17 Bruce Street, Hunterville
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.
Hunterville Playcentre is one of 19 administered by the Central Districts Playcentre Association (the association). The centre is licensed to provide sessional education and care for 30 children, four sessions a week, in a mixed-aged setting. This includes provision for 15 children up to the age of two. At the time of this review there were 32 children enrolled and four identify as Māori.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation of which Central Districts Association is part, is undergoing a significant restructure that includes amalgamating associations. Playcentres will become part of a regional hub, supported by a regional manager and others.
The federation philosophy, 'whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together', is to empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together. Alongside this, the centre philosophy fosters an emergent, child-led curriculum.
Whānau and families are valued as the primary educators of their children. Curriculum planning and implementation is a shared responsibility. Each session is supported by a team of parent educators who hold Playcentre training certificates.
Centre support people regularly visit playcentres to provide professional advice and support, and to strengthen practice and promote improvement. Responsibility for day-to-day operation is undertaken by centre-elected office holders. A facilitator guides learning and teaching.
The March 2015 report of Hunterville Playcentre identified areas for development for the association and the playcentre. These included: assessment, planning and evaluation practices; effective support from management; appraisal; philosophy review; and implementing te ao Māori through the curriculum. Progress is evident.
The review was part of a cluster of 11 reviews in the Central Districts Playcentre Association.
Children follow their interests and make choices from carefully considered activities. Adults facilitate learning through play in the well-resourced environment. Literacy, mathematics, science and physical opportunities are positive features of the programme. Excursions into the community enhance children's experiences.
Positive relationships amongst children, parents and whānau promote a sense of belonging and enjoyment. Children are affirmed as competent and capable. Infants and toddlers are appropriately supported to confidently explore. Adults' practice is responsive to their preferences and interests.
Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are promoted. Teachers use te reo Māori and children appropriately respond. Karakia, tikanga and waiata are woven through centre rituals and areas of play. The environment includes kupu Māori, posters, books and natural resources. Visits to the local marae further support the bi-cultural curriculum. Continuing to build strategies for promoting te ao Māori across the curriculum should strengthen members' responsiveness to Māori children's culture, language and identity.
There is an established process for assessment, planning and evaluation. Curriculum planning is responsive to children's developing interests. Parents work with the goals, dispositions and learning outcomes of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. They write about these in children's individual learning plans and portfolios. Support to further develop members' understanding of meaningful assessment and planning is ongoing.
Transitions in to the centre are thoughtfully considered by families. Children attend events at the local school. This helps them to successfully move on to their next learning pathway.
The centre is inclusive of children with additional needs. There is good knowledge of local agencies if strategies or support are required.
Professional development is building adults' understanding of internal evaluation. Members are aware of the need to further extend their knowledge, practice and use of evaluation for improvement.
The centre support worker is providing some effective guidance and relevant feedback to grow members' practice.
Suitable planning priorities and objectives are incorporated into the centre's strategic and annual planning. There is a strong focus on growing membership. Appraisal processes are in place and are useful in growing practice. Centre members affirm this process.
At playcentre level, priorities are to:
further develop understandings and use of effective internal evaluation
deepen understandings of children's culture, language and identity.
At the association/federation level, priorities are to continue to strengthen:
understanding and implementation of effective internal evaluation
members' understanding of efficient assessment, planning and evaluation practice.
ERO recommends that the new regional team actively monitor and evaluate the quality of support provided to playcentres.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hunterville 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 Hunterville Playcentre will be in three years.
Patricia Davey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
9 May 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 |
Hunterville |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
51009 |
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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 |
Girls 18, Boys 14 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
|
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2018 |
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Date of this report |
9 May 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
January 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
December 2006 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Hunterville Playcentre is one of 19 administered by the Central Districts Playcentre Association (the association). This review is one of ten undertaken by ERO in the association’s playcentres during Term 4, 2014.
