Creative Corner Early Learning Centre

1 Evaluation of Creative Corner Early Learning Centre

How well placed is Creative Corner Early Learning Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Creative Corner Early Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

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

Background

Creative Corner Early Learning Centre is a community-based, all-day centre next to Timaru Girls' High School. The centre is licenced for 50 children, including 15 children under two years of age. It is governed by a parent board and a centre manager provides day-to-day leadership. Children are grouped in two rooms according to age. Each room is led by a head teacher.

The focus of the philosophy is 'for teaching and learning programmes to achieve competent, confident, creative children within an inclusive community'. The recently established values are nurture, resilience, respect and play.

Since the 2014 ERO review, there have been significant changes to the board, leadership and teaching staff, including a new centre manager.

The Review Findings

Children benefit from the positive and caring relationships their teachers have with them. Teachers know the children and their families well. They set the environment and resources purposefully to promote greater engagement in meaningful play.

Leaders and teachers, with input from their parent community have effectively identified the 'learning that matters most' at Creative Corner Early Learning Centre. The curriculum has a strong focus on promoting children's well-being. It places value on children's unique language, culture and identity. Teachers are building their collective understanding of the curriculum and centre values.

Children's continuity of learning is well supported by teachers' useful assessment and planning practices. Planning provides direction for teaching and authentic learning opportunities for both groups and individual children. Teachers are at the beginning stages of making the centre's learning priorities, as identified in their localised curriculum, more visible in their planning.

The teachers of infants and toddlers have sensitive and responsive interactions with the children in their care. Stability of care contributes to the secure relationships that infants and toddlers have with their teachers. Resources that support social and physical development are easily available to children.

Māori children have opportunities in their day-to-day activities to see, hear, and use te reo Māori and learn aspects of Māori culture. In line with the centre's strategic aims, leaders and teachers have undertaken comprehensive professional learning in this area to build their knowledge and confidence.

The new manager is systematically building the collective capacity of teachers in the centre. This includes using effective internal evaluation for improvement and teachers' involvement in relevant professional learning and development. This has led to:

• a greater focus on professionalism within the team and interactions with parents and families
• increased organisational practices for assessment
• improved processes for planning and evaluating children's learning.

Centre-wide developments are well supported by clear and useful strategic and annual planning.

Key Next Steps

A key next step for leaders and teachers is to consolidate and embed the newly developed systems and processes.

Leaders and teachers need to improve reporting to the board, and where appropriate, the centre's community. Reports to the board should show over time how all children are achieving and making progress in relation to:

• the redesigned values
• the centre's learning priorities, and
• aspects of the revised philosophy.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Creative Corner Early Learning 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

7 August 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.

1 Evaluation of Creative Corner Early Learning Centre

How well placed is Creative Corner Early Learning Centre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

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

Background

Creative Corner Early Learning Centre is a long-established community-based service. It provides full-day early childhood education and care for up to 50 children from birth to school age. The children are cared for in two rooms, the Kaka room for infants and toddlers and the Pukeko room for young children. Almost all the staff are qualified teachers.

In February 2014 the centre moved into a new purpose-built facility on the grounds of the Timaru Girls' High School. This move was very carefully managed, resulting in a smooth transition for children and their families.

Children play and learn in spacious well resourced areas. The outdoor area is under development and there has been a deliberate decision to include children’s ideas in how it will be designed.

The strengths identified in the June 2010 ERO report are still evident. There has been good progress in addressing the recommendations of that report, particularly in improving the quality of teacher interactions for learning.

The Review Findings

A strength of this centre is the way in which children take part in meaningful learning experiences. Children have strong friendships. They play purposefully in groups, both independently and supported by teachers. Teachers are responsive to individual children. They have genuine conversations with children that encourage them to think more deeply and help them to develop their play ideas. Teachers make good use of information about children provided by their parents when planning the programmes.

The centre is a close knit community where children and their families enjoy positive and respectful relationships with their teachers. Parents are welcome to be involved in, for example, parent committee and sub-committee groups and family events and celebrations. Parents are comfortable spending time in the centre.

The philosophy of the centre aims for children to be confident, with the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful learners. This was strongly evident in the programme.

ERO observed children confident and independent in their decision making and their routines, expressing themselves in creative ways, and enjoying a range of early literacy experiences. The programme is planned around the strands and principles of the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki.

The teachers provide respectful and effective positive guidance for children. They help them work through challenges and support them between activities and routines.

The centre has a rich learning environment which is thoughtfully planned with the centre’s philosophy in mind. It offers active and quiet spaces and children can make choices about where they will play. There is a well thought out range of equipment that caters for the interests and abilities of different children. The teachers provide resources to excite and delight children.

Infants and toddlers

The teachers who work with infants and toddlers have been chosen for their specific expertise and passion for working with this age group. Teachers have caring and supportive relationships with infants and toddlers. This is shown through close contact, touching, gentle care, smiles, nurturing and the calm, slow pace of their work. Teachers talk with infants and toddlers about what is going to happen next and give them time to understand and accept what is being done. They recognise and respond to infants’ and toddlers’ non-verbal communication.

Teachers work closely with the children’s parents to find out about their individual needs. Care and effort is put into infants’ transition into the centre and building parents’ and children’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. When children with diverse needs attend the centre the teachers adapt the programme to ensure they are fully included.

Aspects of the programme that support infants’ and toddlers’ communication and exploration skills include:

• open-ended resources that encourage exploration and communication
• specific planning for under one year olds and over one year olds
• suitable routines that support children’s numeracy learning and increasing self help
• teachers deliberately supporting children to build relationships with one another.

The infants and toddlers outdoor play area has been planned to allow them to move freely to the older children’s play area, then return to the familiarity of the under two areas when they choose. The teachers extend invitations for older children and siblings to join the younger group when it is suitable for them to visit.

Teachers work very well together as a team to support each child’s learning and wellbeing. Infants and toddlers regularly hear te reo Māori and waiata. A teacher with strengths in te reo and tikanga Māori supports other teachers’ skills.

Governance and management

A clear vision for the centre guides all aspects of governance and management. The governance committee has developed a valuable strategic plan with a strong focus on outcomes for children. The strategic plan is supported by a useful action plan and this is monitored by a process of self review. The manager reports to the committee at each meeting the progress towards meeting the goals of the strategic plan. The committee and manager have a strong working relationship and a deep commitment to partnership with families and seeking parents’ views.

The committee members have had ongoing training in roles as governors and as a result the committee, manager, and staff are clear about their different roles. The committee has engaged in succession planning to replace outgoing members and to maintain experienced staff in the centre. It also has a strong commitment to appointing staff with relevant experience and expertise. Staff are consulted and valued, and the new building has been thoughtfully designed to provide for their professional needs.

The manager provides strong leadership for the staff. She encourages all teachers to contribute their interests and expertise to the running of the programme. Together they focus on improving the quality of education and care for children through ongoing self review. Leaders have identified that bicultural practice in the centre is work in progress, and use of te reo Māori is a topic at each staff meeting. The leaders agreed it would be useful to develop an action plan to further develop bicultural practices. They also identified that they need to continue to develop and refine aspects of the way they plan and assess children’s learning.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Creative Corner Early Learning 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 Creative Corner Early Learning Centre will be in four years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

27 May 2014

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.