|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ponsy Kids Community Preschool is a well established community based service located in the Ponsonby Community Centre. It provides flexible options for the education and care for children over two years of age. The service provides sessional hours for those families whose children also attend the neighbouring Ponsonby Kindergarten.
Children are mostly Pākehā. Smaller numbers of children come from a range of other ethnicities, including Māori. Most teachers are fully registered, experienced and long serving. A new head teacher and assistant head teacher have been appointed.
The centre’s philosophy is well enacted and highlights the importance of respectful relationships between teachers, children and their families. Children are well supported to be capable, confident, life-long learners.
The 2013 ERO report noted positive nurturing relationships, engaged learners, and teachers working together in collaborative ways to provide an affirming and inclusive environment for children. These features continue to be noteworthy. The 2013 ERO report also identified some areas for improvement and good progress has been made in these areas.
The centre is very welcoming to children, parents and whānau. Positive relationships between teachers and children's families help develop children’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. Children are friendly, enthusiastic learners. Their independence, emotional and social competence are very well promoted. Children with special educational needs are very well supported.
The programme is highly responsive and flexible, enabling children to engage in a range of interesting learning opportunities. Teachers work skilfully alongside children, consistently supporting them with their play choices. They encourage children to explore a variety of resources, listen to their ideas and foster oral language development through very good questioning and discussion. Literacy, numeracy and science experiences are prioritised and integrated well into the context of children's play.
As a next step in programme development, centre leaders aim to further improve planning, assessment and evaluation processes on a centre-wide basis. Teachers are committed to promoting a bicultural curriculum. Children are encouraged to use simple te reo phrases and show a good understanding of basic Māori words. Resources throughout the centre reflect and affirm the differing cultures of children, including those of Pacific heritage.
The service is managed by a governing board comprising a mix of parent representatives, local community members and a representative from the Local Waitemata Board. The head teacher reports regularly to the board and to the community centre manager. Improved communication and transparency between the service and the board is fostering ongoing centre improvement. Consultation with families and the wider community has informed the development of strategic goals for continuing centre development. The head teacher could now report to the board on progress made towards achieving these goals.
Changes in centre leadership have been instrumental in bringing about new ways of working within the teaching team, including increased distribution of leadership opportunities. Teacher performance appraisal processes are in the early stage of development. The management board could consider using external personnel with early childhood experience to appraise the performance of the head teacher.
Self-review processes and management systems function very well and continue to develop. Key priorities and goals for the centre are identified in its well documented strategic long-term plan. Leaders agree that developing timeframes for each goal would give more focus and direction for achieving these priorities.
Centre leaders and ERO have identified appropriate key next steps for the centre. These include:
strengthening appraisal processes and aligning these more closely to the Education Council requirements
accessing professional learning and development to further strengthen planning, assessment and evaluation processes
evaluating how well teachers cater for the learning needs of toddlers.
Before the review, the staff and management of Ponsy Kids Community Preschool 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.
The next ERO review of Ponsy Kids Community Preschool will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
27 June 2016
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 |
Ponsonby, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
10085 |
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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 |
41 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
100 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 53 Girls 47 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā British Indian Pacific other |
6 79 4 4 2 5 |
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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 |
Over 2 |
1:6 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2016 |
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Date of this report |
27 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2010 |
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Education Review |
February 2007 |
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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 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.