The centre is open for three mornings per week and caters for children from birth to six years of age. Responsibility for day-to-day operations is undertaken by centre-elected office holders. Two paid team leaders support parents and whānau to develop and implement the daily programme. Professional advice and feedback to strengthen members’ practice is provided by a liaison officer employed by the association. The level of team leaders’ qualifications enables this centre to receive a slightly higher level of government funding.
Families at Hunterville Playcentre come from a wide geographical area. Most parents travel some distance to attend the service which is the only early childhood centre in the area. Along with the primary school, the playcentre is a focal point for the extended community. The centre has benefitted from high levels of active community support over time. Maintaining the roll is an ongoing challenge. The outdoor area continues to be a development focus.
Playcentres' philosophy statement, 'whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, encapsulates the value this organisation places on families and whānau working collectively to support children’s learning.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation is currently reviewing the organisational structure of Playcentre across New Zealand. The outcomes of this review may result in changes to operation at centre level.
Team leaders work effectively to engage children’s interest and sustained involvement in activities. High ratios of adults to children promote good opportunities for one-to-one interaction and development of social and language skills. Literacy, mathematics and science are well integrated into sessions. There are many opportunities for children to express themselves creatively. Allowing children more opportunities to initiate and direct the programme is likely to further empower them as learners.
Children enjoy investigating the playcentre environment and playing together. A wide range of wellorganised resources is freely available for them to access. Team leaders set up experiences linked to current interests. The outdoor area supports a range of physically active play and adventure. Further developing displays, to provide children with more opportunities to see their work and reflect on their achievements, is a development step.
Experience supporting some children with complex learning needs has strengthened inclusive practice in the centre. There is good knowledge of local agencies and other available help to maximise these children’s and their families’ active participation in the playcentre programme.
Infants and toddlers enjoy a dedicated play space, and materials and equipment specifically for their use. Their care is shared amongst parents at the session.
Members are in the early stages of integrating a bicultural perspective into the programme and environment. Team leaders’ use of te reo Māori and understanding of tikanga Māori are developing. Continuing to deepen understanding of te ao Māori is a next step for the centre. The association should give priority to supporting members to define their understanding of success for Māori as Māori.
The centre has a very close relationship with the local school. This should support the two-way sharing of information about children and investigation of the links between early childhood and school programmes.
Children’s developing interests are regularly discussed and noted by the team leaders. Term meetings give parents the opportunity to share aspirations for their children. Children’s portfolios record some special learning moments. Increased participation by parents in assessment, planning and evaluation has been identified as a strategic priority and continues to be encouraged by the team leaders. A stronger focus on identifying and recording individual children’s significant learning and progress, linked to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, should improve the quality of planning for learning.
Strong and committed leadership by a core group of members is supporting good practice and positive outcomes for children. A useful range of centre-generated documents outlines expectations for programme management. Mutual support in caring for children and an emphasis on relationship building is fostering parents’ confidence and willingness to become involved. Members agree that better tailored Playcentre training opportunities for families living in isolated rural areas should help address some of the challenges involved with day-to-day centre operation.
Members’ understanding and collective participation in self review has resulted in a well-considered plan to improve the outdoor environment. The next development steps should be to consider the impact of those changes on children’s learning and applying the review process to other aspects of practice.
Useful support is provided by the association. This includes written guidelines and systems for managing finance and legislative obligations. Work is being completed to improve employment practices. Regular visits from the liaison officer assist members in their management and teaching roles. A review of the liaison officer role is being undertaken to support an improved approach.
The appraisal process, particularly for those employed as team leaders and liaison officers, needs further development. The provision of ongoing professional, constructive feedback based on observations of practice, and linked to identified needs and goals, should add rigour.
At association level, the priorities are the further development of:
At centre level, the priorities are:
Before the review, the staff and management of Hunterville 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.
To improve current practice, the service provider should ensure that police vetting of employees is undertaken prior to their employment and subsequently, every three years.
The next ERO review of Hunterville Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
2 March 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 |
Hunterville |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
51009 |
||
|
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 |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 19 Boys 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
4 29 |
|
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
December 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
2 March 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2006 |
||
|
Education Review |
January 2004 |
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.