45 Lockwood Road, Hunua
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.
Hunua Playcentre is a parent-led, sessional early childhood education service. It is part of the Counties Playcentre Association, situated in a rural area of Hunua, near Papakura. The centre is licensed for 26 children, including 10 under two years. It offers two supervised sessions per week catering for up to 11 children from birth to school age in a mixed-age setting.
The centre's philosophy reflects the aspirations of the Playcentre Federation, of whānau and children learning together through child-initiated play. The programme is guided by Te Whāriki, Early childhood curriculum and honours the Treaty of Waitangi.
The playcentre operates as a parent cooperative run by volunteers and is governed by a regional body with national governance from New Zealand Playcentre Federation (NZPF). During 2018, playcentre is transitioning from operating as a federation with 32 regional associations to becoming one national body with six regional offices. The Auckland region is now made up of 45 playcentres from the Auckland, Tamaki and Counties Playcentre Associations. A regional manager oversees the governance, management and administration for this region and has a team of staff to support individual playcentres. The restructuring includes policies, technology and adult education. There continues to be a period of transition for all playcentre whānau and staff as they adapt to new systems and responsibilities.
The federation employs a part-time centre support worker (CSW) and centre administrator (CA) to manage day-to-day operations, curriculum and administration. To enable the playcentre to meet licensing requirements a qualified early childhood teacher attends each session. Other members have or are working towards attaining course two and course three qualifications.
Members have responded positively to recommendations in the 2015 ERO report. They have engaged in professional learning and development to strengthen self-review processes, improve documentation of children’s learning and increase awareness of bicultural practice. Sustainability is a priority for the centre, with experienced members and their families moving on.
This review was part of a cluster of three playcentre reviews in the Counties Playcentre Associations.
The programme provides children with an effective combination of child-initiated and parent-led activities and experiences. Children demonstrate confidence as they make choices and interact with a wide variety of materials and equipment that respond to their interests and provide opportunities for problem solving and challenge. Sustained periods of uninterrupted play are thoughtfully combined with shared routines to provide children and adults with meaningful opportunities for social interactions. Children benefit from a well-resourced and presented environment that is focused on their learning.
Children experience a learning environment that is well-prepared. Through regular planned excursions, children are able to engage with the wider community. Aspects such as literacy, mathematics, science and the creative arts are well integrated throughout the programme. The extended session offers further extension and opportunities for children to develop working theories. Children benefit from learning through play alongside their parents and other supportive adults.
Children's emerging interests, identified strengths and areas for development inform planning. There are regular opportunities for parents to share their aspirations and knowledge of their child as a learner. This information is displayed, supporting all members to respond to each child's interests, dispositions and learning. Photographs, examples of art and the child's engagement in the life of the centre are recorded by parents in their child’s portfolio. Assessment continues to be an area for ongoing development.
Members are at the beginning stages of enacting culturally responsive practices. Resources and equipment with a Māori theme are integrated throughout areas of play. The centre support worker models the use te reo Māori when interacting with children, giving them a greater understanding of their bicultural heritage.
A flexible and inclusive approach support the effective transition of children and their families into and throughout the centre. A buddy system offers support to new members undertaking playcentre course work and learning about playcentre. Centre members have established positive relationships with, and close involvement in, the local primary school. Children enjoy opportunities to join in school events.
Children under the age of two years enjoy a calm and responsive learning space. Parents maintain a relaxed and caring pace in which infants have space and time to lead their early learning. Young children benefit from tuakana-teina relationships as they participate with older children in a mixed-age setting.
Collaborative leadership opportunities allow members to extend and share their knowledge and skills. Roles and responsibilities are divided amongst the members. They recognise there is an urgent need to fill key positions. Members are actively encouraged to undertake training to support building capability and meet licensing requirements. Family commitments and distance of professional development opportunities remain a challenge for members' participation. A strategic and annual plan are improvement focused, including building members capacity and focused on positive outcomes for children. Self review is developing and informs decision making. Children benefit from experienced leaders who role model quality practice that is focused on positive learning outcomes.
The regional management team take responsibility for specific tasks relating to effective operations of individual playcentres. Newly appointed regional personnel are making progress with existing systems and establishing regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional centre support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements. The teams are aware of the unique strengths and needs of the playcentre and the Regional Manager provides professional leadership to sustain improvement, growth and the focus on fostering positive learning outcomes for children.
