177 Bowhill Road, North New Brighton, Christchurch
View on mapHow well placed is Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Kidsfirst Kindergartens is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton is one of 62 kindergartens governed and managed by Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated, trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens. All Kidsfirst Kindergartens share a common vision and values.
Children from two years old to school age can attend kindergarten for up to six hours a day during the four kindergarten terms.
Since the 2011 ERO review, the kindergarten’s roll has dropped due to the changed demographics in the area. Teachers have strengthened the way they share and involve parents and children in the planning and assessment of children’s learning.
This review was part of a cluster of 18 kindergarten reviews.
The kindergarten’s culture is inclusive and welcoming. Contributions from parents and the community are welcomed and valued to support and extend children’s learning experiences. Teachers know the children and their families well.
Teachers use practices that foster children’s sense of belonging, identity and leadership. Children’s diverse needs are well met by the kindergarten’s staff and external advisers.
Teachers thoughtfully integrate literacy, mathematics and bicultural practices, into children's learning. Natural materials and sustainable practices such as gardening, looking after animals and baking, also support the programme.
The inside and outside areas of the kindergarten inspire and challenge children’s curiosity, investigation and learning. These areas are well ordered and thoughtfully resourced to reflect te ao Māori (the Māori world view).
Children have rich and creative learning experiences. Teachers highly value and actively respond to children’s ideas for their learning. Children are seen as independent thinkers and are carefully supported to solve their own problems.
Transition practices meet the needs of each child and her/his family. This supports children and parents to feel confident and secure coming into the kindergarten and when moving on to school.
The head teacher, with the support of the Education Support Manager, provides strong leadership. Teachers are highly reflective and work well together. They share each other’s strengths and skills to enrich children’s learning.
All kindergartens in this cluster have spacious indoor and outdoor areas and are well resourced to meet the interests and learning needs of their children. In most of these kindergartens, environments and resources:
Kidsfirst Kindergartens provide significant support for priority learners and their families. Teachers in kindergartens with priority learners receive considerable extra training and funding to ensure the needs of these learners are well met.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens has a strong commitment to te ao Māori (the Māori world view) and ensuring that their Education Service Managers (ESMs) and teachers are competent and confident in te reo and tikanga Māori. In this cluster of kindergartens, a bicultural curriculum is in place and bicultural practices are highly evident. The contribution from parents of Māori children is highly valued and Māori children are well supported to achieve success as Māori.
The association has a well-understood vision, and highly effective strategic and annual planning systems, policies and procedures. It has strong leadership and collaboration across all levels of the organisation.
There is a thorough and well-understood process of self review at all levels of Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
The skills and knowledge of the CEO, board and senior leaders are regularly sought by other kindergarten associations and early childhood services nationally and internationally.
The highly experienced and skilled trustees bring a good range of expertise to support their decision making. They have a wide knowledge and understanding of Kidsfirst and are very focused on achieving their goals. Their priorities are strongly linked to providing high-quality learning and care for all children.
The strategic leadership team members have a good breadth and depth of knowledge across their various areas of expertise. They value each other’s contributions and use their wide range of knowledge and skills to ensure effective operation of the service.
The ESMs show a high level of commitment to Kidsfirst and the implementation of the Kidsfirst vision, policies and expectations. They successfully challenge and use each other's strengths to meet the goals of Kidsfirst for high-quality learning and teaching in each kindergarten.
Kidsfirst has a well-developed evaluation process that is effectively used to identify the strengths, progress and areas for further development in each of its kindergartens. This allows the ESMs to successfully monitor how well each kindergarten is providing high-quality outcomes for children.
High-quality professional development is closely aligned to leaders and teachers achieving the Kidsfirst vision and goals. In this cluster, this is most evident in the well-developed, understood and useful self-review processes, child assessment and planning practices and effective use of a range of technologies.
The Kidsfirst Kindergartens’ managers have identified, and ERO agrees that the key next steps are:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer-Southern Southern Region
31 March 2015
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
5441 |
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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, two years and over |
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Service roll |
43 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 23; Girls 20 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Australian European |
5 36 1 1 |
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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 |
November 2014 |
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Date of this report |
31 March 2015 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
May 2005 |
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Education Review |
December 2000 |
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Education Review |
December 1996 |
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.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton is located in the North New Brighton suburb of Christchurch. This kindergarten operates morning and afternoon sessions to provide care and education for 45 children over the age of two. All teachers are fully qualified and registered.
It is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
Children benefit from high quality interactions. Other positive features of this kindergarten include:
Teachers have been discussing how they can make programme planning and assessment more manageable, meaningful and visible within the kindergarten environment. They now need to carry out their plans for improvement and monitor how well these actions are improving outcomes for children.
