197 / 203 Park St, Winton
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 Weka Pre-School Ltd are as follows:
Outcome Indicators(What the service knows about outcomes for learners) | Whakaū Embedding |
Ngā Akatoro Domains | |
Learning ConditionsOrganisational Conditions | Whakaū Embedding Whakaū Embedding |
Weka Pre-School Ltd is privately owned and governed. The centre serves an increasingly diverse community. The owner is a fully registered teacher and is closely involved in the day-to-day operation and professional leadership of the service. She is supported by four team leaders in the age-based areas. A small number of tamariki Māori attend.
Children play and learn within a curriculum that provides many opportunities to be creative and follow their interests to a deep level. They have positive, respectful relationships with their teachers who know them very well. Teachers foster children’s social and emotional competence to support their increasing capabilities in the language rich learning environments.
Transitions into and within the service are individualised and supportive of children and their whānau. Infants and toddlers experience nurturing, responsive interactions with their attentive teachers. Kaiako recognise and purposefully follow children’s cues and non-verbal communication.
Teachers have a collaborative, reciprocal approach to maintaining ongoing relationships with parents and whānau. Assessment, planning and evaluation processes are multifaceted. These processes require refinement to consistently show children’s learning and progress against the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Currently, children cannot independently access their learning documentation while at the service.
Leaders and teachers intentionally construct inviting environments based on the service’s valued priorities so children’s ideas and creativity are fostered. Teachers use the environments, including open-ended resources, to provoke and extend children’s learning and thinking. While there are some opportunities for children to hear and use te reo Māori within the broad curriculum, further developing and implementing the bicultural curriculum is ongoing. Stronger emphasis is needed to make children’s languages, cultures and learner identities more visible in each child’s learning documentation.
Leaders are reflective, improvement focused and thoughtfully recognise inequities while fostering inclusive practices across the centre. Together with teachers, they engage in purposeful, relevant internal evaluation that identifies where support is needed. Some adjustments are required for internal evaluation practices to become more evaluative and focused on outcomes for children.
Those involved in governance and management place children and whānau at the centre of decision making. They promote a shared understanding of the service’s philosophy, vision and goals for all children’s learning by building trusting relationships across the service.
Weka Pre-School Ltd will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:
Before the review, the staff and management of Weka Pre-School Ltd 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:
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.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
29 January 2024
| Early Childhood Service Name | Weka Pre-School Ltd |
| Profile Number | 65148 |
| Location | Winton, Southland |
| Service type | Education and care service |
| Number licensed for | 74 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
| Percentage of qualified teachers | 80-99% |
| Service roll | 114 |
| Review team on site | October 2023 |
| Date of this report | 29 January 2024 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, August 2019 Education Review, January 2016 |
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Weka Pre-School Ltd is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Weka Preschool is a rural, early childhood service that provides education and care for up to 74 children, including 25 aged up to two years. It is in Winton and operates from 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday.
There are four teaching lounges that cater for all children - Sparrows (under two years), Tui (20 months to three years), Pūkeko (three to four years), and Tuatara (four to six years). Each lounge has access to a well-designed and well-resourced outdoor area, providing opportunities for physically active play, challenge, risk and exploration.
The service's valued outcomes are for children to be confident and independent explorers of the world and to have an appreciation of the wonders of nature.
The purpose/mission states that the service will 'provide high quality education and care where each child is empowered and celebrated as a successful individual learner'.
The day-to-day operations of the centre are managed by the Managing Director/Owner who is supported by four team leaders. Since ERO's 2016 review, staffing has been stable. Leaders and teachers have made very good progress in addressing the recommendations of the 2016 review report.
Children confidently engage in a broad, rich, localised curriculum based on the principles and strands of Te Whāriki - the early childhood curriculum. Teachers provide a range of provocations and learning experiences which engage children in their learning for long periods of time. They have many opportunities to work co-operatively to complete their chosen activities. There is a strong focus on allowing children to move freely throughout the centre. This meaningfully supports the variety of ages, interests and abilities of all children.
Leaders and teachers regularly review the curriculum focus in each lounge. The learning contexts are used to develop and support children's independence, social competency, self-management skills and learning dispositions.
Close relationships exist between infants, toddlers and their primary carers. Teachers provide a calm and settled environment that supports an unhurried pace of learning for infants and toddlers. Equipment and furniture are age appropriate and offer interest, curiosity and challenge for young children.
There is a strong culture of collaboration and cohesion amongst teachers. They use a wide range of relevant and appropriate intentional-teaching strategies to support children's learning, development and wellbeing. They effectively integrate early literacy and numeracy learning into the programme. Teachers are reflective, responsive and open to new learning.
Aspects of te ao Māori are meaningfully integrated in the programme and align to the centre's philosophy and valued outcomes. Te reo me ona tikanga Māori practices have been strengthened over time with an ongoing commitment from leaders and teachers. These are embedded and enacted by children and adults.
The environment is interesting, natural and spacious. The very well-resourced indoor and outdoor areas provide many opportunities for children to develop and enhance their curiosity, creativity and exploration. Learning areas are intentionally designed and set up to be homely with purposeful activities provided in designated areas.
Transitions into, through and beyond the centre are well-managed and supported by leaders and teachers. Regular communication and effective practices ensure that settling strategies are sensitively tailored to individual children. Highly effective and professional partnerships between teachers, families and schools help children move confidently to school.
