89 Fairfeild Road, Hāwera
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Hawera Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Hawera Playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for 30 children, two days a week. This includes 15 children up to the age of two. At the time of this review, there are 32 children enrolled and three are Māori.
The Playcentre Aotearoa philosophy, ‘whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, is to empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together. Alongside this, Hawera Playcentre's philosophy emphasises children and their whānau learning through free play with others, in an inviting and welcoming environment.
Since the February 2017 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Hawera Playcentre is part of the Lower North Island Region and is supported by a regional manager and support persons.
Whānau and families share responsibility for the curriculum. Day-to-day operation is undertaken by session support personnel and centre-elected office holders. A centre support worker and centre administrator regularly visit playcentres to provide professional support, strengthen practice and promote improvement.
The previous ERO report identified that the centre needed to deepen and embed understanding of te ao Māori and build capacity to undertake internal evaluation. The playcentre association needed to improve appraisal for centre support workers and build their capability to undertake effective internal evaluation. Steady progress has been made.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentres in the Lower North Island Region.
The playcentre philosophy is evident in practice. Children lead their own learning through a curriculum based on their interests. Play is valued and respected as a vehicle for learning. Well-resourced indoor and outdoor spaces, along with positive interactions with adults, support children to purposefully engage in play. The outdoor learning environment invites exploration, challenge and discovery.
Adults work collaboratively to provide a positive and inclusive environment. Parents, whānau and children know each other well, contributing to a sense of belonging. Infants and toddlers interact freely with others as they engage in the curriculum. New members are welcomed and supported to know about the kaupapa of Hawera Playcentre.
A well-considered assessment and planning process is in place to support adults to notice, recognise and respond to children's interests. Portfolio books provide a useful record of children's experiences and involvement across the curriculum. Visible planning processes allow adults to share children's current interests. Strengthening the evaluation aspect of these processes, to know what is making the most difference for children's learning, should assist adults to know how well their actions are contributing to improved outcomes.
The bicultural curriculum continues to develop. Te ao Māori is growing through the knowledge and understanding of place-based stories, including celebrating events of significance. Members agree that they need to continue to strengthen and promote practices that reflect the Treaty of Waitangi and support Māori children's success as Māori.
Strategic planning is providing useful direction for the centre. Self review is focused on outcomes for children and has led to some curriculum improvements. Extending understanding and use of evaluation should assist members to know what is working well, why and who for, in improving children's learning.
The revised parent education programme is becoming more accessible to centre members. At this playcentre some centre members have early childhood education qualifications, access Playcentre Aotearoa Education training and participate in cluster professional development. Appraisal processes for session support staff have recently been strengthened and implemented to better evaluate performance in relation to specific roles and responsibilities, identify professional learning and development needs and focus on achievement of goals. A next step is to continue to strengthen capability building for these leaders.
The national restructuring process continues to require some attention and support to implement an extensive range of systems and processes. Regular communication from Playcentre Aotearoa seeks to keep parents informed of progress, changes and upcoming requirements. National policies and procedures have recently been introduced and parents are in the process of aligning practices to these. Targeted support to embed policies and procedures will further benefit parents and centres.
A recent evaluation of how well the restructure has met the needs of the Playcentre community has resulted in further proposed changes. These are yet to be implemented.
Playcentre Aotearoa should support centre members to:
strengthen understanding and use of effective internal evaluation for improvement to more clearly show the impact of actions on outcomes for children
extend their understanding and promote Treaty of Waitangi practices to better support Māori learner success.
Playcentre Aotearoa should continue to:
implement systematic monitoring of policies and procedures
provide leadership and guidance to promote Te Tiriti o Waitangi based practices for all services.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hawera 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.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
7 April 2020
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 |
Hawera |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
50018 |
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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 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
32 |
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Gender composition |
Males 14, Females 18 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
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Reported ratios of adults to children |
1:3 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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1:3 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
February 2020 |
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Date of this report |
7 April 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2017 |
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|
Education Review |
February 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
November 2010 |
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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:
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.