Through self review, consideration should now be given to:
reviewing the centre philosophy to ensure it reflects the current playcentre members and community and aligns to the revised Te Whāriki
developing expectations, offering mentoring and guidance for members to ensure consistency in assessment practices
using Te Whāriki to inform planning, including bicultural perspectives.
In order to improve and strengthen practice the Auckland Playcentre regional leaders should continue to:
revisit the commitment to Te Tiriti partnership to increase bicultural understanding and integration of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori to support playcentres' practices
clarify and upskill playcentre support roles
build regional office capability to embed new parent education programmes and qualifications
improve understanding and use of internal evaluation as a tool to guide practices
develop, evaluate and report against a regional long-term and annual action plan aligned to goals for improvements at national and regional level
embed and evaluate how effectively the new playcentre structure and systems support all learners including Pasifika and children with additional needs.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hunua 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 Hunua Playcentre will be in three years.
Adrienne Fowler
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
9 October 2018
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 |
Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25202 |
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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 |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
11 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 6 Boys 5 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
0 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
0-49% - Parent-led |
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Reported ratios of staff 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 2018 |
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Date of this report |
9 October 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
November 2008 |
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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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Hunua Playcentre operates as a parent-led cooperative in the rural setting south-east of Auckland. Families are able to attend sessions on Monday and Friday mornings. The centre is in a rebuilding phase after a group of older children have moved on to school. It is once again growing its membership, with a core of longer-term experienced members and new families working together to support each other in their parenting and education roles.
It centre operates under the auspices of the Counties Playcentre Association, which provides Playcentre training, policies and procedures, and support from Association personnel. Each Playcentre contributes to the make-up of the Association and has representatives at Association level. The Association also provides a comprehensive adult education programme and personnel to support centre members.
Families have recently reviewed the centre’s philosophy. The philosophy places importance on parents supporting and encouraging children’s learning through child initiated play, and on the importance of parents and whānau as educators for their children. It emphasises the value of bicultural practices.
ERO’s previous report on the centre in 2012 commented on its inclusive culture, strong sense of community and its environment that stimulated children’s interest. The report also encouraged further review of centre practices against the 2008 early childhood regulations, further promotion of the centre’s philosophy and the development of long- term strategic planning. Centre members have responded well to these recommendations. They have reviewed many aspects of centre operations against the requirements and expectations of the licensing criteria for early childhood services, and training levels of members are increasing.
The National Playcentre organisation is currently undertaking a restructure which is likely to change the current structure of the Association.
Children are very settled and choose from the wide range of activities available to them. Parents/ whānau engage well with children to affirm and encourage their involvement in play.
Children’s all round development and wellbeing are the main focus of the programme. Centre members have recently reviewed all play areas. They use posters successfully as a prompt for encouraging adults to extend play and learning possibilities and to build understandings of the ways that learning in various play areas can extend children’s thinking, interests and learning dispositions.
Centre members plan for their children’s interests and intended activities. These are displayed and shared. Individual assessment portfolios have been established by parents/whānau for their children. These could now have a stronger and clearer focus on individual children’s learning and development.
All members take time to record their thoughts on the programme and ways it could develop further on self-review sheets and in the daily evaluation book. This information is used effectively to make ongoing improvements and to create flexible changes. A daily end-of-session meeting could now be introduced to share the session’s findings to foster collaborative, community-based discussion and practice.
Centre leaders have developed good relationships with the neighbouring school. Reciprocal visiting is a commonplace happening and this routine is assisting with the formal transitions to school.
All centre members are encouraged to develop their knowledge and skills through participation in Playcentre training courses and workshops. Centre members recognise the shared benefits and support this learning has on the whole group. They have considered the wider implications that these qualifications offer and have looked at the possibility of extending the number of sessions offered.
Centre members have refined the centre’s framework of policies and procedures to ensure they are individualised to the centre‘s needs. They use their experiences and Playcentre systems well to guide centre operations. Sound self review provides a foundation for improvement and helps members to recognise ways they could continue to improve outcomes for all children.
All members are encouraged to take an active role in supporting centre operations. Office holders recognise the ongoing need to increase training levels to promote shared understandings and consistent practices. A paid educator is employed to meet licensing requirements. She focuses on modelling good practice and extending children’s and adults’ learning.
Centre members recognise that the key next steps are to:
ERO also encourages the Association to increase the rigour of its quality assurance systems and training for Association personnel in order to improve the effectiveness of support provided for centres.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hunua 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 Hunua Playcentre will be in three years.
Dianne Moffitt
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
16 July 2015
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 |
Hunua, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25202 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
11 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 7 Boys 4 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
11 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
16 July 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 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:
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.