Half Moon Bay Marina 1 Ara Tai, Half Moon Bay, Auckland
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 (PDF 3.01MB) are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric (PDF 91.30KB) derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.
ERO’s judgements for Saplings Early Learning Limited are as follows:
Outcome Indicators |
ERO’s judgement |
|
What the service knows about outcomes for learners |
Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains |
ERO’s judgement |
|
He Whāriki Motuhake The learner and their learning |
Whakaū Embedding |
|
Whakangungu Ngaio Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Ngā Aronga Whai Hua Evaluation for improvement |
Whakaū Embedding |
|
Kaihautū Leaders foster collaboration and improvement |
Whakawhanake Sustaining |
|
Te Whakaruruhau Stewardship through effective governance and management |
Whakaū Embedding |
Saplings Early Learning Limited is a privately owned centre. The owner, director and curriculum manager are responsible for governance and management of the service. A small number of Māori children are enrolled, with children of Chinese heritage representing approximately two-thirds of the roll. The centre was known as Lollipops Educare Half Moon Bay at the time of ERO’s 2015 review.
Kaiako provide a calm pace to the programme that supports children’s exploration. Their responsiveness to the verbal and non-verbal cues and signals of younger children enhances relationships and encourages children’s communication skills.
Children confidently explore and take risks in the outdoor environment which enhances their physical development. Kaiako skilfully support children to develop independence and self-management skills. They prioritise children’s language development through planned learning activities.
Children are given good opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The service philosophy and valued learning outcomes and localised curriculum reflect Māori values. Cultural celebrations are a strong feature of the centre programme. Children’s home languages and cultural identities are valued by staff who actively seek ways to maintain these connections.
Assessment information clearly celebrates children’s learning and identifies their progress over time. Children with additional learning needs are well supported to engage in all aspects of the programme and to successfully transition to school.
Leaders advocate for and alongside children, parents and whānau to ensure all children have access to education and care. They intentionally gather and respond to parent aspirations. Leaders have identified an ongoing goal of consulting more deeply with whānau to enhance outcomes for children and gather more meaningful feedback from a wider parent group around centre operations.
The service has embedded systems and processes to do and use evaluation for improvement. These processes could be strengthened through revisiting and evaluating the impacts of changes made on outcomes for children and their learning.
Leaders ensure that kaiako access relevant professional learning and development responsive to individual professional growth. They prioritise the wellbeing of adults which has resulted in good staff retention. The service actively seeks ways to connect with the local and wider community and provide additional and ongoing support for enrolled children and their families.
ERO and centre leaders agree that the following actions will be included in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Saplings Early Learning Limited 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.
During the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that it has addressed areas of non-compliance:
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
17 August 2021
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Saplings Early Learning Limited |
|
Profile Number |
45174 |
|
Location |
Half Moon Bay, Auckland |
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
Number licensed for |
100 children, including up to 44 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80%+ |
|
Service roll |
115 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 3%, NZ European/Pākehā 28%, Chinese 53%, |
|
Review team on site |
April 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
17 August 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, October 2015 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Lollipops Educare Half Moon Bay in East Auckland caters for up to 100 children, including 44 children up to two years of age. The different age groups are catered for in four rooms with access to outdoor play areas. Children and their families come from diverse cultures and many speak multiple languages.
The centre’s philosophy is based on fostering relationships with families so they can work in partnership to support children's learning. The programme’s purpose is to support and extend children’s abilities and interests and to encourage a love of learning.
The centre operates as part of Lollipops Educare and the Evolve Education Group. The Lollipops Educare organisation provides comprehensive policy frameworks and guidance to support the centre’s efficient and effective operation and development. It also offers managers and teachers multiple opportunities for professional learning and networking with personnel from other Lollipops centres.
This is the centre’s second ERO review. The 2012 ERO report noted strengths that included effective leadership, the nurturing care of infants, and the use of children’s home languages. Managers and teachers appreciate external review and have responded proactively to develop the aspects of curriculum management recommended in the 2012 report.
Teachers and managers work together as a highly professional and supportive team. Their philosophy of teaching and the principles of Te Whāriki, the early child curriculum, are clearly evident in practice.
Professional learning has impacted positively on children’s learning through teachers who notice, recognise and respond to children’s strengths and interests. Teachers have a shared understanding of and responsibility for planning, assessment and evaluation.
Teachers view children as capable learners. As a result, children learn to solve problems independently and collaboratively with their peers, and help to plan the programme. The curriculum uses authentic learning contexts for children to develop dispositions as confident learners. Literacy and mathematics are integral aspects of the programme and are used by children to develop investigations that may be sustained over time.
Infants and toddlers enjoy a calm, unhurried and responsive environment. They benefit from individualised care and responsive attention from staff. Programmes and routines are flexible to cater for children’s interests, developmental stages and parents’ preferences.
Physical learning environments are attractively presented, with plentiful, high quality resources that are easily accessible to children. Children’s cultural identities are promoted through displays in the rooms that also reflect their current interests and learning.
Cultural diversity is a celebrated feature of the centre. Communications and relationships between the centre, and children and their families are often supported by staff who speak their home languages. Resources and communications are provided in Chinese as the main culture represented in the centre. Managers acknowledge that translations could also be provided for families with other languages.
Transitions into, through and out of the centre are carefully managed to cater for children’s and families’ needs. Children have regular opportunities to establish relationships with children and teachers in the next room in the centre and at a local school. This familiarity with people and settings helps children to more confidently make transitions to the next phase of their education.
Teachers are continuing to develop their knowledge and children’s awareness of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. This focus is included as an objective in the centre's annual management plan. Te reo Māori is displayed in the environment and increasingly used in daily interactions as part of the programme.
Well considered planning and assessment practices guide programmes for children. Planning approaches are flexible, allowing teachers to respond to children’s interests and to cater for their diverse needs. Planning is well documented and evaluated, and visible for children and parents. Curriculum documentation gives parents very good information about children’s learning experiences.
Centre managers provide committed leadership and ongoing self-review to benefit children’s learning and teaching development. Regular, planned self review, linked to strategic goals, results in positive developments in the centre’s programme, environments and operation. Teachers’ regular thinking about the effectiveness of the programme contributes to their responsive work with children. Sound appraisal processes support teachers to improve their teaching practices. The programme for children, and teachers’ roles in facilitating learning, are continually refined as a result of this reflection.
Managers’ and teachers’ self review guides the identification of relevant areas for centre development. Managers and ERO agreed that next steps could include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Lollipops Educare Half Moon Bay 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 Lollipops Educare Half Moon Bay will be in four years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
9 October 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 |
Half Moon Bay, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45174 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
100 children, including up to 44 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
140 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 56% |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4% |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 October 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2012 |
|
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.
ERO has also published an exemplar report on Lollipops Half Moon Bay: Exemplar Review - Lollipops Half Moon Bay - June 2018