28 Victory Crescent, Tawa, Wellington
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Brian Webb Kindergarten is in Tawa, Wellington. Since the May 2012 ERO report, a new teaching team has been established. All teachers are qualified and registered.
The kindergarten philosophy reflects the local context of children's learning through interactions with people, places and things. The kindergarten is one of 85 kindergartens and three home-based education and care networks governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Free Kindergarten Association Incorporated (the association). This is a new kindergarten association created from joining the Rimutaka and Wellington Kindergarten Associations in 2014.
The board and managers provide governance for the organisation. Senior teachers have delegated kindergartens. Their role is to provide regular support and a range of professional learning and development opportunities for teachers.
In 2012, the association developed a framework to guide the implementation of its curriculum, Te Manawa. This document outlines criteria for curriculum delivery, including expectations for assessment and planning for children’s learning.
The May 2012 ERO report for Brian Webb Kindergarten identified that bicultural practices, self review and assessment of children's learning needed further development.
Areas where the association could strengthen its support for teachers were also identified. The alignment of individual kindergartens’ annual plans with the association’s strategic priorities has now been appropriately addressed.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 reviews in the He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua kindergartens.
Children show a strong sense of belonging. They happily arrive and settle quickly into purposeful play. Children show friendship and manaakitanga to visitors at their kindergarten. They are learning to be independent and show competence and capability in daily routines.
Teachers understand the children in the context of their families/whānau and the wider community. They appropriately recognise and celebrate the cultures of Māori and Pacific children.
Assessment practices successfully reflect children's relationships with people and responses to places and things. Profile books increasingly show learning over time. The senior teacher and teachers have identified that using assessment information to plan for children's future learning needs further strengthening. ERO's evaluation affirms this. Particular consideration should be given to promoting consistency of practice across the teaching team.
Strengthening bicultural practices has been a considerable focus in the kindergarten and programmes successfully reflect Māori concepts, practices, values and beliefs. Teachers who are more capable at integrating te reo Māori into their practices effectively support and encourage their colleagues.
Children are well-prepared for their move to school. A carefully considered and culturally responsive transition programme supports children and their whānau.
Self review is embedded practice and has led to improved outcomes for children. The senior teacher and teachers have identified that strengthening the evaluation of the impact of these changes is an important next step. ERO's evaluation affirms this next step.
The senior teacher provides termly written feedback that outlines agreed development priorities and progress in relation to the quality of teaching and learning. She completes an annual internal evaluation that supports strengthening of these termly reports. There is a deliberate focus on outcomes for children and teacher/leader performance.
The 2012 ERO report identified that the association needed to improve the appraisal processes. Managers undertook an internal review of the appraisal system. The revised model is being implemented across the kindergartens. The process includes focused goals that build teacher and leader capability and clearer links with the Practising Teacher Criteria. Teachers at Brian Webb Kindergarten are successfully implementing this new process.
The senior teacher, head teacher, staff and ERO agree on the following key next steps for Brian Webb Kindergarten:
continue to strengthen the assessment and evaluation of children’s learning
further develop internal evaluation practices.
The association should continue to support the development of formal critique of teaching practice and strengthening responsiveness to Māori children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Brian Webb 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:
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.
The next ERO review of Brian Webb Kindergarten will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
27 May 2016
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 |
Tawa, Wellington |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5343 |
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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, aged over 2 years |
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Service roll |
74 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 43, Boys 31 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Pacific South East Asian Other ethnic groups |
14 30 8 12 10 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2016 |
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Date of this report |
27 May 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review |
May 2012 |
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Education Review |
May 2008 |
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Education Review |
June 2005 |
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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 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.
Brian Webb Kindergarten is affiliated to the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association (the association). The association has a governing board and a general manager. The general manager is the licensed service provider contact person for the kindergarten. The association employs a team of senior teachers, one of whom is responsible for leading the professional support, advice and guidance to the teaching team. She also liaises with the kindergarten community.
Adult’s good quality interactions actively support children’s play. Children arrive at kindergarten with a sense of purpose and quickly settle in their areas of self-selected play. They are encouraged to play cooperatively and to be inclusive of each other.
