Iqra Educare

ERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.

ERO’s Judgement

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Iqra Educare is located on the same premises as Jamia Mashid Mosque. This service provides education and care for a multicultural community including a small number of Pacific learners. The philosophy acknowledges Islamic beliefs and values through a holistic teaching approach.

Summary of Review Findings

The service curriculum respects and supports children to be confident in their own cultures and encourages them to understand and respect others. Children have the opportunity to develop knowledge of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are provided with a range of indoor and outdoor experiences to enhance their learning and development, individually and in groups appropriate to their age and ability.

Actions for Compliance

Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the flowing non-compliances:

• all children’s workers who have access to children being safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7A]

Next ERO Review

The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

25 November 2022

Information About the Service

General Information about Assurance Reviews

All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.

Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

• having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation

• previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’

• that has moved from a provisional to a full licence

• that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership

• where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)

• relevant evacuation procedures and practices.

As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:

• discussions with those involved in the service

• consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems

• observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.

1 Evaluation of Iqra Educare

How well placed is Iqra Educare to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Iqra Educare is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Iqra Educare is an education and care service located on the same premises as Jamia Mashid Mosque in the suburb of Claudelands in Hamilton. The centre is licensed for 30 children over the age of two years in a full-day programme. The current roll of 30 includes children from diverse ethnic backgrounds including 17 of Somalian descent. Many children have English as a second language.

The centre is governed by a board operating on behalf of the Waikato Muslim Association (WMA). Board members have a range of relevant skills and experience to enable them to effectively govern the centre. The board sets the direction for the centre and an experienced head teacher provides professional leadership for teachers.

The centre's philosophy makes a commitment to provide holistic care for each individual and a high standard of education for the children of the community, based on Islamic beliefs and values. The service encourages every child to develop knowledge of the wider world, self-help skills and positive dispositions.

Since the previous ERO review in February 2016 a new centre manager has been appointed from the teaching team and there have been some changes to the teaching staff. The areas of strength identified in the 2016 report remain highly evident.

The Review Findings

Iqra Educare's philosophy and vision effectively underpin all aspects of centre operations.

Children experience a curriculum where they are encouraged to become confident and successful learners. Their language, culture and identity are highly visible and valued. The purpose-built learning environment is spacious and well resourced. Literacy, mathematics and science are naturally integrated throughout the programme. The centre has established strong partnerships with a wide range of external agencies to support migrant families for whom English is an additional language. Transitions are well considered into and beyond the centre. Children with additional needs are well supported through individualised planning and responsive practice. Children are supported to build their knowledge about New Zealand’s unique cultural heritage through the frequent use of te reo Māori, waiata and centre’s pepeha.

Highly-inclusive teaching practices are evident. Teachers know children and families very well. Children’s social competence is well supported through positive and consistent guidance strategies. Teachers actively participate alongside children in meaningful play. They provide children with resources and activities for play. Increasing children's independent access to a wider range of resources and equipment as an important consideration for teachers. Teachers implement a range of strategies to support children who are new English language learners. Respectful and affirming relationships promote a strong sense of belonging for children and their families. Children's group learning experiences are documented and well presented in each child's learning portfolio.

Leaders promote a strong culture of teaching and learning. The head teacher provides regular feedback and feed forward to teachers to guide and improve practice. She models effective teaching practices for teachers. Leaders have established useful relationships with other organisations including participating in a two year Waikato University research project about supporting migrant families. A useful self-review process has been implemented. Self review could be further enhanced by more specifically focusing on learning outcomes for children.

The board provides supportive governance for the centre. The clearly defined vision and values successfully promote positive outcomes for children’s learning and wellbeing, and that of their whānau. The WMA has developed a comprehensive 20 year strategic plan which includes the opening of a second centre. Regular meaningful communication and consultation with whānau enables the centre to respond effectively to parents' aspirations and needs.

Key Next Steps

The key next step for leaders and teachers is to strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation process. Consideration should be given to focusing on each individual child's learning and development including:

• incorporating the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki

• increasing planned responses to parents' aspirations.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Iqra Educare 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

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

23 July 2019

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

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

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.

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.