166 High Street, Oxford
View on mapAkarangi | 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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Oxford Early Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
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What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whāngai Establishing |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
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He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whāngai Establishing |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whāngai Establishing |
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Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakatō Emerging |
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Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whāngai Establishing |
Oxford Early Learning Centre provides care and education for children in three separate areas for children from birth-to-school age. The centre director leads a team of fully qualified teachers.
The service is governed by The Oxford Children’s Trust who are members of the Oxford Baptist Church. They work closely with the service director.
Leaders and kaiako have responsive, respectful and caring relationships with children, their parents and whānau. Kaiako seek and value parent voice about their children’s learning, learning goals and wellbeing. Leaders continue to embed improved assessment and planning processes to ensure across centre consistency.
Kaiako use deliberate strategies to support children’s learning, especially their social competency. They are responsive to children’s interests and strengths. Children, in their play and learning, make choices, show independence and take responsibility. Children with additional learning needs and infants and toddlers are well supported.
Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori practices are developing and are evident in the curriculum. Children’s languages and cultures are not always evident in learning records. In order to better support Māori children and deepen teachers’ and children’s understanding of te ao Māori, leaders and teachers have accessed some professional learning.
Leaders and teachers are in the early stages of using evaluation to improve teaching practices and outcomes for children. The service has a useful framework to guide their evaluation process.
Trustees are reflective and improvement focused. They have recently completed a comprehensive review of governance and management, with a vision of better supporting children and their families. This resulted in an improved leadership structure and better-informed strategic planning.
Oxford Early Learning Centre is to include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. These are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Oxford Early Learning Centre 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 (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
9 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Oxford Early Learning Centre |
| Profile Number | 70422 |
| Location | Oxford |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
84 children, including up to 14 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
64 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 8, NZ European/Pākehā 49, Other ethnic groups 7. |
|
Review team on site |
March 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
9 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2016; Education Review, October 2012. |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Oxford Early Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Oxford Early Learning Centre is a large, Christian-based early childhood service. It caters for babies and children to school age in three separate rooms. The nursery, the two-to-three year old and four year old rooms each have their own outdoor play areas. The teachers are qualified early childhood teachers or training to become early childhood teachers. Many of the teachers are experienced and have taught at the centre for a number of years.
The centre is governed by a trust whose members are elected by the Oxford Baptist Church. The centre manager is a member of the trust.
Since the 2012 ERO review, the trust, centre leaders and teachers have made a number of improvements to self review, child assessment and planning and the physical environment.
The centre successfully meets the vision and values outlined in the philosophy statement. The strong focus on responsive, respectful and reciprocal relationships is evident in all aspects of the work of the trust, centre leaders and staff. The culture is inclusive of all children and families.
Centre leaders and teachers work well together. They value the strengths and skills each brings to the centre. Children are well supported to develop positive social skills and to work cooperatively with others. The trust provides well-organised support networks within the centre, church and wider community for children and families.
Children's learning and wellbeing are central to decision making. Teachers actively seek parents' aspirations for their children and involve them in goal setting for their child's learning. They keep parents well informed about their child's progress and the ways that teachers have helped children to further extend their learning.
Centre leaders and teachers value the knowledge and support that Māori families provide. They are beginning to build relationships with the wider Māori community. Teachers are making appropriate use of professional development to increase their knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori and its inclusion in the programme.
Children make good use of the attractive and well-resourced learning environments to develop their interests, extend their learning and work cooperatively with others.
Teachers use a range of effective strategies to help children develop problem-solving skills, think creatively and to use the wide variety of resources in different ways to extend their skills, knowledge and abilities.
Teachers in the nursery are nurturing and attentive. They establish close relationships with the families and provide flexible routines to meet the needs of infants and toddlers.
Children are encouraged to be healthy and physically active. The centre has a range of equipment that challenges children to extend their physical skills and competence. Teachers actively promote healthy food choices, growing your own food and eating or selling the produce.
Centre leaders and teachers have made effective use of self review and professional development to establish meaningful child assessment and planning processes and practices. These systems and processes:
ensure close links between home and centre learning
provide clear direction for the programme
specify ways teachers can effectively support children's learning
clearly show children's progress and achievement of learning goals.
The centre has well-established procedures for reviewing the curriculum. The managers and teachers have a good understanding of self review and the processes that they should follow. Information for reviews is collected from a range of sources and well analysed. Action plans are followed and progress accurately reported.
The key next steps to improve learning outcomes for children include strengthening strategic and annual planning and reporting.
The centre leaders and ERO agree that the centre should:
improve consistency in child assessment and planning and strengthen programme evaluation
make better use of relationships with Māori and professional development to increase te reo and tikanga Māori in the programmes and documentation
strengthen and embed staff appraisal processes.
Before the review, the staff and management of Oxford Early Learning Centre 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 Oxford Early Learning Centre will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
24 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.
|
Location |
Oxford, North Canterbury |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70422 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
80 children, including up to 10 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
126 |
||
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Gender composition |
Girls 68; Boys 58 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnicities |
5 115 6 |
|
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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 |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
February 2016 |
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Date of this report |
24 May 2016 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
October 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
October 2009 |
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Supplementary Review |
July 2007 |
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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:
very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
well placed – The next ERO review in three years
requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education
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.