Hawera Playcentre is one of 17 centres administered by the Taranaki Playcentre Association (the association). A management team of elected volunteers oversees operation at governance level and provides the adult education programme, guidance and support for members.
The playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for up to 30 children, three days a week. This includes 15 children up to the age of two years. The playcentre has a range of spaces for children to play and learn.
Centre supporters are employed by the association to regularly visit playcentres. Their role is to provide professional advice and feedback to strengthen practice and promote improvement. Responsibility for day-to-day operation is undertaken by centre-elected office holders. Parents share the duties associated with implementing the programme.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation is planning a significant restructure for 2017 that includes amalgamating all playcentre associations. Playcentres will become part of a regional hub, supported by a regional manager and support persons.
The association philosophy of parent-led education and child-initiated play alongside the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, guide and inform centre practices to generate positive changes for children. Strategic and annual planning provides guidance for centre operations, teaching and learning.
The February 2014 ERO report identified that improvement was needed in assessment, planning and evaluation and self review. Steady progress has been made in these areas.
The report also indicated that external professional input should be sought to support the association to strengthen: annual and strategic planning; assessment, planning and evaluation; understanding about Māori success as Māori and teaching and learning; regulatory requirements; and self review.
This review was part of a cluster of eight reviews in the Taranaki Playcentre Association.
The child-initiated programme is responsive to children's current and emerging interests. Children's active exploration through play and engagement in their learning is supported by attentive parent educators.
Children participate enthusiastically in a varied range of planned and spontaneous activities. They direct their own learning with an emphasis on fun, learning, choice. They create their own challenges and problem-solve independently. Frequent trips into the local community and beyond, enrich children's experiences and extend the curriculum. A positive and nurturing tone is evident.
The service’s philosophy is an expression of what families want for their children. It reflects the playcentre philosophy of parent-led education, learning through play and the principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Assessment, planning and evaluation have been strengthened. A learning goal is identified for each child and reviewed regularly. Adults have useful guidance for programme planning. They are enabled to plan and provide programmes that respond to children's interests, strengths and next steps in learning. Continuing to strengthen these practices, to show how adults have extended children's learning, should assist them to reflect children's progress over time.
There is a growing awareness of the importance of providing a culturally responsive programme, this is acknowledged through relationships, policies and practices. A next step is for adults to strengthen their use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
The association Māori representative of Puriri Whakamaru o Taranaki, supports centre members to gain further understandings of te ao Māori and this aspect is developing well as an integral part of the curriculum. Association and centre leaders should use strategic planning and internal evaluation to ensure the good practice occurring is sustained and continues to be built on.
Self review is a well-managed process that is focused on improvement. Spontaneous review is used to reflect on aspects of practice. There has been significant development in the understanding of planned review. It is now timely for members to implement this learning and use review and evaluation to identify how well their practices improve outcomes for children.
The centre support person provides written reports that generally affirm environmental developments and programme practices. These reports should more deliberately focus on outcomes for children and next steps for centre members to improve teaching and learning. This should include a focus on providing centre members with evaluative feedback that assists them to sustain and further enhance the good practice already occurring.
Appraisal for centre supporters requires strengthening. The process should include: more focused goals that build their capability; and more regular and targeted feedback and feed forward about practices that enhance outcomes for children and their families.
The association should assist playcentre members to:
continue to build knowledge and capability to undertake internal evaluation practices
deepen and embed understanding of te ao Māori within learning experiences.
The association should:
improve appraisal for the centre support people to support individual needs and identify professional development to support them in their leadership roles
build centre support staff knowledge and capability to undertake effective internal evaluation.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hawera 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 Hawera Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
8 February 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.
|
Location |
Hawera |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
50018 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
39 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 20, Girls 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
7 29 3 |
|
|
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 |
December 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
8 February 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
February 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2007 |
||
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.