11 Green Street, Frankton-Hamilton, Hamilton
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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.
Gingerbread Cottage is privately owned and operated home-based education and care service for children from birth to school age in Hamilton and surrounding areas. It is licensed to cater for 60 children. Its roll of 76, includes 27 children of Māori descent. Children are placed in family homes with one educator, who can be responsible for up to four children at any one time. The network offers flexible hours to meet individual family needs.
The service's philosophy states that they strive to build positive, reciprocal relationships to foster a strong sense of belonging. It aims to value children’s knowledge and their learning is fostered in play based environments. Parents are acknowledged as the child’s first teachers.
Since ERO’s last review in 2015 planning, assessment and evaluation has been strengthened and a new visiting teacher has been appointed.
Children’s interests are effectively responded to by educators. Caring, nurturing and inclusive relationships are evident between educators and children. All children are empowered to be involved in learning experiences that build a strong sense of belonging and ability to self manage. There are effective systems and processes in place to support children with additional needs. Learning is contextual to real-life experiences. Children are encouraged to follow their interests and lead their own learning.
Children under the age of two enjoy positive, responsive, one-to-one secure interactions. Infants and toddlers experience continuity of connection between visiting teachers, educators and families. Effective communication systems support sharing of information about infants' routines between care and home. Careful and thoughtful placements by the service match parents' and children’s needs with educators well. Children’s learning is well supported through a clear focus on providing positive and reciprocal relationships
The curriculum is effective in providing positive learning opportunities for children. Experiences outside the home regularly provide children with opportunities for learning in different contexts. Te Whāriki underpins the curriculum provided in this home-based service. Te reo and tikanga Māori are evident in the programme. Children experience a rich curriculum where they are listened to and encouraged to become confident and successful learners and explorers.
Planning for children’s learning is well promoted by visiting teachers both at playgroup and in the educator's home. Assessment reflects children's learning and parents and whānau are able to access their child's individual portfolios. Further strengthening of assessment practices should include clearly documenting children's learning and progress overtime. Educators, parents and children attend regular playgroups, which are held in attractively presented and well-resourced learning spaces. Children's play is recognised and valued as meaningful learning.
The visiting teacher guides and supports educators to meet health and safety requirements and provide an appropriate standard of education and care. She effectively identifies and responds to children’s individual learning needs through regular visits and monthly reports. The visiting teacher encourages educators to acknowledge children’s language, culture and identity and reflects this in their programme. Positive and robust induction processes support new educators into the service. There is a strong focus on encouraging educators to engage in professional learning opportunities. Children’s learning is enhanced by visiting teachers who are reflective and responsive to their learning and care needs.
The philosophy, vision and mission effectively guide the service. An annual plan is in place and used by visiting teachers to progress goals and priorities. Self review follows a framework that leads to change and improvement. Leaders acknowledge that the philosophy and long-term strategic direction for the service now needs to be reviewed in order to promote further outcomes for children.
ERO and leaders agree that there is need to review the philosophy and long term strategic direction for the service and strengthen policies, procedures and systems to include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Gingerbread Cottage Network 2 completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
The next ERO review of Gingerbread Cottage Network 2 will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
18 June 2018
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 |
Hamilton |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45684 |
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Institution type |
Homebased Network |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
76 |
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Standard or Quality Funded |
Quality |
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Gender composition |
Boys 40 Girls 36 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
27 36 13 |
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Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
1 |
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Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
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Review team on site |
June 2018 |
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Date of this report |
18 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2015 |
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Education Review |
August 2012 |
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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:
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
He whānau kōtahi tātou, ā ahakoa he iti he pounamu We are one family, where each member is precious and valued
The guiding principles of this service's philosophy are based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. These include:
Gingerbread Cottage Ltd consists of two networks, which cater for children from birth to school age. Educators and children come from Hamilton city and the Waikato region. The service is privately owned and administered by one of two directors. The administration director is also the licensee for both networks, and has overall responsibility for regulatory compliance, financial and overall administration of both networks. In 2012 the service purchased new property, renovated the premises and created a permanent base for playgroup activities.
There are three qualified early childhood teachers in the service. A new position of teaching manager was established in July 2015 to facilitate and improve professional leadership in the service, including the implementation of systems to improve educational outcomes for children.
