Grow Active Balfour Terrace

1 ERO’s Judgements 

Akarangi | 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 are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.  

ERO’s judgements for ​Grow Active Balfour Terrace​ are as follows: 

2 Context of the Service 

Grow Active Balfour Terrace is one of three early childhood services operating under Grow Active Canterbury Ltd. There has been significant restructuring within the organisation since the 2021 ERO review. The owners are supported by a regional manager. Centre business managers and curriculum leaders are responsible for the day-to-day operations. This centre’s roll is culturally diverse and includes a small number of tamariki Māori, children of Pacific heritages and Indian heritages.  

3 Summary of findings  

Children are actively engaged as they learn in well-resourced environments where their independence is fostered. They are encouraged to explore and make choices about their learning. The service’s learning priorities are evident within the daily curriculum. Teachers are highly responsive to the individual needs of infants and toddlers. They maintain a slow and calm pace that allows younger children to lead their own learning.  

The bicultural curriculum continues to develop. Te reo Māori is valued as an integral part of the daily learning programme. Teachers proactively support children’s te reo Māori development. Aspects of tikanga Māori are evident in practice. Some te reo Māori is integrated within children’s learning records.  

Teachers continue to develop their understanding and use of the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Parents are invited to contribute their aspirations for their child’s learning. Teachers document and respond to these. Processes for assessment and planning for children’s learning are relatively new. Service leaders agree that this is an area for ongoing refinement.  

Leaders are improvement focussed. Professional development is provided to build leadership capability. There are planned opportunities to share learning among the teaching and leadership team. Teachers are supported in their professional growth cycles by the leadership team.  

Those responsible for governance and management systematically monitor regulatory and professional requirements. Resourcing aligns to the service’s philosophy, vision, and goals for learning. Internal evaluation for improvement is not yet well understood across the organisation. A stronger focus is now required on learner outcomes, to support decision making.  

4 Improvement actions 

​​Grow Active Balfour Terrace​ will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning: 

• Continue to develop teachers’ shared understanding of the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, to better show children’s learning progress over time.  
• Continue to strengthen the bicultural curriculum by increasing opportunities for children to hear and speak more complex te reo Māori and seeking whānau Māori contributions to the curriculum and their child’s learning.   
• Make visible children’s languages, cultures and learner identities in their assessment documentation. 

Grow Active governance will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning: 

• Build capability across the organisation to understand the purpose and use of internal evaluation for improvement, with a focus on learner outcomes.  
• Develop a process for reporting that has a clear focus on priorities for children's learning to show what is and is not working and for whom.  

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements 

Before the review, the staff and management of ​Grow Active Balfour Terrace​ completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios) 
• relevant evacuation procedures and practices. 

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. 

Patricia Davey 
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)  

​​2 May 2024​   

6 About the Early Childhood Service