The association is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures, a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates management support in the form of education services managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who work in partnership with teachers providing ongoing leadership and professional development.
Since the on-site stage of this review, the centre buildings have been affected by the Christchurch earthquake and the kindergarten is now operating out of temporary premises. The association has been proactive in addressing issues relating to children, personnel and property.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the kindergarten 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 kindergarten (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children at Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
Teachers have a shared view of children as competent and capable learners. This belief is demonstrated in the child-led programme where children’s decisions are valued and responded to. The concept of ako (where everyone is a teacher and learner) is evident among children and teachers.
Teachers emphasise the building of effective relationships to support children’s learning and sense of belonging. ERO observed respectful, positive and nurturing relationships between children and teachers. Teachers:
The programme is calm and settled with a high level of engagement by children. Children’s play is uninterrupted. They make their own choices about when to participate in group and kai times. The programme provides good opportunities to develop self-help skills.
Teachers encourage children’s social competence and foster respect and responsibility. They have consistent and high expectations for children’s behaviour and learning and help children solve their own conflicts. Children successfully use turn taking, sharing and negotiation to help them play in groups for prolonged periods of time.
Children learn in an interesting and varied environment with a range of activities to support their learning. Resources and activities are presented in interesting ways. During the ERO review, children’s interests in dramatic and imaginative play, creativity and construction were well supported. Literacy and numeracy were meaningfully integrated throughout the programme.
Teachers regularly discuss aspects of the kindergarten programme and practices. They have useful systems for identifying their areas of strength and next steps. They are using some effective self-review formats that help them focus on finding ways to improve teaching and learning.
Teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that a focus on strengthening programme planning and assessment is their next step. The new team of teachers is beginning to discuss and develop ideas on how they can make programme planning and assessment more manageable, meaningful and visible in the kindergarten environment. They now need to carry out their plans for improvement and monitor how well these actions are improving outcomes for children.
ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports. This information will be used as the basis for long-term and systemic educational improvement.
As part of this review, ERO evaluated the extent to which:
this kindergarten understands and values the identity, language and culture of Māori children and their whānau, particularly when the child and whānau transition to the kindergarten;
This kindergarten has 17 Māori children attending whose parents/whānau have identified them as Māori.
The teachers have a commitment to biculturalism. Māori children experience an environment where their culture is respected and they develop a sense of belonging.
The teachers have:
a focus on inclusion and building effective relationships based on teachers’ knowledge of each family
completed a recent self review of partnerships with whānau that identified a range of ways to support communication and help involve whānau more in the programme
displayed Māori symbols and imagery visible in the environment to create a sense of inclusion and welcome
used the association’s recent development of ‘Kidsfirst Whānau’ - a whānau-based approach for involving and engaging parents in kindergarten life and their child’s learning.
The teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that their next step is to extend the range of strategies they use to involve parents and whānau in the programme and assessment practices.
Before the review, the staff of Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton completed an ERO CentreManagementAssurance 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 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 is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
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Type |
Kindergarten - Sessional |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
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Number licensed for |
45 children |
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Roll number |
91 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 44; Boys 47 |
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Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 60; Māori 17; European 5; Pacific 4; Asian 4; other ethnicities 1 |
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Review team on site |
February 2011 |
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Date of this report |
30 June 2011 |
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Previous three ERO reports |
Education Review October 2007 Education Review May 2005 Accountability Review December 2000 |
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton.
Kidsfirst Kindergartens North New Brighton is located in the North New Brighton suburb of Christchurch. This kindergarten operates morning and afternoon sessions to provide care and education for 45 children over the age of two. All teachers are fully qualified and registered.
It is one of 63 kindergartens (including one early learning centre) administered by the Canterbury Westland Kindergarten Association Incorporated trading as Kidsfirst Kindergartens.
Children benefit from high quality interactions. Other positive features of this kindergarten include:
Teachers have been discussing how they can make programme planning and assessment more manageable, meaningful and visible within the kindergarten environment. They now need to carry out their plans for improvement and monitor how well these actions are improving outcomes for children.
The association is well organised and managed. It provides useful policies and procedures, a comprehensive framework for monitoring health and safety. The association incorporates management support in the form of education services managers and a manager of kindergarten operations who work in partnership with teachers providing ongoing leadership and professional development.
Since the on-site stage of this review, the centre buildings have been affected by the Christchurch earthquake and the kindergarten is now operating out of temporary premises. The association has been proactive in addressing issues relating to children, personnel and property.