Two experienced visiting teachers are responsible for leading, supporting and guiding educators to ensure they provide care, safety and appropriate educational outcomes for babies, toddlers and young children in their homes. Teachers share a belief that home-based care and education is closely aligned to the concept of whanaungatanga, and offers parents/whānau a close alternative to family life.
Teachers visit the homes of parents and whānau as part of the enrolment process to ensure placements are appropriate, and they are comfortable with their children's safety, care and education.
Network 2 is licensed for 60 children, with a maximum of 60 children up to two years of age. Sixteen of the children on the roll are of Māori descent and one child has Tongan ancestry.
The service has a positive reporting history and is addressing the areas for development identified in the 2012 ERO report. This review evaluates the quality of education and care received by children, with a particular focus on the environment, interactions and the learning programme. It also evaluates the service's progress with self-review.
Babies, toddlers and young children benefit from the support provided by the visiting teacher during regular visits to homes, and when educators bring them to the playgroup facility. The visiting teacher has a sound understanding of Te Whāriki, and provides effective guidance and strategies for educators to implement the curriculum strands of wellbeing, belonging, contribution, communication and exploration.
The service is developing effective systems to support operations and professional practice. A particular feature of the service is the high level of collaboration and communication among visiting teachers, educators and parents. The managing teacher, visiting teachers and educators have worked together to establish a range of indicators aligned to Te Whāriki. The aim is to use these indicators of good practice as a tool to build the quality of education for children.
Educators' homes provide natural whānau like settings in a nurturing environment for babies, toddlers and young children. These learning contexts of close, respectful and trusting relationships provide children with many opportunities for one-on-one conversations with each other and their educators.
Individual learning journals celebrate children's identity and sense of wellbeing. There are very good photographs and accompanying examples of writing, which include contributions from parents and extended whānau members. These examples provide babies, toddlers and young children with a strong sense of belonging. Parental participation is very evident in some journals, and they provide many scenarios of their child's experiences and interests.
Other learning stories written by educators show children at play while in the care of educators and how they interact socially and build relationships with others. These journals show that children experience a rich variety of learning experiences in homes and the local community. Some learning stories capture the child's voice through art work and written comments.
Visiting teachers have professional discussions with educators to build their understandings of how children learn through play. Children are able to explore their interests, and educators are encouraged to notice, recognise and respond to what children are learning. The visiting teacher comments on the learning stories and suggests possibilities about how they might extend children's learning.
Visiting teachers regularly communicate with parents/whānau by email, telephone and occasionally at playgroup. The service provides parents and whānau with both formal and informal opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service's operations. This was particularly evident in the recent review of the service philosophy.
Management promotes a strong emphasis on literacy and encourages educators and families to access books from the service's library. This includes resources that promote te reo and tikanga Māori. Educators participate in playgroup sessions, which provide them with opportunities to socialise and learn alongside others.
The directors, managing teacher and teachers meet regularly to share information about what is happening within each network. The service has established a philosophy, vision and mission statement to guide direction of the service. These documents have clear intentions and aims, which should assist the service to more effectively review current practices and new initiatives focused on positive outcomes for children.
Māori culture, language and identity is sensitively nurtured by endeavouring to place children with educators who have knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. Visiting teachers of both networks, and an educator in Network 2, are into their second year of a te reo and tikanga Māori course through the Open Wānanga. This has resulted in more children and educators being confident in the use of Māori phrases and practices. All educators are encouraged to participate in the wānanga programme.
There are effective systems, processes and practices to ensure health and safety legislation requirements are met. These include providing educators with tools and resources to undertake their roles and responsibilities for the care and education of children.
The service has a well-developed process to review policies and procedures. The appraisal of visiting teachers is aligned to the practising teacher criteria and regularly monitored during the year. Service managers and teachers acknowledge that the following is an important priority to consider for ongoing review and development:
Before the review, the staff and management of Gingerbread Cottage Network 2 completed an ERO Home-based Education and Care 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.
The next ERO review of Gingerbread Cottage Network 2 will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
23 November 2015
|
Location |
Hamilton |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45684 |
|
|
Institution type |
Homebased Network |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
60 children, including up to 60 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
65 |
|
|
Standard or Quality Funded |
Quality |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 39 Girls 26 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
16 45 4 |
|
Number of qualified coordinators in the network |
2 |
|
|
Required ratios of staff educators to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
|
|
Review team on site |
October 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
23 November 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2012 |
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:
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 the draft methodology for ERO reviews in Home-based Education and Care Services: July 2014
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.