5 Ovenden Street, Owaka
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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.
Owaka Playcentre is one of 47 playcentres within the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's newly-formed South Island Southern Region (SISR). It is open one morning a week. Up to 25 children aged from birth to school age attend with their parents. The playcentre is situated close to the Catlins Area School. It has close links to the local and rural communities.
The sessions are led by parents who have a range of playcentre qualifications. Some of the parents are continuing to increase their levels of training.
In 2017, the playcentre was supported by a centre advisor with occasional visits and frequent communications from the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA). In 2018, as a result of the Playcentre Federation restructuring of the association, the playcentre now has regular fortnightly visits and receives ongoing support from a centre support worker (CSW) and a paid administrator.
This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in the SISR playcentres.
Parents at Owaka Playcentre aim for their children to develop:
These priorities are evident in practice and contribute to the way the playcentre is successfully promoting positive outcomes for children.
The weekly session is effectively facilitated by parents (lead educators), who are gaining playcentre qualifications. The parents take collective responsibility for contributing to planning and implementing the programme. They are aware that they need to ensure that all parents continue to access training, to maintain the progress they have made in 2017 with planning and assessment practices.
The lead educators model respectful, caring conversations with children that draw on their deep knowledge of each child's individual needs and interests. They value children's ideas and use these to extend children's play and learning. They use simple te reo Māori and waiata. Some resources reflect the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. The educators identified that growing the bicultural dimension is a work in progress. ERO confirms this priority.
The playcentre is well resourced and provides a broad range of activities indoors and outside that provide for the diverse age range of children attending. Infants and toddlers are the direct responsibility of their parent or caregiver in the programme, and have a separate safe area suitably resourced for their requirements. The lead educators plan a range of appropriate activities that allow these younger children to be fully involved in the programme.
The parents actively seek ways to improve the playcentre. They recognise the challenges of providing a service in a small, rural community and are seeking ways to overcome these. For example, they are making better use of ICT to communicate more regularly. Parents have carried out a number of spontaneous reviews to improve aspects of the operations. The next step is to continue to find ways to make internal evaluation manageable and more directly related to improving outcomes for children's learning.
At the time of this review, the OPA was implementing the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's new operating model, and was amalgamating with Southland and South Canterbury Playcentre Associations to become the South Island Southern Region. While the changes resulted in some disruption to the services provided to individual playcentres in 2017, the OPA is effectively managing the restructure with the resources available to them. Each playcentre now receives regular support from a paid administrator and a centre support worker. There are robust systems in the association for monitoring the progress and performance of individual playcentres and targeted support is given when needed.
With the ongoing support of the centre support worker, the key next steps for the playcentre parents are to continue to develop the knowledge, understanding and effective use of:
Before the review, the staff and management of Owaka 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 Owaka Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
18 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 |
Owaka |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65178 |
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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 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 |
Pākehā |
11 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers
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Parent led with playcentre qualifications |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
February 2018 |
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Date of this report |
18 May 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2013 |
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Supplementary Review |
April 2009 |
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Education Review |
March 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.
Owaka Playcentre is well placed to promote positive outcomes for children.
Owaka Playcentre is one of 37 playcentres administered by the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA). The centre provides two morning sessions a week for up to 25 children aged birth-to-five years. The centre is located close to the Owaka Area School and the town’s facilities. This small playcentre has very strong community links. Some of the parents attended the playcentre as children.
A major focus in 2012 has been to prepare for relicensing the centre in 2013. The centre has received good community support with fundraising to make the necessary improvements. As a result the parents have not been in a position to fully address the recommendations of the previous report. The findings in this report build on those of the April 2009 report.
This review was conducted as part of a cluster approach to reviews in fifteen early childhood education services within the OPA umbrella organisation.
Children and their parents benefit from strong and positive relationships with one another. The adults know the children well and make meaningful connections to their lives outside of the centre. The children have good friendships with each other. They play for long periods of time together in complex play. The centre provides good support for children with diverse needs.
A strength of the playcentre is the way that the adults follow the children’s interests and provide many experiences in and out of the centre to enrich and extend these interests. For example, the older boys’ interest in hunting was extended by visiting the army barracks in Dunedin and visiting a maimai in the duck shooting season. The children are developing very strong connections with the local community. They often go on outings to places such as the school, bike park and swimming pool.
The adults have nurturing conversations with the children and support them well in their play. The centre environment is comfortable, well resourced and very welcoming.
Children’s profile books are effective records of their time at playcentre. The children enjoy these and regularly refer to them. The educators and parents have made a good start to noticing children’s interests and recognising the learning that may be occurring. The next step is to record more carefully the progress children make over time and how the adults extend children’s learning.
The centre is efficiently run by a small group of very dedicated and organised parents. They have a high workload. In order to address this they should find ways to prioritise what they need to do. Key priorities for the parents to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the playcentre are to:
The April 2009 ERO report identified that in-depth self review processes need to be developed. ERO found that this is still the case. The parents and educator need to develop a schedule for reviews and find ways to carry out self review that are manageable and useful. Aspects of the programme that should be reviewed immediately include:
The Otago Playcentre Association (OPA) provides a comprehensive range of support to this and other playcentres. This includes:
The OPA executive and personnel hold regular meetings with a specific focus on each centre. They discuss best ways to support individual centres. Records from these meetings could be more specific about what support is provided and the difference it has made.
A strength of the OPA is the ongoing support provided by the centre advisors. The centre advisor effectively supports the parents and educators in developing their understanding of planning and assessment and self review.
Centre advisors should continue to build their knowledge and understanding of self review. They should use each centre's self review as evidence to assure the governors of the OPA how well the playcentre is promoting positive outcomes for children.
OPA personnel need to further develop their understanding of self review and use of the findings to assure themselves of the effectiveness of their strategic goals and operations.
The OPA governors have a sound policy framework to support the playcentre.
Before the review, the management of Owaka 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.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell National Manager Review Services Southern Region
27 February 2013
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Location |
Owaka |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65178 |
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Licence type |
Playcentre - Sessional |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 7 aged under 2 years |
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Service roll |
15 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 12 Girls: 3 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Māori Asian |
12 2 1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Educator led - with playcentre qualifications |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Exceeds minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:4 |
Exceeds minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
December 2012 |
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Date of this report |
27 February 2013 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Supplementary Review Education Review Assurance Audit |
April 2009 March 2008 November 1997 |
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the New Zealand government department that reviews schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO's education reviews in early childhood services focus on the factors that contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. ERO evaluates how well placed the service is to make and sustain improvements for the benefit of all children at the service. To reach these findings ERO considers:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of self review and partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of service performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.