Waiotoi Road, Ngunguru
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Tutukaka Coast Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Tutukaka Coast Playcentre in Ngunguru is licensed to provide sessional education and care for 21 children, including 12 aged under two years. The centre operates as a parent cooperative and is part of the Playcentre Aotearoa national organisation.
Programmes for children are underpinned by the Playcentre philosophy of whānau and children learning together in a fun, nurturing learning environment. Whānau are recognised and valued as first educators of their children. Adult education programmes are offered to all parents who enrol their children at Playcentre. Qualifications gained through these programmes are required for sessions to receive funding.
The 2016 ERO report identified children as communicative and independent. Adults provided good opportunities for children to explore, experiment and solve problems in spacious, well-resourced environments. These positive areas of practice have been maintained. Areas for further development included self review, strategic and programme planning, and bicultural practice. There has been good progress in these areas.
A new regional structure for Playcentre Aotearoa came into effect in June 2019. Regional staff are responsible for establishing effective management systems to support each centre. Support personnel visit centres regularly to carry out administrative tasks and model effective teaching, programme planning and evaluation practices for centre members.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Playcentre Aotearoa, Northern North Island region.
Children lead their learning through exploration of the environment and easy access to a wide range of resources. The spacious outdoor area provides physical challenges and invites participation in sensory activities. Children are relaxed and confident as they play and learn alongside whānau.
Children of all ages play together in a mixed-age setting, which allows them to learn alongside older, more experienced peers and to nurture the younger children. More experienced centre members support others to develop their confidence and skills as educators.
Adults are a positive, guiding presence. They follow children's lead as they engage in play, responding to their conversations and providing extra resources that might bring more complexity to their thinking. Adults model oral language well, through sharing stories and natural conversations. They extend children's vocabulary as opportunities arise through their responses to children's interests.
Tikanga and te reo Māori are evident in centre routines. The environment reflects te ao Māori perspectives. The Playcentre philosophy includes a commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Centre leaders have identified that this is an area that they would like to continue to strengthen with their members.
Adults are reflective and collaborative. Their observations of children support them to recognise current interests and to plan how they might respond. Group interests are recorded in a 'daybook' and used as a reference for future planning. Individual children's interests are captured well in learning stories that make up each child's portfolio. There is good connectivity between the daybook and children's individual learning records.
Key next steps for centre members are to:
continue to refine and develop programme planning and evaluation processes.
The regional manager and support personnel agree that key next steps for the region include:
providing targeted support for centre members to establish effective strategic and annual planning, with links to the long-term goals of Playcentre Aotearoa
implementing and embedding the revised Playcentre adult education programme
evaluating the effectiveness and impact of the personnel who are employed to support centres
establishing effective programme planning and evaluation processes that support and extend the learning of all children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Tutukaka Coast 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
31 July 2019
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 |
Ngunguru, Northland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17686 |
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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 |
21 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
28 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 14 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
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|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2019 |
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Date of this report |
31 July 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
||
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.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.
Tutukaka Coast Playcentre is a parent-led early childhood education service in Ngunguru, about 30 minutes from Whangarei. The centre provides two morning sessions each week for children from birth to school age. It currently caters for 22 children and families who live in the surrounding coastal and rural areas. Many of the families are relatively new to Playcentre.
The centre is part of the Northland Playcentre Association, which is managed by officers elected by centre members. The Association provides a framework for centre management and operations, as well as parent education programmes and personnel to support centre members in their management, educator and parenting roles. The programmes that centre members provide for children are underpinned by the overarching Playcentre philosophy of whānau and children learning together in a fun, nurturing learning environment.
Playcentre Aotearoa, the national organisation, is currently in the process of a comprehensive restructure. A regional hub will be established to provide governance, management and parent education support for Playcentres north of Auckland. While this will mean significant changes at the local Association level, it is expected that support for individual centres will be maintained or strengthened.
