Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Seedlings Early Learning Centre is a privately-owned purpose-built centre. The owners are qualified and experienced early childhood teachers and work onsite every day. The centre is licensed for 75 children, including up to 25 children under the age of two. It is arranged as a nursery and a preschool room, each with its own outdoor play area. There is a shared dining area between the rooms where older and younger children can come together when eating. Children who attend the centre come from the local and the wider community.
The centre managers and teachers have developed a shared philosophy that is well articulated and highly evident in all aspects of the centre practices. It is visibly underpinned by Te Whāriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum.
The centre managers provide strong curriculum leadership with an emphasis on supporting and promoting professional practice and building teacher capacity. Teachers are well supported to develop their practice through relevant and targeted ongoing professional development, mentoring and guidance. There is good support for beginning, and teachers in training. The centre managers have a clear understanding of teachers’ strengths and skills and make effective use of these within the programme. They have high expectations for the quality of interactions and outcomes for children.
The teachers strongly promote a sense of belonging for children and their families with an emphasis on establishing positive relationships and effective communication. They acknowledge and respect children’s language, culture and identity. They seek and respond to parents’ views in a range of ways.
The needs of infants, toddlers and young children are well supported by responsive teachers. Teachers interact with children in calm, unhurried and respectful ways. Interactions are positive, warm and nurturing. Teachers encourage children to make choices and listen to their preferences. Children are given time to respond and be involved in routines. Teachers receive useful ongoing feedback about the quality of their interactions with children.
Teachers place strong emphasis on the purposeful set up of the environment to extend children’s learning. This involves providing quality learning resources, including resources that relate to children’s home lives, natural materials and sensory experiences, for children to explore and discover.
The programme is child focused and teachers value children’s ideas and suggestions. Teachers provide a rich range of curriculum experiences including supporting literacy awareness, oral language development, social skills and developing independence.
The programme successfully integrates bicultural perspectives, such as Māori values. Teachers use te reo Māori within the programme so children have opportunities to hear and use te reo Māori in meaningful contexts.
Teachers keep useful assessment and planning records that show individual children’s interests and learning, how they extend learning, and progress over time.
The centre managers have a clear vision for the centre and its future development. They are experienced managers with a team approach that makes the most of their skills and strengths. They have focused on developing a positive team culture. There are good systems in place to monitor the effective operation of the centre. There are well-documented self-review systems to support reflective practice.
The centre managers have reliably identified the next steps for the centre’s development.
These include:
reviewing and continuing to strengthen transition to school practices
developing further ways for parents to contribute to group planning and self review.
Before the review, the staff and management of Seedlings 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Seedlings Early Learning Centre will be in four years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
21 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 |
Christchurch |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
46309 |
||
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
Number licensed for |
75 children, including up to 25 aged under two |
||
Service roll |
130 |
||
Gender composition |
Girls 61; Boys 69 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese Japanese Other ethnicities |
8% 76% 8% 4% 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 |
1:9 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
September 2015 |
||
Date of this report |
21 October 2015 |
||
Most recent ERO report These are available at www.ero.govt.nz |
No previous ERO reports |
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:
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.
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.