Education REVIEW REPORT: RAWHITI KINDERGARTEN

OCTOBER 2009

1............ About the Centre

2............ The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

3............ Review Priorities

4............ Areas of National Interest

5............ Management Assurance on Compliance Areas

6............ Recommendation

7............ Future Action

              Community Page

This report has been prepared in accordance with standard procedures approved by the Chief Review Officer.

1.           About the Centre

2.           The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

Rawhiti Kindergarten operates under the umbrella of the Central North Island Kindergarten Association (CNIKA) who provide professional and governance support.  The kindergarten is located in the township of Matamata, has 92 children on its roll, and provides sessional early childhood education for children from two years to school age. 

Since the last review there have been several changes in teaching staff and there has been a building upgrade, including the addition of a verandah and entrance way.

Children continue to receive good quality education and care from a dedicated teaching team.  A feature of the kindergarten are the attractive learning environments which invite children to engage and explore their surroundings.  There is an extensive range of high quality equipment and resources which is easily accessible to children as they move freely between inside and outside play areas.  The inside areas of play are well organised to encourage children to investigate and participate in a wide range of activities including music, science and the creative and dramatic arts.

The skills and language of literacy and mathematics are fully integrated into the daily programme and children are being well prepared for future learning in these areas.  Books and stories are regularly read, acted out and shared, and high levels of purposeful oral language were evident among teachers and children.  Children have extensive access to manipulative equipment to introduce and reinforce early mathematical concepts and language.

Children’s learning and development are enriched through the emphasis placed on the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa/New Zealand.  Teachers use te reo Māori in the programme as well as natural materials for activities and for wall displays within the environment.

Positive and respectful relationships are evident at all levels of the kindergarten community.  Teachers know children well and respond promptly to their education and care needs.  Affirming relationships are resulting in a safe and secure physical and emotional environment.

Considerable progress has been made by teachers in assessment, planning and evaluation.  Planning walls make children’s learning journeys more visual and able to be revisited by families.  Well-illustrated individual profiles include teacher observations and comments relating to children’s dispositions for learning.   Parents value these profiles as a detailed record of their child’s involvement in kindergarten activities, and are encouraged to add their own comments to them. 

The highly experienced head teacher is providing well-informed and efficient leadership for the kindergarten.  She has particular strengths in establishing and sustaining relationships with children, staff, parents and the wider community.  Her collaborative leadership style is contributing to a supportive team culture among staff and a shared sense of direction for the kindergarten community.

Effective communication is ensuring parents feel supported and well informed about their child’s progress and kindergarten happenings.  The kindergarten supports parents with their child’s transition to school through thorough documentation, considered advice and school visits.  Families/whānau feel welcome in the kindergarten and contribute actively both to the programme and as members of the committee.

Future Action

ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interests of the children.  Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again as part of the regular review cycle.

3.           Review Priorities

The Focus of the Review

Before the review, the management of Rawhiti Kindergarten was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO.  ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.

The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff.  This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children at Rawhiti Kindergarten.

All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education.  For ERO this includes the quality of:

·          the programme provided for children;

·          the learning environment; and

·          the interactions between children and adults.

ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.

The Quality of Education

Background

The kindergarten aims through its philosophy to help children become confident learners and communicators, by providing an environment that is warm and caring.  Teachers believe that play is an appropriate and effective method of learning for young children.  Through the programme, children are encouraged to enjoy and explore music, and develop a sense of belonging and respect for themselves and others within a safe and supportive environment.  Teachers aim to recognise and value the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi with te reo and tikanga practices integrated into the daily programme.

Areas of good performance

Learning environment:  A feature of the kindergarten is the attractive learning environment which invites children to engage and explore their surroundings.  Teachers make effective use of outside spaces to provide opportunities for physical challenge, the development of gross and fine motor skills and independent and social play.  There is an extensive range of high quality equipment and resources which is easily accessible to children as they move freely between inside and outside play areas.  The inside walls of the kindergarten are used for visually effective displays of children’s work, captioned photographs and computerised displays of prior learning activities.  The inside areas of play are well organised to encourage children to investigate and participate in a wide range of activities including music, science and the creative and dramatic arts.  Children’s learning and development benefits from stimulating and well established environments.

Literacy and mathematics:  The skills and language of literacy and mathematics are well integrated into the daily programme.  Books and stories are regularly read, acted out and shared, and high levels of oral language are evident among teachers and children.  Opportunities to develop and understand written language are provided through activities such as book making, the use of name boards and the home/kindergarten diary which is shared at mat time.  Children have extensive access to manipulative equipment to introduce and reinforce early mathematical concepts and language.  These experiences are providing a sound foundation for future learning in literacy and mathematics.

