Parnell Early Childhood Centre
Education Review Office
Report 2008
The Education Review Office last reviewed Gladstone Park Early Childhood Centre in 2008. The full report is available from the ERO's website. The report's summary letter is included below.
12 February 2008
To the Parents and Community of Parnell Early Childhood Centre
These are the findings of the Education Review Office's latest report on Gladstone Park Early Childhood Centre.
Parnell Early Childhood Centre is a newly established education and care centre that opened in February 2006. The centre is located within a refurbished area of the historic Queen Victoria School for Girls campus, situated in Auckland’s eastern suburb of Parnell. The centre caters for children from 18 months to 5 years of age. This is the centre’s first ERO report. A good working relationship exists between the licensee/owner and the newly appointed supervisor. Together, they plan to continue developing systems that will provide a sound basis for future centre development.
Children are generally supportive of each other. They are settled and comfortable in the centre and speak to adults in a confident, respectful manner. Younger children move freely to a variety of activities. Children over three and a half years of age have a separate indoor area and all children share the outdoor area at staggered times during the day. Supervised groups of children also make use of the recreational facilities on the campus site.
Parents are made welcome and encouraged by staff to remain in the centre as long as they want, especially when settling their children at the beginning of the day. Parents interviewed during the review stated they are pleased with the service provided by centre staff and feel free to approach individual staff members about matters concerning their child.
The licensee and teachers have made good use of professional development to establish assessment systems. They have developed portfolio records for each child and some observations now identify children’s strengths and interests, as well as the next steps for teachers to support children’s learning. Programme planning and evaluation are areas that would be strengthened if teachers made closer links between what they know about children and their assessment of learning outcomes.
Good foundations for centre management are in place. The licensee/owner has established collaborative and consultative management systems through which teachers are encouraged to contribute suggestions for centre improvement and development. Centre managers have a priority focus on recruiting qualified staff and building a cohesive teaching team to further strengthen the quality of programmes provided. At the time of this review, two new permanent staff had just been appointed but had not yet started at the centre. It is timely for the licensee to further strengthen self-review systems to ensure that systematic review occurs in all areas of centre operations.
This report evaluates the quality of education provided for children, including interactions between children and adults, the learning environment and programme implementation. The report also evaluates the quality of management systems and the centre’s assessment processes. It identifies areas of good performance and areas for improvement. The report notes some areas of non-compliance. ERO recommends that centre managers improve assessment and programme planning practices, increase teachers’ responsiveness to the needs and emerging interests of children, and review the learning environment.