Campbells Bay Early Learning Centre

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 ​Campbells Bay Early Learning Centre​ are as follows: 

2 Context of the Service 

Campbells Bay Early Learning Service is one of four services under the same ownership. An experienced centre manager and curriculum leader oversee operations at this service. Seven additional head teachers and the service provider, support a large team of qualified and unqualified staff. Families are from culturally diverse backgrounds, including small numbers of Māori children.  

3 Summary of findings 

Children experience a positive curriculum that is play-based and supported by caring and meaningful relationships with teachers. The environment is well-resourced, and children are provided with a range of experiences to enhance their learning. The design and layout of the environment supports interactions which allow children to develop strong relationships across the service. Primary caregiving in the infant’s room supports secure attachments through a focus on children’s individual rhythms and sense of belonging.  

Leaders and teachers recognise the importance of parent and whānau perspectives and provide opportunities for parents to share their aspirations for their children’s learning. Leaders are intentionally including information shared by parents in the curriculum planning and in their children’s assessment records. These are reviewed annually.  

Leaders and teachers are integrating aspects of te ao Māori into teaching practices. Te reo Māori and tikanga Māori are promoted in daily interactions and routines with children. A bicultural leader mentors kaiako. They are working alongside an external Māori consultant to support them. The languages and cultures of individual children and families are celebrated through cultural events. Staff could consider strengthening the curriculum to include explicitly and consistently, children’s cultures, home languages and identity as learners. 

A systematic approach to induction has been introduced to support new staff. This includes a focus on improving planning and assessment practices. Leaders will continue to work with teachers to support their increased understanding about and use of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.  

Those responsible for governance and management allocate resources in ways that clearly align with the service’s priorities for learning. The use of internal evaluation practices is beginning to identify areas where improvement is needed. Leaders are yet to identify progress made against their priorities or use indicators to measure how they are meeting their goals.  

4 Improvement actions 

​​Campbells Bay Early Learning Centre​ will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning: 

• Improve the extent to which the curriculum experienced by children, including curriculum documentation, reflects the valued learning outcomes of Te Whāriki . 
• Increase the extent to which children’s cultures, languages and identities are visible within the curriculum. 

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements 

Before the review, the staff and management of ​Campbells Bay Early Learning Centre​ 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)  

​​30 April 2024​    

6 About the Early Childhood Service