Leadership:  The highly experienced head teacher is providing well-informed and efficient leadership for the kindergarten.  She has particular strengths in establishing and sustaining relationships with children, staff, parents and the wider community.  The head teacher has a good knowledge of current early childhood practice and has been a resource person for external professional development.  She provides well documented guidelines for the professional practice of staff and for kindergarten operations.  Her collaborative leadership style is contributing to a supportive team culture among staff and a shared sense of direction for the kindergarten community.

Relationships:  Positive and respectful relationships are evident at all levels of the kindergarten community.  Teachers know children well and respond promptly to their education and care needs.  Children relate positively to each other and are given positive guidance to resolve any incidents constructively.  Families/whānau feel welcome in the kindergarten and contribute actively both to the programme and as members of the committee.  Affirming relationships are resulting in a settled and harmonious climate.

Communication with families:  Effective communication is enabling parents to feel supported and well informed about their child’s progress and kindergarten happenings.  Prior to entry into the kindergarten parents receive an informative enrolment pack and have the opportunity to attend an induction meeting.  Purposeful notice board and wall displays, and regular newsletters ensure parents are kept up to date with centre information.  The kindergarten also supports parents with their child’s transition to school with thorough documentation, considered advice and school visits.  The high levels of communication by teachers and the administration officer are fostering in families a sense of being recognised and valued.

Assessment and planning:  Considerable progress has been made by teachers in assessment, planning and evaluation.  Since the last review teachers have undertaken professional development through Kei tua o te Pae workshops.  Planning walls make children’s learning journeys more visual and able to be revisited by families.  Well- illustrated individual profiles include teacher observations and comments relating to children’s dispositions for learning.  Parents value these profiles as a detailed record of their child’s involvement in kindergarten activities, and are encouraged to add their own comments to them.  Well-developed assessment and planning approaches are helping to make children’s learning more visible, and are also assisting in forging a partnership between teachers and parents.

Association support:  The Central North Island Kindergarten Association (CNIKA) provides effective professional and governance support.  The practice manager visits the kindergarten regularly and provides professional guidance and feedback to the head teacher and staff.  She is also responsible for overseeing performance management and the advice and guidance programme for the provisionally registered teacher.  The Pouawhina assists with ongoing staff development in te reo and tikanga Māori.  CNIKA also provides extensive policy and operational guidelines to enable the smooth operation of the kindergarten.  The quality of kindergarten operations and programmes for children is enhanced by the strong contribution of the Association.

 Area for improvement

Ownership of the learning:  Currently, some children’s learning activities are teacher directed.  On occasions, the development of children’s complex play could be influenced by teacher-led organisation of the environment and use of resources.  Attention to these areas of practice and organisation are likely to lead to children having greater responsibility for, and ownership of, their own learning. 

4.           Areas of National Interest

Overview

ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports.  This information will be used as the basis for long term and systemic educational improvement.

Māori Children

As part of this review ERO evaluated the extent to which this service carries out a process to identify and respond to the aspirations and expectations of the parents and whānau of Māori children and focuses on the potential of Māori children to develop as competent and capable learners. 

Area of good performance

Māori dimension:  The head teacher and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to integrating a Māori perspective into kindergarten operations.  Teachers make regular and appropriate use of te reo Māori for praise, simple instructions and greetings.  In the environment teachers have made a conscious effort to introduce natural materials, employ Māori design patterns and to use kete as receptacles for resources.  Children have opportunities to experience Māori culture through visits from a local school kapa haka group and the use of their own poi and piu piu.  Aspirations of Māori whānau are respected and gathered through informal methods and surveys.  Māori children’s learning and development are enriched through the emphasis placed on the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

5.           Management Assurance on Compliance Areas

Overview

Before the review, the licensee and staff of Rawhiti Kindergarten completed an ERO Centre Management Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist.  In these documents they have attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

·          administration;

·          health, safety and welfare;

·          personnel management; and

·          financial and property management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:

·          emotional safety (including behaviour management, prevention of bullying and abuse);

·          physical safety (including behaviour management, sleeping and supervision practices; accidents and medication; hygiene and routines; travel and excursion policies and procedures);

·          staff qualifications and organisation; and

·          evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

EROs investigation did not identify any areas of concern.

6.           Recommendation

ERO and the Centre Management agreed that:

6.1       the head teacher and staff reflect in depth on current educational knowledge and practice about empowering children to take greater responsibility for their own learning.

7.           Future Action

ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interests of the children.  Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again as part of the regular review cycle.

Dr Graham Stoop
Chief Review Officer
14 October 2009

14 October 2009