ERO’s 2013 review noted centre members’ strong commitment to promoting Playcentre and children’s wellbeing and belonging. It also noted that the centre received good levels of support from the Association. Areas for further development at that time included improving self-review, and adult training levels and linking planning to children’s next learning steps. Membership had dwindled in recent years, but is now rebuilding. More experienced members are supporting new families to settle into the Playcentre.
This review was part of a cluster of four Playcentre reviews in the Northland Playcentre Association.
A cohesive, core group of centre members has established good strategies for welcoming and supporting new families. Through fundraising, events and local networking, they have worked together well to raise Playcentre’s positive profile in the community. There is a sense of family and community, and children have a sense of belonging in the centre.
The Playcentre philosophy of children and their whānau learning together is reflected in the centre. Child-initiated play is well supported by attentive adults who share responsibility for children’s learning programmes. Whānau continue to build their confidence with implementing bicultural practices and include some aspects of other community cultures. Te Roopu Whakaaro Kotahi is being re-established to support whānau Māori in the Association.
Children play independently and cooperatively and communicate confidently with adults. There are good levels of conversation amongst children and adults often extend these conversations to promote further thinking as children play. Infants and toddlers are supported and encouraged to freely explore the environment alongside older children. Whānau have made specific provision for infants in a quiet indoor area.
The learning environments for children are spacious and well resourced. Features in the outdoors are the garden areas and big, easily climbable trees that provide ample shade. A large, covered area provides extended space for children’s activities in all weathers.
Children have good opportunities to explore, experiment and solve problems. Aspects of literacy, science and mathematics are included naturally in children’s play. Whānau actively promote physical activity and challenge as a feature of programmes. Children’s achievements are recognised and celebrated.
Whānau have established a variety of ways to record children’s individual strengths, preferences, and involvement in learning programmes. A daybook is used well to record what adults notice about children’s play and their interests, and to identify next steps to support learning. Individual children’s portfolios provide worthwhile records of their time at the centre.
Whānau are able to contribute to decisions at regular meetings and share responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the centre. They are supported by an Association centre support worker and a kaiawhina who helps whānau to implement bicultural practices in the programme.
Centre members are developing self-review processes that help them to reflect on the ways that they foster and celebrate children’s learning. An upcoming workshop for whānau should help them to strengthen their self review and could support a review of strategies for integrating literacy and mathematics more deliberately in children’s play activities.
The Northland Playcentre Association supports centres well. The board of management communicates effectively and has responded positively to the need for flexible options in the parent education programme. Centre support workers tailor their support hours and focus to match centre needs. They are keen to further enhance the effectiveness of their centre visits. The Association has embraced the imminent restructuring of the national Playcentre body and is preparing centres well for the impending changes.
Centre members agree that key next steps that will support centre progress and sustainability, include:
refining self-review processes to help whānau to continue improving provision for their children’s learning
aligning strategic goals and plans with the centre’s philosophy and annual plan, and with the Licensing Criteria for early childhood services, to better guide ongoing development in each area
continuing to seek ways to refine assessment, planning and evaluation so that systems are manageable and support ongoing improvements for children
recording individual children’s development and learning progress more specifically in their portfolios
ERO recommends that the Association and or the new regional manager and officers consider ways to strengthen the formative and evaluative nature of centre support workers’ visits and reports in order to:
provide greater assurance about the quality of support for children’s learning
establish the effectiveness and impact of the personnel who are employed to support centres
ensure that self-review processes provide clear guidance for centre office holders and support the continuity and sustainability of centre operations
provide targeted support for centre members to establish effective strategic and annual planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Tutukaka Coast 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.
The next ERO review of Tutukaka Coast Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
17 June 2016
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 |
Ngunguru, Northland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17686 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
21 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
22 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 14 Boys 8 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā Australian German Danish others |
12 2 2 2 4 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
17 June 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 2006 |
||
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.
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.