116 Ilam Road, Ilam, Christchurch
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Judgements are made in relation to the Outcomes Indicators, Learning and Organisational Conditions. The Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Early Childhood Learning Centre are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) |
Whakatō Emerging |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
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Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions |
Whakatō Emerging Whakatō Emerging |
Early Childhood Learning Centre is owned by the University of Canterbury and is located on the University campus. A newly appointed centre manager oversees a fully qualified team of teachers. The teaching and learning community are culturally diverse. This includes a small number of Māori children and a significant number of Chinese children. There has been little progress made in addressing the key next steps identified in the 2019 review, these included assessment processes and internal evaluation.
Children experience an inclusive environment. They learn in a curriculum that supports diversity and there are opportunities for them to hear and speak multiple languages, inclusive of te reo Māori. Cultural knowledge is shared and celebrated. Teachers provide opportunities for children to engage in sustained play that supports their developing independence. Infants and toddlers experience calm and slow-paced interactions. They have space and time to play, explore and make choices in their learning. Children with additional needs are well supported by outside agencies and teachers. The learning environment is calm and settled.
It is timely for leaders and teachers to consult the parent community to determine the learning that is valued in this context inclusive of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. This valued learning should then be used to inform curriculum design, implementation, and teacher practice.
There is limited use of Te Whāriki to guide and inform planning and assessment of learning. Teachers regularly gather information about children’s interests and participation in the programme and use this information to plan further activities around the ongoing interest. Assessment information does not yet consistently show children’s learning and progress over time. Positive relationships are evident with parents but there is still more work to do to establish learning focused partnerships.
Leaders and teachers regularly reflect on their practice and use this to inform any changes made. This approach does not yet make evidence-based judgements about how well teachers’ practices contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. Internal evaluation has previously been identified by ERO as an area that requires development and is now a priority area for improvement.
A new leadership structure is in place. The University of Canterbury’s general policies and practices guide some of the services operations. Some of these need to be more site specific. There is further work to do in monitoring and evaluating how well the service is meeting regulatory requirements.
Early Childhood Learning Centre will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning. This includes:
For leaders and teachers to work collaboratively with whānau to unpack Te Whāriki, including the learning outcomes, and identify the learning that matters most in this community. Use this valued learning to guide curriculum planning, implementation, and teacher practice.
Establishing a shared understanding of the intentional use of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki in assessment practice, to report on children’s learning and progress over time.
Strengthening capability at all levels of the organisation to use evaluation to understand how well teachers’ practices contribute to positive learning outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Early Childhood Learning Centre completed an ERO 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; safety checking; teacher registration; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
ERO identified the following areas of non-compliance:
a written emergency management plan that meets all aspects of the regulatory requirements
accurate recording of time each child attending the service sleeps, and checks made by adults during that time
equipment, premises, and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children. Consideration of hazards must include but is not limited to the requirements of the licensing criteria
when children leave the premises on special excursion, the excursion must be approved by the person responsible
records of medicine given to children attending must include the child’s name and amount of medicine given and evidence of parental acknowledgement.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS7, HS9, HS12, HS17 & HS28.
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed the following non-compliance:
complete the risk assessment for every staff member based on information obtained every three years [GMA7a].
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure non-compliances identified in this report are addressed.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
2 February 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Early Childhood Learning Centre |
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Profile Number |
70491 |
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Location |
Christchurch |
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Service type |
Education and care service |
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Number licensed for |
64 children, including up to 19 aged under 2 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
100% |
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Service roll |
60 |
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Review team on site |
November 2022 |
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Date of this report |
2 February 2023 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, December 2019; Education Review, April 2016 |
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Early Childhood Learning Centre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
This centre provides all day care and education for children from birth to school age. It is licensed for up to 64 children, including up to 19 aged under two years. The centre comprises two adjacent units with separate outdoor environments. One caters for children aged 0-2 years and the other for toddlers (aged 2-3 years) and pre-schoolers (aged 3-5 years).
The centre is owned by the University of Canterbury and most children have family members who work or learn at the university. Children and teachers come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Day-to-day operations are led by an experienced centre manager, with the support of a team leader in each unit. Almost all staff are qualified teachers.
The centre's philosophy states that leaders and teachers aspire to support all children to develop a sense of security and belonging in the centre, bicultural understandings, confidence in their identity, culture and languages, and confidence to explore and lead their own learning.
Leaders and teachers have made good progress in addressing the areas identified for development in the centre's April 2016 ERO review. This has included strengthening aspects of assessment and planning, internal evaluation and teacher appraisal.
Children are well supported through effective teaching to achieve the valued outcomes identified in the centre's guiding philosophy. They experience positive, respectful relationships and interactions with their teachers. Teachers notice and respond to children's interests, ideas and initiatives. They plan purposefully to extend children's learning, thinking and developing capabilities. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to foster children's social skills, wellbeing and confidence to lead their own learning. Children's communication and early literacy capabilities are nurtured by a language-rich environment. The indoor and outdoor learning environments are well resourced and provide for choice, variety and challenge.
Leaders and teachers plan carefully to meet the diverse needs of children. All children's cultures, languages and identities are valued and celebrated. The learning environment and programme are modified to support children with additional needs to fully participate. Infants' wellbeing and learning are very well supported through calm, unhurried and responsive interactions and routines. Teachers build close collaborative relationships with parents in order to learn about children's lives beyond the centre and to be able to identify and respond appropriately to children's needs.
Very good use is made of the centre's connection to the university to promote children's sense of belonging and involvement in the university community and environment, and to provide authentic contexts for learning. Regular visits and excursions around the university campus enable children to stay connected to people and places that are important to them and their families.
Children have increased opportunities to learn about Māori knowledge, customs and language. Leaders and teachers have built their understandings of Māori tikanga, history, concepts and language. They are incorporating these with greater confidence throughout learning programmes and within assessment and planning.
Centre leaders are committed to promoting effective teaching and positive outcomes for children. Teachers are very well supported to continue to develop professionally through a comprehensive and well-considered professional learning framework. Leaders model and promote openness-to-learning and critical reflection for ongoing improvement. Internal evaluation is aligned with strategic priorities and leads to shared understandings of effective practice. There are robust systems and practices to support the sustainable operation of the centre and monitor the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. These are effectively supported by university expertise in finance, health and safety management, and human resources.
Centre leaders and ERO agree that key next steps to further develop the conditions for promoting positive outcomes for children include:
developing systems and practices for monitoring and sustaining recent improvements in assessment and planning and ensuring these reflect the centre's criteria for effective practice
following up changes and improvements that result from collaborative inquiries, reviews and evaluations to determine the impact of these on improving teaching practice and outcomes for children's learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Early Childhood 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:
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 Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
10 December 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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70491 |
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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 |
64 children, including up to 19 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
62 |
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Gender composition |
Male 36 Female 26 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
10 December 2019 |
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Most recent ERO reports
|
Education Review |
April 2016 |
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Education Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
June 2009 |
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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.