Leaders and teachers collaborate regularly to continually strengthen and improve assessment, planning and evaluation practices and processes. Cultural information and parents' aspirations are meaningfully integrated into children's individual learning documentation. Detailed records show how teachers plan for and support children to make progress in their learning over time.
A collaborative leadership model effectively promotes continual improvement. Shared leadership provides opportunities for staff to develop and grow leadership practices. Sound governance, management and administration systems and practices have been developed to support appraisal, and to support staff to become fully qualified and certificated teachers. Useful guidelines have been developed to guide practices and promote consistency across the centre.
Internal evaluation has been used very effectively by leaders and teachers to assess, plan and evaluate children's learning and development. Teachers follow a useful review framework that covers all aspects of the curriculum. Teachers have many opportunities to engage in professional development and critical discussions.
The leadership team has clearly identified, and ERO's evaluation confirms, that the key next steps to further extend current good practices are to:
strengthen aspects of internal evaluation to consistently include an evaluative question and indicators of good practice
review the opportunities provided to children to access and revisit their learning
refine the philosophy to more clearly show the valued outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Weka Pre-School Ltd 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.
Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
9 August 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.
|
Location |
Winton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65148 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
74 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
107 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 58, Boys 49 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
14 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
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 |
June 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 August 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
January 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 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 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Weka Pre-School is a well-established education and care centre in the rural Southland town of Winton. The centre is licensed for up to 74 children, including 25 under the age of two.
As many children attend for the whole day, the teachers aim to make this feel like a home for them. The children are grouped by age into four learning 'lounges'. These are arranged so children can play and learn in small groups. The ratio of children to adults is kept low. Each child has a teacher who takes special responsibility for them and their family.
The owner is a qualified early childhood teacher and is the managing director. She is supported by an enthusiastic group of team leaders who lead the four learning lounges. The teaching team has a range of teaching experience and qualifications. Recent staff changes have been well managed by the managing director.
In 2015 a relocated house was added to the centre to make a new space for the oldest children. The leaders and teachers have made good progress in addressing the recommendations of the 2012 ERO report.
Children and their families enjoy respectful and trusting relationships with their teachers. This is a key feature of the centre philosophy. The teachers foster a calm, unhurried and nurturing environment. The routines around sleeping, toileting and eating are largely decided by the individual children’s needs and preferences. Children play in small groups in a very settled way and show a strong sense of belonging at the centre.
The teachers place a high priority on getting to know children and their families well. They put their knowledge of children to good use to support them in their learning. For example, teachers have genuine conversations with children to:
The child-centred programme is underpinned by the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The teachers are clear about the most important things for children to learn. This allows them to plan their programmes with a sense of purpose. They are imaginative and creative in the way they set up the indoor and outdoor areas and make them inviting play spaces. Children are given many opportunities to:
Teachers promote kaupapa Māori concepts such as whanaungatanga and manaakitanga. Children hear and use some te reo Māori, enjoy waiata and participate in events such as Polyfest. Teachers are committed to providing a truly bicultural curriculum and agree this is a work in progress.
The learning and care needs of children under two are well provided for. Teachers maintain a calm and slow pace and involve children in care routines. They have close and loving relationships with the children and provide a language-rich environment. The indoor and outdoor areas are carefully set up to provide challenge and choice for children of this age. Teachers and parents share information daily.
As children get older they move to the next lounge. This change is carefully thought out to be a smooth transition for the children and their families. Teachers provide relevant information and advice for parents about matters such as sleeping, behaviour and how best to prepare children for school.
The teachers have developed useful systems for individual and group planning. They seek and respond to children’s ideas and interests to plan ongoing group projects. They are strengthening their systems to ensure planning for individuals. A recently introduced online portfolio system has resulted in more immediate two-way communication between teachers and whānau. Teachers take parents’ wishes into account when planning for children’s learning. Partnerships for learning would be strengthened by involving parents more fully when planning next steps for children’s learning.
The teachers recognise the growth in their self-review practices as a result of ongoing professional development. The spontaneous reviews have helped grow teachers’ ability to consider the effectiveness of their daily practice and have led to positive changes. A schedule needs to be developed for centre-wide planned reviews. Planned reviews would be more effective if the guiding questions and indicators were simpler and clearer.
The managing director has a clear vision for the centre. With external support she has developed a strategic plan with relevant goals to guide developments to support the vision. The strategic plan would benefit from aligning with other systems such as appraisal, professional development and self review to the goals. The managing director and leadership team are strongly focused on improving outcomes for children. They meet regularly to ensure the centre’s vision and values are upheld. They have clear expectations for teachers’ work. Teachers are involved in continuous reflection and goal setting to improve practice through the online appraisal system. Leaders have identified that they would like to adapt the appraisal system to the centre’s unique circumstances.
The managing director has established many effective systems to support the daily operations of the centre, although ERO found that aspects of health and safety practices need to be more carefully managed and documented.
The leaders and ERO agree that key next steps are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Weka Pre-School Ltd 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 Weka Pre-School Ltd will be in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
28 January 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.
|
Location |
Winton, Southland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65148 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
74 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
124 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 65 Girls: 59 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā European Other |
14 98 7 5 |
|
|
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 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
28 January 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
December 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2005 |
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.