36 Kinross Street, Levin
View on mapNot well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Taitoko Kindergarten is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Taitoko Kindergarten provides all-day education and care for up to 49 children, including nine aged under two years. It is located next to Taitoko School. More than half of the children on the roll identify as Māori. There are also a number of Pacific families enrolled.
The kindergarten philosophy emphasises bicultural perspectives and working in trusting, respectful partnerships with whānau and community. The service is a member of the Horowhenua Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
Since the June 2015 ERO report, there have been a number of staff changes, including in leadership. All teachers are fully qualified. There has been some redevelopment of the outdoor area.
The kindergarten is governed and managed by He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association (the association). The chief executive and a board of trustees are responsible for the governance. A team of senior teachers oversee and support the professional practice of the teaching team. The association governs 102 kindergartens which includes three Pacific kindergartens and a Pacific home-based service with two networks.
The previous ERO report identified self-review practice as an area requiring further development. Progress is evident.
Progress has been made by the association to improve the quality and monitoring of processes to support individual kindergartens and regular implementation of a robust appraisal system.
This review was one of four in the He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua Kindergarten Association in Levin.
Wellbeing for children and their families is strongly prioritised. Leaders, teachers and the association actively remove barriers to children’s participation. Staff purposefully build relational trust with families and draw on a wide range of well-established community connections. A sense of belonging and whānau is deliberately sustained, for the benefit of tamariki. Te ao Māori and Pacific cultures are celebrated throughout the curriculum and kindergarten environment.
Children enjoy warm, fun interactions with teachers who know them well. They explore at their own pace and are supported to make meaningful choices about their day and play. Teachers are responsive to their interests, discoveries and needs. Independence and self-regulation skills are deliberately scaffolded.
An effective partnership with the local school, including reciprocal visits, promotes children’s familiarity with the school context as well as furthering a sense of community.
Children with diverse learning needs are supported in liaison with parents and a wide range of expertise from the association, community organisations and external agencies.
Teachers value the learning opportunities inherent in the whānau-based, mixed-age model. They nurture relationships between older and younger children. Infants and toddlers are respected as capable, curious learners. Teachers are attentive to their non-verbal communication and cues. Unhurried care moments are aligned with home routines and responsive to children’s preferences.
Leaders acknowledge that assessment, planning and evaluation practices are not sufficient. A priority is for senior leaders to work closely with teachers to develop their practice. This process should be better aligned with association guiding documents, in order to meet the expectations of the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki. Improved documentation should clearly capture how children's progress has been supported by deliberate, individualised teaching strategies that add challenge and complexity to play. Particular attention should be given to ensuring that all children with diverse learning needs benefit from consistent, outcomes-focused planning and assessment documentation.
Internal evaluation contributes to improvements. Leaders are motivated to build understanding and practice in this area. A stronger focus on measuring positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing would enhance practice.
Leaders are focused on exploring and implementing strategies that:
Ongoing, increased monitoring and oversight of the consistent enactment of association guiding documents is an agreed next step.
Professional discussions and learning are embedded in the kindergarten culture. Teachers are reflective, collaborative and improvement-oriented. An effective distributed leadership model is in place; teachers are confident to take on additional responsibilities. A commitment to promoting positive outcomes for children, whānau and community is clearly evident.
A well-considered appraisal process has recently been enhanced to grow and develop teacher practice. Teachers are expected to inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching. Purposeful appraisal goals focus on improving aspects of leadership and practice to support children’s learning and wellbeing.
The senior teaching team are reflective and highly improvement focused. They successfully foster a collective sense of responsibility to implement the vision, values and mission of the association. Systems and processes have been well developed to guide teachers' capability and positively impact on children’s learning.
Senior leaders work effectively together, with a shared commitment to meeting strategic goals and objectives for the benefit of children, whānau and community. Well-considered resource allocation supports and enhances children’s learning and wellbeing.
The key next steps for leaders and teachers are to:
ERO and senior leaders agree that the association's next step is to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Taitoko 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
22 November 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.
| Location | Levin | ||
| Ministry of Education profile number | 5383 | ||
| Licence type | Free Kindergarten | ||
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | ||
| Number licensed for | 49 children, including up to 9 aged under 2 | ||
| Service roll | 37 | ||
| Gender composition | Male 24, Female 13 | ||
| Ethnic composition | Māori NZ European/Pākehā Pacific Other ethnic groups | 20 8 8 1 | |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80% + | ||
| Reported ratios of staff to children | Under 2 | 1:5 | Meets minimum requirements |
| Over 2 | 1:10 | Meets minimum requirements | |
| Review team on site | August 2019 | ||
| Date of this report | 22 November 2019 | ||
Most recent ERO reports
| Education Review | June 2015 | |
| Education Review | May 2012 | ||
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:
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.
