20 Napoleon Street, Ahaura
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
There are a number of very new and positive developments at Grey Valley Playcentre. With the support of the Buller/Westland Playcentre Association, the playcentre needs to continue to develop, implement and embed these changes to remain well placed to promote positive outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Grey Valley Playcentre is a remote, rural playcentre in Ahaura, a small settlement north of Greymouth. It is located in a purpose-built facility within the grounds of Awahono School. Some families travel long distances to attend the two sessions provided each week.
The Playcentre found 2015 to be a challenging year. At a community meeting in March 2016, centre members expressed a determined commitment to keep the playcentre operating as a service for the families in the Grey Valley area. An experienced early childhood teacher with playcentre qualifications is supporting the playcentre as team leader while parents begin to be involved in the training programmes provided by the Buller Westland Playcentre Association.
Grey Valley Playcentre is one of nine playcentres within the Buller/Westland Playcentre Association. Three of these playcentres operate as certified playgroups. The association is made up of a very small group of dedicated paid and elected members. The association provides a framework for centre management and operations, as well as parent education programmes and personnel to support centre members.
The Buller/Westland Playcentre Association is experiencing a time of change as all playcentre associations throughout New Zealand merge with the New Zealand Playcentre Federation to reduce duplication and make cost savings. This restructure will mean significant changes at the local association level.
Some improvements were made as recommended in the 2012 ERO review, however these were not sustained due to significant family turnover in the playcentre. The team leader is now reintroducing systems for assessment, planning and self review and ensuring there are Māori perspectives within the programme. These initiatives are very new and there needs to be careful planning and monitoring of the centre's annual action plan to ensure these improvements are sustained.
This review was part of a cluster of five playcentre reviews in the Buller/Westland Playcentre Association.
The programme that the team leader and centre members provide for children is underpinned by the overarching philosophy of whānau and children learning together in an enjoyable and nurturing learning environment. The team leader and centre members are in the process of collaboratively developing a Grey Valley Playcentre philosophy that is up to date and relevant. It highlights what learning is valued and important, and outlines their commitment to providing high quality education for their children.
The team leader has a focus on building parents' understandings of policies and procedures so they can, in the future, provide a safe learning environment for children. She is empowering parents to take an active role in running the sessions. For example, she leads very purposeful pre-session discussions where the emphasis is on ideas to support learning for individual children and how to provide a safe, well-supervised programme. She encourages parents to contribute their ideas and share their skills and talents in the sessions.
The number of children and families attending the centre is growing. Parents are beginning to be involved in the adult-education programme. Parents are becoming more involved in assessing and planning for children's learning. These are new initiatives and need to be an ongoing focus to ensure they are sustained.
The team leader has led parents through an effective self-review (internal evaluation) process that has resulted in improvements for babies at the centre. There is now a safe and well-resourced area for babies within the centre. Centre members are more aware of how to provide appropriate programmes for very young children. It is important that guidelines are developed for self review that others in the centre can follow in the future.
Children play in spacious and inviting indoor and outdoor areas. The indoor area in particular is well set up with activity areas that provide children with a wide range of resources to use and play with. Attractive wall displays and stories show how the centre acknowledges the languages and cultures of the families who attend. They also show children involved in many interesting experiences. These include:
Playcentre members are very clear about what they need to do in the short and long term. The playcentre has an annual action plan designed to ensure the smooth running of the playcentre.
This is a well-thought-out document, giving members clear direction for the year. It needs to be carefully implemented and monitored to help the centre sustain the good work underway.
The Buller/Westland Playcentre Association has a strategic plan to help guide the association's work. This, along with each playcentre's annual action plan, should be more formally monitored. Currently the association provides a policy framework for all the playcentres. This will change as the playcentres merge under Playcentre Aotearoa next year. Some policies and procedures within the association need immediate development to give better guidance to playcentres. These include:
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation, the current Buller/Westland Playcentre Association, playcentre team leaders and parents need to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Grey Valley 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 Grey Valley Playcentre will be in three years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
18 August 2016
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 |
Ahaura |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65201 |
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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 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
2 |
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Gender composition |
Girls: 6 Boys: 6 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
9 |
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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 staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
June 2016 |
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Date of this report |
18 August 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2012 |
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Education Review |
March 2008 |
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Education Review |
May 2005 |
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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 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.