Teachers demonstrate respectful, reciprocal and responsive relationships with children, families and with each other. Teachers regard their strong family relationships as a feature of the kindergarten and they value the ongoing input and support they receive from whānau.
The programme actively supports children as independent, confident, competent learners. The well-considered team philosophy reflects the team’s beliefs about children’s learning and is enacted through the curriculum. Programme planning is flexible and responsive to children’s emerging and developing interests. Aspects of literacy and mathematics are well integrated. Children are highly engaged and confident to express themselves orally and creatively.
Learning stories show progress with relationship-building and children's participation in the programme. They include a variety of perspectives including those of parents. Through this, good links are being established between the kindergarten programme and children’s lives.
Effective strategies and resources are in place to support children’s transition to primary school and to assist transition within the kindergarten.
Teachers demonstrate an understanding of the different stages of a sound improvement focussed self-review process. Teachers are developing an awareness of the difference between planning for development and reviewing to determine quality. The next step is to deepen analysis of data.
Teachers show a commitment to developing bicultural practices. Their confidence needs supporting to more readily incorporate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into the day-to-day programme.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Brian Webb Kindergarten was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atBrian Webb Kindergarten.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
In addition, ERO decided to evaluate:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
The kindergarten has a sound reporting history with ERO, and the May 2008 ERO review found that the programme was responsive to children’s interests, and that children’s independence and early literacy and social skills were fostered through skilful interactions. Since then the kindergarten has been refurbished, plans for further development have been drawn up and parental feedback is currently being sought.
Teachers have been supported by the senior teacher team.
Good quality interactions between adults and children responsively support children’s play. Children arrive at kindergarten with a sense of purpose and quickly settle in their areas of self-selected play. They are encouraged to play cooperatively and to be inclusive of each other.
Teachers demonstrate respectful, reciprocal and responsive relationships with children, families and with each other. They model their consistent and clear high expectations.
Adult’s sound questioning extends children’s play and promotes problem solving. Children demonstrate independence. They confidently take learning risks and experiment through trial and error. Children are enthusiastic learners.
Planning is flexible and responsive to children’s emerging and developing interests. Children are highly engaged. Their creative expression is fostered and they confidently express themselves. Aspects of literacy and mathematics are well integrated.
The programme actively supports children as independent, confident, competent learners. The well-considered team philosophy reflects the team’s beliefs and is enacted through the curriculum.
Routines are well managed. A high level of consistency across the team has been developed through regular sharing of ideas and strategies. Communication between adults associated with each child’s learning is given high priority.
Learning stories show children’s progress with relationship-building and settling and their participation in the programme. Transitions are very well recorded in the children’s profile books. The focus on learning dispositions is coming through in the learning stories. They include a variety of perspectives, including those of parents. Through this, good links are being established between the kindergarten programme and children’s lives.
Bicultural practices are evident in the environment and are effectively supported as children transition from the afternoon to the morning programme when each one is welcomed with a powhiri. Children are familiar with a range of waiata.
Profiles of Māori children acknowledge their culture. Inclusiveness is evident and the environment reflects elements of Māori culture. Teachers are reviewing how well they are enacting their philosophy statement on te ao Māori.
The well-resourced learning environment is thoughtfully set out to cater for children’s wide-ranging interests. Outdoor spaces include a sensory play section, a variety of small gardens as well as areas that promote physical challenge. There is good integration of natural materials among the resources.
Children use the whole of the environment. They demonstrate knowledge of the resources available and use these to support their imaginative play and constructions.
Teachers collaborate to promote a calm and supportive emotional environment that promotes each child’s sense of belonging and well-being.
Teachers demonstrate a greater understanding of the different stages of a sound self review process. It is improvement focused and there is regular reflection and informal discussion as they work through the process. A range of data informs decision making.
Effective strategies and resources support children’s transition to primary school and to assist transition within the kindergarten. They are involved in a local area cluster where early childhood and new entrant teachers work together to support transition processes and understandings.
Teachers show a commitment to developing their practices, however their confidence needs supporting in order for them to more readily incorporate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into the day-to-day programme.
