support for parents.
Collaboration amongst staff is a feature of the kindergarten. The experienced head teacher provides strong collaborative leadership to the teaching team. She empowers teachers to use their strengths and interests to take on leadership roles. The team shares a commitment to priorities for children’s learning, wellbeing and care for the environment. Each teacher plays an active role in the kindergarten’s development.
Appraisal effectively supports teachers’ ongoing professional learning and development. Priorities for children’s learning, Practicing Teacher Criteria, Professional Standards and cultural competencies are well aligned in the process.
Teachers clearly understand the purpose of and the process for self review and follow a wellstructured framework. There is a strong focus on improving teaching to enhance children’s learning. Leaders and teachers have made good use of self review to evaluate the impact of teaching and programmes on children’s learning.
Self review and evaluation guide improvement and sustain effective practice. The head teacher has identified the importance of further embedding the use of the self-review framework to continue to strengthen high quality teaching to promote outcomes for all children.
The senior teacher, head teacher, staff and ERO agree that the key next steps are to continue to:
The senior management team of the Whanganui Kindergarten Association is continuing to build teachers’ capability to be more responsive to Māori and Pacific children’s culture, language and identity to enhance cultural practice. ERO affirms this direction.
Before the review, the staff and management of Durie Hill Kindergarten 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:
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:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Durie Hill Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
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.
|
Location |
Whanganui |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5245 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, aged over 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
35 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 20, Girls 15 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
3 32 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
N/A |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
13 October 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
October 2003 |
||
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:
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.
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:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
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.