Frederick Street Family Centre

1 Evaluation of Frederick Street Family Centre

How well placed is Frederick Street Family Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Frederick Street Family Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Frederick Street Family Centre is one of three services in Hastings operating under the same ownership and management. It is a mixed-age environment, with a designated area for infants and toddlers. Most children progress to the Frederick Street Kindergarten around the time of their third birthday.

The service is licensed to provide care and education for 25 children, including 14 up to two years of age. Opening hours are from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday. At the time of this ERO review there were 33 children on roll and 14 identify as Māori.

The centre philosophy promotes trusting relationships and calm, unhurried practices.

The January 2016 ERO report identified self review as an area for development. Leaders and teachers have made significant progress and are continuing to strengthen practice across the team.

The Review Findings

The philosophy is highly evident in practice. Teachers successfully maintain a calm, slow environment where children have space and time to lead their learning. A primary caregiver approach promotes their wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Children of all ages play and learn together. They show care and concern for one another and tuakana teina relationships.

Infants and toddlers are well cared for by respectful, responsive teachers. There is an emphasis on maintaining children's sense of security. Their independence and self-help skills are effectively fostered.

Teachers value the knowledge and aspirations that parents and whānau hold for their children. This forms the basis for responsive programme planning to extend children's learning. An online assessment platform facilitates information sharing between home and the service. Leaders are continuing to strengthen consistency of assessment practice across the teaching team.

Aspects of te ao Māori are well promoted in the programme. Tikanga is evident in the environment and in daily routines. Teachers use te reo Māori spontaneously, and children are beginning to use kupu Māori in their play. A centre kaiāwhina is guiding teachers to develop strategies that further support Māori children's learning.

There is a clear emphasis on developing strong relationships between children, teachers and whānau. Parents are valued for the knowledge they bring to the service. Relationships are warm and responsive. Children and families are well supported for their progression to the Frederick Street Kindergarten.

Teachers regularly reflect on their practice and internal evaluation is continuing to strengthen. A next step is to further develop teachers' understanding and use of evaluation to improve outcomes for children. This should include using indicators of high quality practice to guide the process.

The newly revised appraisal system reflects Education Council requirements for building teacher capability. A next step is to further strengthen the process, including clear next steps for teachers to continue to improve their practice.

A well-developed annual plan guides all centre operation. Policies are regularly reviewed in consultation with whānau. Centre leaders show a clear commitment to ongoing improvement.

Key Next Steps

ERO and centre leaders agree that the service's key next steps are to continue to strengthen:

• strategies to promote teachers' ongoing professional growth

• assessment, planning and evaluation

• internal evaluation for improvement.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Frederick Street Family 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 Frederick Street Family Centre will be in three years.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

18 January 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 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.