21 Harvey Street, Whakatane
View on mapHow well placed is Wairaka Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
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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.
Wairaka Playcentre is a sessional centre providing education and care for children from birth to six years of age. It is located in Whakatane and caters for families drawn from the wider, more diverse surrounding community.
The centre operates as a parent cooperative under the umbrella of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association (EBOPPA) and is licensed for 25 children, including up to 15 under two years. At the time of this ERO review 20 children were enrolled including three of Māori descent and two Samoan children. Members are committed to providing a child-centred programme within a supportive family-friendly environment.
Since the 2012 ERO review there have been extensive improvements to the outdoor environment. An increased number of members actively studying the courses available has resulted in greater parent understanding of early childhood education. A good proportion of members have playcentre qualifications. The centre has been operating for many years and there are second generation children on the current roll.
The centre has responded positively to the areas for review and development in the 2012 ERO report. Parents have attracted and retained new families and clarified administration roles and responsibilities.
This review was part of a cluster of eight playcentre reviews in the Eastern Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association.
The president and administrator encourage and invite parents and whānau to take an active role in their children’s learning and centre organisation. There is an inclusive leadership approach with members sharing roles and responsibilities and they benefit from an experienced, knowledgeable supervisor. The centre promotes the playcentre philosophy of 'whānau tupu ngātahi - families growing together', and a commitment to te reo and tikanga Māori is very evident. Parents ensure that their children participate in high quality early childhood educational experiences.
Parents have created a warm and friendly environment where a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing is highly evident. Children learn and play in a purpose-built environment that is spacious, planned and inviting. The learning areas are well prepared and offer children a wide range of easily accessible choices. It is important that centre members regularly review these learning areas in order to assess their ongoing effectiveness.
Children play well in mixed-age groups. They confidently interact with other children and adults. Routines are flexible to meet children’s individual needs, while providing a familiar structure to the sessions. End of session discussions are used to reflect on learning that has occurred for individual children and plan future sessions. Parents encourage children to engage in their imaginative and dramatic play, and work alongside them to support and provide positive guidance.
The committed, knowledgeable group of parents support and promote independence so that children grow in confidence and competence, and show high levels of engagement and persistence. Children are gaining high quality and meaningful literacy and numeracy experiences in naturally emerging contexts within the print-rich environment. Individual profile books reflect children’s progress and development and are readily accessible for children to revisit and share. Centre members have identified the need to strengthen the integration of te reo and tikanga Māori within the programme.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation provides overall guidance, support and strategic direction for the local association and centres. The EBOPPA aims to grow and sustain parent membership and is proactive in supporting local events and activities. There are clear policies, procedures and guidelines for self review, assessment, planning and evaluation. Playcentre workshops help parents establish strategies and practices that ensure positive educational outcomes for children.
At the time of this ERO review, the national federation was in the process of considering changes to the governance and management structure of the organisation. This is likely to present an opportunity for further review and improvement to communication and support for centres.
Before the review, the staff and management of Wairaka 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Wairaka Playcentre will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
15 June 2015
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Location |
Whakatane |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
40022 |
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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 |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
20 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 10 Girls 10 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Samoan |
3 15 2 |
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Review team on site |
March 2015 |
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Date of this report |
15 June 2015 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) These are available at www.ero.govt.nz |
Education Review |
September 2012 |
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Education Review |
October 2008 |
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Education Review |
January 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.
Wairaka Playcentre is a parent-led cooperative, early childhood education and care service for children from birth to school age. The centre is located near the Wairaka Marae and the Whakatane central business district. It operates under the governance of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association.
At the time of this review 18 children were enrolled, six of whom identified as being of Māori descent. Increasing the centre’s bicultural dimension is an ongoing focus for centre members. They have accessed positive support from a Rural Education Activities Programme (REAP) advisor and this is enhancing their confidence to use te reo Māori with children and each other.
Parents are highly committed to implementing the playcentre philosophy of promoting child-initiated play in an inviting and fun environment. They work hard to ensure that all areas of play are well resourced and attractively presented.
Adults respond to children’s interests and extend these through planned centre activities and outings. They talk with children, and model good quality oral language and listening skills. There are many opportunities for children to experiment with literacy, science and mathematics. They are free to persevere and solve problems independently in a safe and caring environment.
