Ruatangata Playcentre

Education institution number:
17679
Service type:
Playcentre
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
8
Telephone:
Address:

1190 Pipiwai Road, Whangarei

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Ruatangata Playcentre - 16/11/2017

1 Evaluation of Ruatangata Playcentre

How well placed is Ruatangata Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

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.

The Review Findings

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

Key next steps for centre members are to:

  • develop programme planning to bring more complexity to children's thinking and learning
  • ensure each child's learning journey is meaningfully recorded through their time at Playcentre
  • continue to develop their knowledge of tikanga and use of te reo Māori.

To enhance current practices in Northland Playcentres, the new regional manager and support personnel should assist centre members to:

  • build their knowledge of te ao Māori, increase their bicultural understandings and promote ongoing educational success for Māori children, as Māori
  • document and evaluate progress towards strategic goals
  • strengthen internal evaluation to guide ongoing improvement.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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:

  • curriculum
  • premises and facilities
  • health and safety practices
  • governance, management and administration.

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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

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 Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Ruatangata, Whangarei

Ministry of Education profile number

17679

Licence type

Playcentre

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, including up to 16 aged under 2

Service roll

10

Gender composition

Boys 5 Girls 5

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā

3
7

Percentage of qualified teachers

Parent led

Reported ratios of adults to children

Under 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:3

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

August 2017

Date of this report

16 November 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

September 2013

Education Review

May 2010

Education Review

April 2007

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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:

  • Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
  • Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
  • Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
  • Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.

Ruatangata Playcentre - 04/09/2013

1 Evaluation of Ruatangata Playcentre

How well placed is Ruatangata Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

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.

The Review Findings

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.

Key Next Steps

Centre members and ERO agree that key next steps include:

  • focusing children’s individual records more on their learning
  • documenting and evaluating specific and measurable long term goals and plans to guide ongoing improvement.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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:

  • administration
  • health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial and property management.

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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

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 Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

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

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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:

  • Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
  • Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
  • Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
  • Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.