Rā - energy, power, force, influence, strength, intensity, growth.

The 'rā' in raranga refers to the energy and growth influenced by the sun. In effective review, energy is derived from the vision that each early childhood education service holds for children. Our vision therefore has the potential to both shape and be shaped by the process of review.

Our shared vision for children sets out our aspirations for their achievement as learners. It describes:

• what we value and why
• what we are trying to achieve for children - both now and in their future.

Working towards our vision involves developing and setting goals that describe what we need to do to get there. When we are clear about our goals, we can plan for them. These goals can inform our priorities for review and provide a starting place for developing indicators. In effective review, we regularly revisit our shared vision to check we are making improvements that are taking us in our agreed direction. We work together towards a unique design for our curriculum whāriki that truly reflects who we are, what we do, and how and why we do it.

In revisiting our shared vision through review, we want to ensure that everyone has had an opportunity to contribute their knowledge to the process. To achieve this, we return to our service philosophy.

Our service philosophy is influenced by a number of factors, including:

• the beliefs and values engendered by our individual experiences of growing up
• the principles and strands of Te Whāriki
• the founding beliefs of our organisation
• national and international research and theory
• nationally and internationally agreed conventions (for example, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).

Sometimes we are unaware of the impact of these factors on our practice. In effective review, we want to know that our beliefs, values, and assumptions about children are consistent with our practice. We consider the impact of our philosophy on our practice and how this influences children's learning. We can talk about:

• the words we use to describe children and why
• our hopes and dreams for children as they grow up
• the way we interact with children through our practice
• the extent to which our practices align with Te Whāriki and with relevant research describing quality education for children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

It is critical to effective review that we discuss and debate our service philosophy so that we can develop a shared vision to guide our practice.