Positive and respectful relationships among parents and between children and adults are a feature of the centre. The centre president, supported by a small group of committed parents, is working hard to retain the playcentre service. This group acknowledges the need to raise the profile of playcentre in the community and to attract and retain new families so that the centre can be sustained.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Before the review, the management of Playcentre was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.
The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atPlaycentre.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
Since ERO’s last review in October 2008 there have been considerable changes in centre membership. The loss of experienced members and shortage of families and children is presenting a significant challenge to this parent-led, early childhood education service. The playcentre philosophy is based on core values of a family-based cooperative run by committed and educated parents. The philosophy also promotes:
Relationships and interactions: Positive, respectful and reciprocal relationships at all levels are a feature of the centre. These relationships are characterised by:
Learning opportunities
Parents are committed to implementing the playcentre philosophy of promoting child-initiated play in an inviting and fun environment. They work hard to ensure that all areas of play are well resourced and presented in a manner that fosters children’s curiosity and exploration.
Adults notice and respond to children’s emerging interests and extend these interests and ideas through planned activities and experiences. They engage children in conversations about their play and model good quality oral language and listening skills.
There are extensive opportunities for children to experiment with literacy, science and mathematics in the meaningful context of play. They are free to set their own challenges and persevere to solve problems independently. Children enjoy being creative and expressive through art, music, singing and dance.
These learning opportunities are contributing to the ways in which children view themselves as capable and confident communicators and learners.
Self review: ERO’s previous review acknowledged self review as a significant strength. The playcentre continues to embed well-developed self-review practices. Members have also used ERO’s previous evaluation as the basis for action plans, which provide a clear framework to guide centre improvement and direction.
Centre sustainability: Centre members, with support from the association, acknowledge the need to raise the profile of playcentre in the community and to attract and retain new families. In addition, implementing strategies to streamline administration roles and responsibilities should assist centre members to strengthen their focus on parent education, the quality of sessions, assessment, planning and evaluation.
ERO provides information about the education system as a whole through its national reports. This information will be used as the basis for long term and systemic educational improvement.
As part of this review ERO evaluated the extent to which:
At the time of this review 18 children were enrolled, six of whom identified as being of Māori descent. ERO’s last review identified the need to improve the Māori dimension within the centre environment and programme. Increasing the centre’s bicultural dimension has been an ongoing focus for members, with support from the association.
Te reo and tikanga Māori: Adults and children are benefiting from the support and mentoring of a specialist adviser who fosters the inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori in the centre. Her regular participation in sessions is enhancing parents’ confidence and capability to use te reo Māori with children. A feature of this support is the spontaneous and natural approach to promoting learning about tikanga and te reo Māori. Māori children and parents are confident that their language and culture is valued by their peers in the centre.
Before the review, the staff of Playcentre completed an ERO Centre Management Assurance Statement andSelf-Audit Checklist. In these documents they have attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
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Type |
Playcentre |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Roll number |
18 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 13 Girls 5 |
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Ethnic composition |
New Zealand European/Pākehā 12 New Zealand Māori 6 |
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Review team on site |
July 2011 |
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Date of this report |
12 September 2011 |
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Previous three ERO reports
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Education Review October 2008 Education Review January 2006 Accountability Review February 2002 |
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Playcentre.
Wairaka Playcentre is a parent-led cooperative, early childhood education and care service for children from birth to school age. The centre is located near the Wairaka Marae and the Whakatane central business district. It operates under the governance of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association.
At the time of this review 18 children were enrolled, six of whom identified as being of Māori descent. Increasing the centre’s bicultural dimension is an ongoing focus for centre members. They have accessed positive support from a Rural Education Activities Programme (REAP) advisor and this is enhancing their confidence to use te reo Māori with children and each other.
Parents are highly committed to implementing the playcentre philosophy of promoting child-initiated play in an inviting and fun environment. They work hard to ensure that all areas of play are well resourced and attractively presented.
Adults respond to children’s interests and extend these through planned centre activities and outings. They talk with children, and model good quality oral language and listening skills. There are many opportunities for children to experiment with literacy, science and mathematics. They are free to persevere and solve problems independently in a safe and caring environment.
Positive and respectful relationships among parents and between children and adults are a feature of the centre. The centre president, supported by a small group of committed parents, is working hard to retain the playcentre service. This group acknowledges the need to raise the profile of playcentre in the community and to attract and retain new families so that the centre can be sustained.
ERO is confident that the service is being managed in the interest of the children. Therefore ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.
When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.
If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.
Richard Thornton
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region