Education [Early Childhood Centres] Regulations 2008: 

Subpart 2 43 1a (i,ii,iii,iv,v,vi),43(b),43 (c) (iii)

Rationale

Early Childhood on Stafford is committed to providing effective learning programmes through a regular cycle of planning, assessment and evaluation. Evaluation and assessment are critical components to enhance children's learning and development and continual curriculum improvement. These programmes will reflect current theory and practice which will promote children's knowledge, skills, interests, dispositions and cultural background.

Policy

All Planning, Assessment and Evaluation will reflect Te Whariki's Principles Strands and Goals. All children's learning will be derived from a combination of planned and spontaneous experiences, staff strengths, parental aspirations and child-led learning and achievement.

The learning environment will be instrumental in facilitating children's learning and will include a combination of change and repetition of experiences, both indoors and outdoors providing the opportunity for both group and individual led learning. Child-led free play will be protected and encouraged as we believe this is the pedagogy of Early Childhood and that children learn best when they are in control of learning decisions. We are strong believers in positive psychology and this we believe supports children to view themselves as competent and confident learners. We also believe that children build on success and that complexity in the learning process occurs when children have time, opportunity and encouragement to repeat and evolve learning in an adult supported and well-resourced learning environment.

Individual records/profiles will be established and maintained for all children and updated and discussed with the parents/whanau/guardians formally and informally including online forums. Children's profiles will be monitored to ensure their record of learning is current and regularly updated.

Parents/whanau/guardians will have access to information regarding their child and confidentiality will be maintained at all times. We use Story Park as our assessment portal and whanau have control of who accesses and contributes to their child's learning.

We encourage Parents/whanau to also contribute to their child's stories to help widen our view of the child and to facilitate a strong centre /home connection. It is through the sharing of information and the swapping of ideas that we can support whanau aspirations for their child. This, along with our strong Philosophy, will support our tamariki to become confident and competent learners with a strong belief of their self as learners. We will report on children's learning through narrative assessment which will include a variety of learning tags which reflect achievement, learning, and sources of influences that these originate from and/or achieve.

Adopted: October 2021

Review Date: October 2023