Grey Valley Playcentre is located in Ahaura, 40 km north of Greymouth. It is the only licensed early childhood centre between Reefton and Greymouth. It runs morning sessions twice a week.
The playcentre is located in a purpose-built facility within the grounds of Ahaura School. It is one of ten parent-led centres that operate under the umbrella of the Buller Westland Playcentre Association.
The association provides policy direction for centre operations, as well as administrative services and quality management. Office holders, along with fieldworkers, provide professional advice and support for centres to develop and promote the benefits of parent-led early childhood services.
Since the playcentre’s last ERO review in March 2008, there have been a significant number of changes in personnel. Team leaders and parents have maintained and built on many of the good practices noted during this review.
Features of the centre include:
The centre’s parent committee and team leaders have developed a range of sound management practices. These are helping to promote ongoing Playcentre improvement.
The next steps for the centre, identified by team leaders, parents and ERO include:
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 Grey Valley 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 atGrey Valley Playcentre.
All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:
ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.
Since the last ERO review, a new group of parents have become involved with the playcentre. They have continued to build on the centre’s programme. Professional development, support and training have helped team leaders and parents improve learning opportunities for children.
The centre’s programme provides children with a wide variety of experiences that are successfully supporting their learning and development. Features of the programme include the:
Team leaders and parents interact with children in ways that help to foster their sense of belonging, well-being and their learning.
During the review visit team leaders and parents interacted with children in respectful, responsive and supportive ways. Children were settled, engaged and comfortable in interacting with adults and their peers.
Reviewers observed many instances of parents:
A feature of this playcentre is the quality of the environment, facilities and resources it provides for children. These facilities are purpose built, spacious and inviting.
Team leaders and parents make effective use of the environment to provide children with a wide variety of interesting indoor and outdoor activities. Well set up activity areas provide children with ready access to an extensive variety of resources that they make good use of to play and learn. Attractive wall displays celebrate children’s learning and provide useful information for parents.
Several leadership and management practices are helping to enhance the quality of care and education for children. These include:
Team leaders and parents recognise the need to build on recent initiatives including improving assessment practices and promoting biculturalism. For example:
Programme planning and evaluation are currently a focus for centre improvement. To support further improvement, team leaders and parents should:
The playcentre’s ongoing programme of self review focuses primarily on resources, some aspects of the programme and revising documented policies and procedures.
Parent opinions about the effectiveness of some aspects of the playcentre’s operation vary.
The value and usefulness of the playcentre’s self-review programme and practices could be enhanced by including a greater focus on evaluating:
Before the review, the staff of Grey Valley Playcentre completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement andSelf-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 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:
In order to improve current practice the managers should:
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.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
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Type |
Sessional 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 two |
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Roll number |
30 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 18 Girls 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā 25; Māori 2; Samoan 1; Asian 2 |
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Review team on site |
March 2012 |
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Date of this report |
24 May 2012 |
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Previous three ERO reports
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Education Review March 2008 Education Review May 2005 Discretionary Review December 2000 |
24 May 2012
These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Grey Valley Playcentre.
Grey Valley Playcentre is located in Ahaura, 40 km north of Greymouth. It is the only licensed early childhood centre between Reefton and Greymouth. It runs morning sessions twice a week.
The playcentre is located in a purpose-built facility within the grounds of Ahaura School. It is one of ten parent-led centres that operate under the umbrella of the Buller Westland Playcentre Association.
The association provides policy direction for centre operations, as well as administrative services and quality management. Office holders, along with fieldworkers, provide professional advice and support for centres to develop and promote the benefits of parent-led early childhood services.
Since the playcentre’s last ERO review in March 2008, there have been a significant number of changes in personnel. Team leaders and parents have maintained and built on many of the good practices noted during this review.
Features of the centre include:
The centre’s parent committee and team leaders have developed a range of sound management practices. These are helping to promote ongoing Playcentre improvement.
The next steps for the centre, identified by team leaders, parents and ERO include:
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.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.
ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:
Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.
ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.
ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre 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 this centre.
Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.