Taitoko Kindergarten is situated next to Taitoko School in southeast Levin. It is licensed for 49 children including nine under two years of age. Just over half identify as Māori. The remaining roll comprises of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island, and New Zealand European/Pākehā learners.
Whanaungatanga, the kindergarten’s relationship-based approach, is at the heart of the whānau tangata mixed-aged setting. This philosophy emphasises the holistic wellbeing and learning of children, families, whānau, and aiga.
All teachers are qualified and registered at Taitoko Kindergarten. Most kaiako and kaimahi have been at the kindergarten for many years. An experienced kaiako has been in the role of senior head teacher for approximately 18 months.
Taitoko 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 transition to the new association is expected to be a three-year process.
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.
At kindergarten level, areas of good performance identified in the May 2012 ERO report continue to be strengths of the kindergarten. Areas where the Wellington Kindergarten Association needed to strengthen its support for teachers were also identified at the time. Improvement continues to be needed in some of these areas that the association has plans to address. These feature as key next steps in this report. The alignment of individual kindergarten’s annual plans with the association’s strategic priorities has now been addressed.
This review was part of a cluster of 12 kindergarten reviews in the He Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens.
The values and philosophy of Taitoko Kindergarten are strongly evident in the programme. Children respond positively to the view of kaiako that they are capable and competent learners. Infants and toddlers experience warm, nurturing, and respectful relationships. Interactions are unhurried and relaxed. Flexible routines enable kaiako to meet children’s preferences, interests and needs well.
The language, culture, and identity of tamariki are celebrated and promoted. ERO saw many examples of tuakana teina relationships where older children were helping younger children. Self-help skills and independence are encouraged.
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 curriculum provided for children at Taitoko Kindergarten is responsive and promotes positive outcomes for all learners.
Children with additional learning and teaching needs are well supported in the inclusive programme.
Kaiako use a wide range of very effective teaching practices. These include rich conversations that affirm children’s ideas, make connections with home and prior learning, and encourage tamariki to think and problem solve.
Kaiako have shared responsibility for self review. They are making very good use of it to improve aspects of practice and promote positive outcomes for all learners. Self review is effectively used by teachers to:
The kindergarten shares a strong connection and relationship with the adjacent school. Kaiako support children and their families, whānau, aiga well as they move on to school. They work together to develop booklets that effectively share information with new entrant teachers about each child's interests, strengths, and dispositions.
Children have many opportunities to learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage. Kaiako are enthusiastic about exploring further ways of enhancing culturally-responsive practices for Māori learners. ERO's evaluation affirms this direction.
Assessment and planning processes show children’s learning progress over time, and how teachers support and extend this learning in the programme. The head teacher provides useful guidance to assist teachers to further develop these processes.
A strong culture of reflection is evident in the collaborative team. This assists kaiako in making decisions and improvements to the programme. There are many ways leadership is encouraged and fostered in the kindergarten for children and kaiako. Staff are well supported to grow and develop their practice by centre leaders. The association has recently revised the appraisal model. This has the potential to build on the kindergarten’s own processes for teacher development.
The senior teacher provides termly written reports that outline agreed development priorities and progress in relation to the quality of teaching and learning. The association has recently implemented new reports that should more deliberately focus on outcomes for children, teacher and leader performance. ERO's evaluation affirms this development.
Kaiako, kaimahi, and kaiārahi are focused on sustaining and improving teaching and learning by continuing to build on and extend self-review processes.
The senior management team of He Whānau Manaaki o Tararua should continue to further improve processes for growing and developing the practice of teachers, head teachers and the senior teacher. This should include:
improvements to the quality and monitoring of processes to support individual kindergartens and regular implementation of a robust appraisal system
Before the review, the staff and management of Taitoko 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 Taitoko Kindergarten will be in four 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 |
Levin |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
5383 |
||
|
Licence type |
Free Kindergarten |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
49 children, including up to 9 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
73 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 39, Boys 34 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Tongan Samoan Cook Island |
39 23 4 5 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
5 June 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2005 |
||
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.