Q: Will Quality Assessment visits be scheduled?
A: No. To gather the best, most authentic picture of the quality your programme offers, evaluators will not schedule quality assessment visits. The evaluators will coordinate their visits with other CEYD staff (i.e., Resource Consultants, Pedagogical Leaders) to ensure the number of additional adults in the programme is kept to a minimum.
Q: What if my programme is undergoing renovations or other disruptions during the observation assessment?
A: As children are still using the environment, the evaluator would proceed with the assessment. With the new tool, minor disruptions to the physical environment will not impact scoring. The observation items in the tool are focused on children’s experiences, interactions, and pedagogy.
Q: Will there be a way to notify the Quality Child Care Visitor when the programme will be offsite (e.g., field trip)?
A: Yes – once your programme has planned an off-site activity, please let your Quality Child Care Visitor know which dates and/or times your programme will be off-site.
Q: Will the Quality Child Care Visitor take into consideration a programme’s philosophy?
A: Yes, Quality Child Care Visitors will consider how a programme blends their philosophy with the expectation that all programmes follow How Does Learning Happen. The Quality Child Care Visitors continue to see wonderful blends of different types of philosophies, such as Montessori programmes that have a beautiful blend of the Montessori philosophy and How Does Learning Happen.
Q: If a programme offers multi-age care (i.e., birth to 4 years and 4 to 12 years), how will the programme be assessed?
A: Wellington’s Quality Assessment Tool has different sections for these age groups; therefore, these are assessed separately. Programmes with infants, toddlers, and/or preschool age-groups use Sections 1 to 5; programmes with kindergarten and/or school-age age-groups use Sections 6-7 (depending on whether the programme is licensed through the Ministry of Education).
Q: How are licensed full-day programmes for children 4-12 years assessed?
A: Licensed programmes for children 4-12 years are assessed using the licensed tool whether is it a Before/After-School Programme or full-day programme. Only true camps that are unlicensed are assessed using the “Camp” sections of the tool.
Q: Do materials that are less than perfect affect scoring (e.g. items that may be broken)?
A: If the materials are unsafe for children (i.e., beyond reasonable, age-appropriate risk), then the programme may receive a score of Does Not Meet. There are minimal indicators related to this so it would not impact the overall score drastically. However, Quality Child Care Visitors will consider whether “broken” materials are serving a pedagogical purpose in the programme (e.g., if the programme is intentionally keeping broken items and children are trying to repair them as a part of a project – observations of programming and documentation would be key in distinguishing neglected materials from pedagogical choices in this case).
Q: Does documentation count if it is not posted?
A: There are several ways the Quality Child Care Visitors can observe documentation such as bulletin boards, binders, etc. A key thing to keep in mind, however, is remembering who the documentation is for and what purpose does it serve – is it visible to children and educators in the programme to revisit learning experiences and support reflection?
Q: Is there a limit to what can be submitted through the Quality Submission Form?
A: No, there is no limit. Programmes can submit anything that is relevant to the indicators in Wellington’s Quality Assessment Tool and that demonstrates the quality programming they are offering.
Has there been a lot of changes to the Quality Assessment Package? Can programmes access the Quality Assessment Package before their assessment?
Yes, there are new elements in the Quality Assessment Package, such as the Leadership Questions. The Quality Assessment Package is available on the Children’s Early Years Division website.
