51 Flanshaw Road, Te Atatu South, Auckland
View on mapFlanshaw Early Childhood Centre
Flanshaw Early Childhood 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 (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 Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
2 Context of the Service
Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre is a not-for-profit service that provides education and care for children from two years to school age. Most children transition from the nearby Flanshaw Infant and Toddler Centre at around three years of age. The centre manager and curriculum leader are supported by four qualified teachers and one unqualified teacher.
3 Summary of findings
Children’s preferences and choices are respected. Kaiako motivate children to inquire into their own interests, explore the environment and develop new knowledge of the world around them. Their play is valued, and wellbeing is prioritised. Children observed were settled and confidently engaged in learning in a well-resourced environment.
Children are viewed by kaiako as capable and confident learners who can lead their own learning. They provide learning experiences that encourage children to explore, wonder, and be creative. Indoor and outdoor environments invite independent, small, and large group play.
Kaiako encourage children to think about what they do and why. Children’s social and emotional development is well supported. This is enabling children to problem-solve and use language to negotiate with others. Assessment practices make children’s learning visible and clearly identify progress and continuity of learning over time.
Kaiako celebrate te ao Māori and use te reo regularly with children. Waiata feature often during the programme. This contributes to a language-rich learning environment. Tuakana/teina relationships and tikanga practices are evident in children’s interactions. Cultural celebrations and heritage are visible through displays, stories, and artefacts.
Kaiako identify and remove barriers so that all children receive equitable care and learning opportunities. They work in partnership with parents and whānau to support children’s social competence and emotional wellbeing. The contributions of parents and whānau are valued, respected and evident through the programme.
High relational trust and collaboration among the governing board, staff, parents, and whānau supports sustained improvement. Kaiako practice is strengthened through a well-resourced professional learning programme. There are systematic internal evaluation processes that promote positive outcomes for all children.
4 Improvement actions
Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
- Continue to extend ways to enrich the learning of Pacific children.
- Continue to critically reflect on the impact of professional learning on the outcomes for children’s learning.
5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Flanshaw Early Childhood 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.
Phil Cowie
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
24 September 2021
6 About the Early Childhood Service
Early Childhood Service Name |
Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre |
Profile Number |
20301 |
Location |
Te Atatū South, Auckland |
Service type |
Education and care service |
Number licensed for |
35 children, over two years of age |
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
Service roll |
42 |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 6, NZ European/Pākehā 25, Chinese 4, |
Review team on site |
July 2021 |
Date of this report |
24 September 2021 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, March 2016; Education Review, December 2012 |
Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre - 09/03/2016
1 Evaluation of Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre
How well placed is Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Background
Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre is licensed for 35 children and provides care and education for children from around three years to school age. Most children transition from the affiliated Flanshaw Infant & Toddler Centre nearby. The two not-for-profit centres provide complementary services for families in their culturally diverse local community. The governance committee for both services comprises representatives of present and past parents and the principal of the school where the centres are located.
The two centre supervisors work collegially with each other, and are well supported by an external management group's liaison person. This structure serves the committee and centre management effectively. Monthly centre reports provide assurance to committee members about the provision and quality of care and education for children.
The centre's 2012 ERO report noted how staff worked effectively together to achieve positive outcomes for children. This feature continues to be evident and contributes to the centre being very well placed to sustain positive outcomes for children. Self-review processes have been enhanced to include evaluations about how well teaching practice, centre operations and the curriculum, support and extend children’s learning.
The centre supervisor’s leadership, committee members’ governance and involvement of the management group, and the well qualified and stable teaching team, have supported ongoing improvements since 2012.
The Review Findings
Children are confident and capable learners. They communicate well with each other and adults. Their strong sense of belonging and connection to each other is enhanced by the respectful relationships between staff and parents/whānau. The centre's philosophy is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Reggio Emilia principles are evident in the layout of the environment and in the programme.
Very effective transition practices support children and their families. Teachers recognise and build on each child’s capability from the time of their enrolment at the centre. In turn, teachers and parents/whānau respect the way teachers of the adjoining school value records of individual children’s learning. This is significant in this context because most children commence their schooling at Flanshaw Road School.
High quality professional leadership supports teachers to extend children’s thinking and learning. Teachers continually reflect on their work and discuss with colleagues the ways they can improve outcomes for children. They feel confident to contribute their thinking and talents to centre operations and direction. Purposeful professional learning and development (PLD) helps teachers to implement new ways of working and refine their practice.
Teachers plan programmes that allow children to test ideas and use a variety of media and resources to support their investigations. The placement and purpose of different areas of play are well considered and provide opportunities for children to lead their learning. Children are confident that teachers will value and build on their contributions. The centre’s richly resourced environment provides them with meaningful literacy, mathematics and science experiences.
Staff believe in the importance of understanding each child through knowing their families well. Teachers and committee members have a shared commitment to representing and supporting interests of the local community. Staff have deliberately included culturally authentic features in the programme and environment to reflect Aotearoa/New Zealand’s bicultural heritage. To enhance good practice the centre has a shared goal of increasing teacher capability in promoting Te Āo Māori.
Parents and whānau have increased opportunities to access information about their children’s education and care by viewing teacher comments on personalised web-based pages. Increasingly, parents and whānau share what they observe about their children’s learning. These contributions are valued by staff as an important input for the planning process.
Since the 2012 ERO review, teachers have developed planning and assessment processes that are more responsive to individual children’s interests. This development has contributed to children experiencing an unhurried curriculum that allows them to develop depth of understanding and more complexity in their play. Evidence of this good quality learning is in children’s assessment portfolios.
Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their practice and discuss ideas with others at team meetings. Centre managers are embedding new teacher appraisal systems, and investigating ways to collate meaningful evidence of teacher practice.
Key Next Steps
ERO and centre managers agree that a further area for development includes greater use of evaluative approaches in managers’ reports to enhance the management committee’s strategic planning and decision making.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Flanshaw Early Childhood 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.
Next ERO Review
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Flanshaw Early Childhood Centre will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
9 March 2016
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
Location |
Te Atatu South, Auckland |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
20301 |
||
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
Number licensed for |
35 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
Service roll |
45 |
||
Gender composition |
Girls 26 Boys 19 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Chinese Fijian Indian |
9 29 5 1 1 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
Review team on site |
January 2016 |
||
Date of this report |
9 March 2016 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
December 2012 |
|
Education Review |
August 2009 |
||
Education Review |
September 2006 |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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.
ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review
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.
Review Coverage
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.