1190 Pipiwai Road, Whangarei
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ruatangata Playcentre serves families in the local rural community and offers one session per week for up to 30 children from birth to school age. The Playcentre philosophy values parents/whānau as the first and best educators of their children. They take on roles and responsibilities that contribute to the running of the centre. This structure offers opportunities for emergent leadership.
Since the 2013 ERO report centre membership has undergone changes. Some of the small number of families currently enrolled, have been attending for a short time. An ongoing focus for the centre is increasing membership through awareness of what Playcentre can provide for families and children in the local community.
The centre is part of the Northland Playcentre Association, which provides governance and management support for 31 Playcentres in Northland. The Association provides systems and adult education programmes to help members manage centres and support their children's learning. A centre support worker (CSW) regularly visits each centre. The Association also provides education support for five Playcentres in the Far North.
Playcentre Aotearoa is in the process of a national restructure. It is expected that a new regional manager and centre support personnel will be appointed towards the end of 2017.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 Playcentre reviews in the Northland Playcentre Association.
Children settle well into the Playcentre environment. Parents stay throughout the session to play and learn with their children. They develop friendships and support each other well both in their parenting and educator roles.
A good range of easily accessible resources is available to children. Parents follow children's lead, supporting them with tools and conversations to sustain their play. They are good models of language, and question children well to prompt their thinking. Children's choices are respected and they are regarded as capable and competent.
Adults record details of each session, including children's ongoing interests and involvement in different activities. This information is used to plan the next session, building on children's interests and strengths. Parents are starting to record children's learning in their portfolios, when at home with the family and through their participation in Playcentre sessions. Links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum are beginning to feature in these records.
Spacious indoor and outdoor environments provide children with an appropriate range of physical challenges, and opportunities to engage in a wide range of experiences. Strategic and annual plans are supporting ongoing improvements to the building and centre resourcing.
The centre support worker (CSW) is aware of the strengths and needs of the centre. Her support helps members to foster positive learning outcomes for children. The CSW provides good leadership to sustain improvement and growth. Centre members appreciate that the CSW is available to answer their questions and share information that adds to their collective knowledge.
The Association continues to provide a sound management framework to assist members in managing their centres. Centre members' leadership and increased participation in adult education courses help to sustain the Association and centre viability. The governance board works collaboratively to share information with centre members as they respond to changes, including the national restructure.
Key next steps for centre members are to:
To enhance current practices in Northland Playcentres, the new regional manager and support personnel should assist centre members to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Ruatangata Playcentre completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Ruatangata Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
16 November 2017
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
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Location |
Ruatangata, Whangarei |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17679 |
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Licence type |
Playcentre |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 16 aged under 2 |
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|
Service roll |
10 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 5 Girls 5 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent led |
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Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
August 2017 |
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Date of this report |
16 November 2017 |
||
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2007 |
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ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ruatangata Playcentre serves a rural farming community. It offers one session a week for children from birth to school age. Families are committed to the playcentre philosophy based on child initiated play with parents and whānau as the first educators of their children. A core group of new members are working to re-establish practices and increase membership through promoting the centre within the wider community.
Ruatangata Playcentre is part of Northland Playcentre Association. The Association provides support personnel and frameworks for parent education programmes and centre management.
Centre members responded constructively to the previous ERO review and good progress has been made in identified areas for development.
This review was part of a cluster of eight playcentre reviews in the Northland Playcentre Association.
Children enjoy positive and respectful relationships with interested and familiar adults. Independence is effectively promoted in a family-like atmosphere where children play as a mixed-age group alongside each other. Children make good use of resources and opportunities within the environment to challenge and extend their play. Children are confident communicators and display a sense of belonging at the centre.
The playcentre philosophy of parents/whānau and children learning, playing and growing together is very evident. Members support children to take the lead in their play. They skilfully foster children’s creativity, language development and social and physical skills. Members’ calm and gentle interactions support a programme that is responsive to children’s preferences and interests.
The centre environment is well resourced with a range of equipment and natural materials. It gives children a wide range of opportunities for exploration and open-ended play. Members have appropriately agreed to resource a safe space for very young children to encourage their exploration.
The centre has a commitment to biculturalism and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. A kaiawhina, employed by the association visits termly. She sensitively integrates Te Ao Māori by respectfully modelling achievable practices for members. With the ongoing support of the kaiawhina, members could review their knowledge and practices and plan ways they will sustain their new learning and improve their cultural capability.
Centre members have recently implemented self review systems. These systems are effectively building and enhancing centre practices that have the potential to continue to raise the quality of learning outcomes for children.
Centre members and ERO agree that key next steps include:
Before the review, the management of Ruatangata Playcentre completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Ruatangata Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region (Acting)
4 September 2013
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
|
Location |
Whangarei |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17679 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 16 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
7 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 4 Boys 3 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
2 5 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2013 |
|
|
Date of this report |
4 September 2013 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2010 |
|
Education Review |
April 2007 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2004 |
ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.