2 Keri Anne Place, Manukau Central, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
BestStart Everglade Babies is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
BestStart Everglade Babies is licensed for up to 20 children under two years of age. Its philosophy promotes nurturing, loving and respectful relationships with children, where keeping them safe is paramount.
The centre's holistic approach to learning is based on Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children are seen as capable, are empowered, stimulated and challenged to develop and grow and learn at their own pace. Strong relationships with children and their whānau are promoted. Culturally inclusive practices reflect the Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The centre's vision is influenced by the Pickler approach.
The centre is part of the BestStart charitable trust. The organisation has re-branded all its early learning services. It provides an overarching governance and management framework to support operations and curriculum delivery in individual centres. Business managers (BM) and professional services managers (PSM) lead the staff professional development and provide strategic guidance.
Four staff members, including the centre manager, are registered teachers. They have worked together over a period of time. Teachers are supported to participate in professional development.
The 2015 ERO report affirmed the centre's primary caregiver approach, teachers' responsiveness to children's needs and the inviting learning environments.
This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in BestStart's Upper North Island region.
Children settle quickly and enjoy a calm, slow pace to the programme. Children's strong sense of belonging is evident. They confidently approach adults when needed and are able to articulate their needs through verbal and non-verbal communications that are well understood by adults.
Teachers know the children and their families well. Their interactions with children are unhurried and sensitive. As a result, children gain a positive sense of wellbeing that supports them to take risks and freely follow their interests. Teachers support children's language development and value their imaginative play. They support children with conflict resolution and promote resilience and empathy. Teachers communicate effectively while interacting with their individual group of children.
Children are confident to have fun exploring a physical environment that provides challenges and promotes complexity of learning. They know their environment well and engage with the choices that teachers provide. There is good flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Safe areas for children who are not yet confident or mobile are planned.
Teachers value and acknowledge parent and whānau aspirations and include these in the design of the curriculum. They make good use of Te Whāriki to inform the programme. Teachers recognise children's diverse cultures and use their home languages in conversations.
Some teachers take personal responsibility for promoting the use of te reo Māori as a natural part of their interactions. A next step is for all teachers to be confident in the use of te reo Māori. Teachers could seek contributions from the wider whānau to build a stronger bicultural curriculum.
Pacific children and their families enjoy warm, welcoming relationships. They experience learning where their language, culture and identity are enhanced. They have a strong sense of belonging. Teachers could now evaluate the extent to which the programme reflects the diversity of the centre's surrounding community.
The service provides good opportunities for emergent leadership. Teachers are collegial and collaborative. Internal evaluation results in improved practices to promote positive outcomes for children. Professional learning and development is a focus for building capabilities and has impacted positively on teaching practices.
Centre operations are guided by strategic and annual plans, and a shared vision. These are linked to BestStart strategic goals, which promote a sense of belonging to a wider learning community and support more widespread collaboration amongst teaching teams. Leaders and teachers regularly revisit the centre's strategic goals and annual action plans to monitor quality and promote ongoing improvement.
Key next steps include:
deepening teachers' understanding about te ao Māori and its integration in teaching practices and the curriculum
increasing connections between the curriculum and the local community
making children's progress and continuity of learning more visible in planning, assessment and evaluation
documenting the good quality teaching practices evident in the service, to increase shared understanding.
Before the review, the staff and management of BestStart Everglade Babies 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:
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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
27 September 2019
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 |
Manukau Central, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25166 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
20 children aged under 2 years |
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Service roll |
18 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 9 Boys 9 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2019 |
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Date of this report |
27 September 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2012 |
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Supplementary Review |
June 2008 |
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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:
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.
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.
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.
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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.
First Steps Everglade Babies in Manukau, Auckland, is licensed to provide education and care for up to 20 children less than two years of age. The centre’s recently reviewed philosophy focuses on caring, nurturing, and respecting children in a safe environment.
The centre operates as a part of Kidicorp Ltd. Professional and administrative direction is provided by a Kidicorp professional services manager and a business manager. Kidicorp provides operational frameworks, policies, support and guidance to develop and monitor centre practices. A nearby Kidicorp centre for older children provides good continuity of care for children from the local area.
In recent years, there have been considerable changes to the teaching and management teams. Staff changes have also impacted future priorities. Since the 2011 ERO review priorities for improvement have changed.
Infants and toddlers have close, positive relationships with staff. As a result most children are settled and comfortable in the centre. They play freely and explore the learning environment. Children have rich opportunities to develop independence in aspects of their care routines.
Teachers each have a primary caregiver role for a small group of children. This practice promotes close bonds between them and children. Teachers know their group of children well and are responsive to their needs. Care routines preferred by parents are acknowledged and followed.
The new centre manager has introduced systems to help teachers to plan for individual children. This planning supports the move towards a curriculum that is more focused on extending children’s interests and developing attitudes and skills that promote their learning. The individual planners provide a good platform for children’s future development.
Teachers record children’s participation in the programme. They identify each child’s learning and some useful ways to develop this further. Online formats encourage parents and whānau to contribute to children’s portfolios. The centre manager intends to implement clear expectations of teachers’ planning and assessment. Such expectations would help to establish greater teaching consistency through the centre.
The large outdoor play area is well set up for infants and toddlers. Improvements to the indoors have created a more inviting learning environment for children. The planned refurbishment of other indoor and outdoor spaces and the provision of fresh resources will further enhance children’s learning. Teachers’ work environment has been improved with the addition of a room for their breaks and for meeting with parents.
Teachers support parents well to transition their children into the centre. Parents are encouraged to adapt the transition process to meet their own and their child’s needs. Teachers and parents share the role of supporting children to transition to the nearby centre for the older age group.
Teachers have used good self review processes to begin implementing change in the centre. They could now have stronger processes for clarifying decisions made, ensuring agreed actions are followed through, and revisiting expectations over time.
The recently appointed centre manager has been influential in building a team that works collaboratively. She is well supported to fulfil the expectations of her position. As a result the centre is in a developmental phase with some key improvements being relatively new. The professional services manager, business manager and centre manager have appropriate focuses for the centre’s development.
ERO affirms the next steps identified by the centre manager. These include:
Before the review, the staff and management of First Steps Everglade Babies 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:
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 First Steps Everglade Babies will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
19 June 2015
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.
|
Location |
Manukau, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25166 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
20 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
22 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 12 Boys 10 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Samoan Chinese Fijian |
8 6 3 3 1 1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
April 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
19 June 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2012 |
|
|
Supplementary Review |
June 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 2007 |
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.
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.