Teachers are developing an awareness of the difference between development planning and reviewing to determine quality. While teachers collate data their next step is to analyse data more thoroughly. Spontaneous reviews are yet to be consistently evidence-based rather than relying on shared professional knowledge. These would benefit from being revisited to determine the effectiveness of the changes over time.
Teachers use of assessment information varies. Profiles do not always show links between learning stories to demonstrate how teachers have added complexity to children’s learning. More consideration needs to be given to including possible next steps to these documents.
The 2008 ERO review of the association identified several strengths, including the provision of professional development, sound operation plans, support for property development and the use of a range of communication strategies to keep teachers and communities informed. Areas for improvement included the quality and depth of the written feedback given to teachers by the senior teacher and strengthening the appraisal process.
Since 2008, the association has led consultation with the community to modify session times and improve the ratio of teachers to children from 1:15 to 1:10 and maintained its policy of employing qualified, registered teachers in regulated permanent positions.
The association provides expectations and guidance to the kindergarten through its strategic plan, policies and procedures and more recently, the professional development strategy Te Manawa: Criteria for Curriculum Implementation.
The association continues to provide high levels of guidance and support to teachers for the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. These include:
the strategic plan setting expectations for participation, parent/whānau involvement and quality teaching practices
clearly defined indicators of quality teaching and learning practice through Te Manawa
a wide range of professional development opportunities
ongoing support in property development, human resource management, finance and resourcing.
The association, senior teachers and ERO have identified areas where the association can strengthen its support for teachers. These include:
further developing and supporting leadership, including a review of the appraisal process
reviewing senior teacher documentation to show how teachers have improved their practice, as a result of feedback
reviewing how kindergartens’ annual plans for teaching and learning could more explicitly show how teachers respond to the association’s strategic priorities.
Before the review, the staff of Brian Webb Kindergarten completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-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 documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
ERO and the kindergarten leaders agree that the priorities for development and review are those outlined in the report.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Acting National Manager Review Services
Central Region
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Type |
Free Kindergarten |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children aged over 2 |
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Roll number |
82 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 42 Girls 40 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā 49 Māori 13 Pacific 6 Other ethnic groups 14 |
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Review team on site |
February 2012 |
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Date of this report |
30 May 2012 |
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Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review May 2008 Education Review June 2005 Accountability Review August 1998 |
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Brian Webb Kindergarten.
Brian Webb Kindergarten is affiliated to the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association (the association). The association has a governing board and a general manager. The general manager is the licensed service provider contact person for the kindergarten. The association employs a team of senior teachers, one of whom is responsible for leading the professional support, advice and guidance to the teaching team. She also liaises with the kindergarten community.
Adult’s good quality interactions actively support children’s play. Children arrive at kindergarten with a sense of purpose and quickly settle in their areas of self-selected play. They are encouraged to play cooperatively and to be inclusive of each other.
Teachers demonstrate respectful, reciprocal and responsive relationships with children, families and with each other. Teachers regard their strong family relationships as a feature of the kindergarten and they value the ongoing input and support they receive from whānau.
The programme actively supports children as independent, confident, competent learners. The well-considered team philosophy reflects the team’s beliefs about children’s learning and is enacted through the curriculum. Programme planning is flexible and responsive to children’s emerging and developing interests. Aspects of literacy and mathematics are well integrated. Children are highly engaged and confident to express themselves orally and creatively.
Learning stories show progress with relationship-building and children's participation in the programme. They include a variety of perspectives including those of parents. Through this, good links are being established between the kindergarten programme and children’s lives.
Effective strategies and resources are in place to support children’s transition to primary school and to assist transition within the kindergarten.
Teachers demonstrate an understanding of the different stages of a sound improvement focussed self-review process. Teachers are developing an awareness of the difference between planning for development and reviewing to determine quality. The next step is to deepen analysis of data.
Teachers show a commitment to developing bicultural practices. Their confidence needs supporting to more readily incorporate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori into the day-to-day programme.
ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Joyce Gebbie
Acting National Manager Review Services
Central Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this centre.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.