116 Ilam Road, Ilam, Christchurch
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Early Childhood Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
This centre provides all day care and education for children from birth to school age. It is licensed for up to 64 children, including up to 19 aged under two years. The centre comprises two adjacent units with separate outdoor environments. One caters for children aged 0-2 years and the other for toddlers (aged 2-3 years) and pre-schoolers (aged 3-5 years).
The centre is owned by the University of Canterbury and most children have family members who work or learn at the university. Children and teachers come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Day-to-day operations are led by an experienced centre manager, with the support of a team leader in each unit. Almost all staff are qualified teachers.
The centre's philosophy states that leaders and teachers aspire to support all children to develop a sense of security and belonging in the centre, bicultural understandings, confidence in their identity, culture and languages, and confidence to explore and lead their own learning.
Leaders and teachers have made good progress in addressing the areas identified for development in the centre's April 2016 ERO review. This has included strengthening aspects of assessment and planning, internal evaluation and teacher appraisal.
Children are well supported through effective teaching to achieve the valued outcomes identified in the centre's guiding philosophy. They experience positive, respectful relationships and interactions with their teachers. Teachers notice and respond to children's interests, ideas and initiatives. They plan purposefully to extend children's learning, thinking and developing capabilities. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to foster children's social skills, wellbeing and confidence to lead their own learning. Children's communication and early literacy capabilities are nurtured by a language-rich environment. The indoor and outdoor learning environments are well resourced and provide for choice, variety and challenge.
Leaders and teachers plan carefully to meet the diverse needs of children. All children's cultures, languages and identities are valued and celebrated. The learning environment and programme are modified to support children with additional needs to fully participate. Infants' wellbeing and learning are very well supported through calm, unhurried and responsive interactions and routines. Teachers build close collaborative relationships with parents in order to learn about children's lives beyond the centre and to be able to identify and respond appropriately to children's needs.
Very good use is made of the centre's connection to the university to promote children's sense of belonging and involvement in the university community and environment, and to provide authentic contexts for learning. Regular visits and excursions around the university campus enable children to stay connected to people and places that are important to them and their families.
Children have increased opportunities to learn about Māori knowledge, customs and language. Leaders and teachers have built their understandings of Māori tikanga, history, concepts and language. They are incorporating these with greater confidence throughout learning programmes and within assessment and planning.
Centre leaders are committed to promoting effective teaching and positive outcomes for children. Teachers are very well supported to continue to develop professionally through a comprehensive and well-considered professional learning framework. Leaders model and promote openness-to-learning and critical reflection for ongoing improvement. Internal evaluation is aligned with strategic priorities and leads to shared understandings of effective practice. There are robust systems and practices to support the sustainable operation of the centre and monitor the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. These are effectively supported by university expertise in finance, health and safety management, and human resources.
Centre leaders and ERO agree that key next steps to further develop the conditions for promoting positive outcomes for children include:
developing systems and practices for monitoring and sustaining recent improvements in assessment and planning and ensuring these reflect the centre's criteria for effective practice
following up changes and improvements that result from collaborative inquiries, reviews and evaluations to determine the impact of these on improving teaching practice and outcomes for children's learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Early Childhood 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:
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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
10 December 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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70491 |
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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 |
64 children, including up to 19 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
62 |
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Gender composition |
Male 36 Female 26 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
10 December 2019 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
April 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
June 2009 |
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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.
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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.
This Early Childhood Learning Centre caters for children from birth to school age and is governed and managed by the University of Canterbury. Prior to 2014 the centre operated under two licenses but has now merged to operate as one centre.
The centre is arranged as two separate buildings, one for children aged under two and one for children over two years old. Each building has its own playground area.
Since the 2012 ERO review, there have been some changes in staff and centre leadership. A head teacher oversees the day-to-day running of both areas. Overarching leadership is provided by a manager.
The families who use this centre come from many different cultural backgrounds. Acknowledging and celebrating this diversity is important to the centre. Many families have English as a second language. Some staff speak other languages.
Over 90% of the teaching staff have early childhood education qualifications. The centre also employs support staff.
The centre is part of the Riccarton Learning Cluster with local schools and other early childhood services. They are working together to strengthen transition from early childhood to school.
There is a shared and clearly-stated philosophy to guide centre practice. It is closely linked to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum of New Zealand.
Teachers promote a child-centred programme that is making increasing use of children's interests and teachers' abilities to extend children's learning.
Infants and toddlers benefit from the strong focus teachers place on building positive and secure relationships with them, especially when they first start at the centre. Interactions between teachers and babies are respectful, and are responsive to children’s cues and preferences. Children in the under two year old area are given time to make choices, follow their interests and explore the environment.
In the area for children over two years old, teachers work regularly alongside children in the programme. They have frequent conversations with them about their play. Teachers respond to and extend children’s interests and ideas.
Children have good opportunities to:
Teachers are responsive to the culture, language and identity of children and their families. They encourage parents and their children to share aspects of their culture. Resources often reflect home cultures and teachers include home languages in the programme.
Teachers have been focused on providing a broader range of curriculum experiences. This has included regular science and music experiences. Teachers also make regular use of University resources and facilities to extend children's learning experiences.
Teachers are including more te reo and tikanga Māori in the programme and in their practices.
There are well-organised overarching health and safety systems and resources. Staff have clear roles and responsibilities. Teachers work as a team and communicate well to support children during play and routines.
There is an ongoing emphasis on internal and external professional development for teachers. The positive impact of this is evident in aspects of the programme. Regular performance management reviews and discussions are building teacher capability.
Teachers often reflect on aspects of the programme. The team responsible for children under two recently completed a very good self review that showed a robust, well-documented inquiry into teaching practices. This is an exemplar to build on for future self-review practice.
Management and teachers use a range of useful ways to engage with parents, seek and respond to their views, and inform them about their child’s learning and centre events.
The manager, head teacher and ERO agree that the key next steps to improve the quality of the service include:
The manager and head teacher have identified, and ERO affirms, that they also need 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.
ERO identified that checking on sleeping children and the daily environment for children aged under two need to be strengthened.
The next ERO review of Early Childhood Learning Centre will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
7 April 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 |
Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70491 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
64 children, including up to 19 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
80 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 44; Girls 36 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
46 |
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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 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
7 April 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
October 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.