Mayfield Domain, Mayfield-Ashburton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Mayfield Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mayfield Playcentre is an early childhood service under the governance and management of Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa - Playcentre Aotearoa. The centre is open for three mornings each week and is licensed for 26 children, including 10 children aged up to two years.
Playcentres operate as parent cooperatives. At this service, session supervisors are employed to provide ongoing support for the implementation of the programme. Playcentre Aotearoa employs a centre support worker and administrator who regularly visit the playcentre to support the parents and coordinator. Parents are rostered to help at each session. Infants and toddlers are the direct responsibility of the parent or caregiver in the programme.
The Mayfield Playcentre philosophy emphasises the importance of a diverse and inclusive community of learners, both adult and tamariki. It promotes a child-initiated programme that supports tamariki to gain leadership, independence, resilience and social skills.
Since the 2016 ERO review there has been a significant change in the support structure for Mid-Canterbury playcentres, which are now supported by Playcentre Aotearoa. The centre has made some progress towards meeting the September 2016 ERO report recommendations: the philosophy has been reviewed, the centre has new strategic planning, and assessment and planning practices have been strengthened.
This review was part of a cluster of five playcentre reviews in the Upper South Island region of Playcentre Aotearoa.
Children and their families demonstrate a strong sense of belonging in the playcentre. There is a focus on supporting children's social skills and helping them develop meaningful relationships with others within the centre and local community. They are well supported by a group of adults who know them as individuals and respond to them in caring, nurturing and meaningful ways. Families representing many cultures share aspects of their culture and values within the programme. Aspects of te reo and tikanga Māori are meaningfully integrated within the programme.
A well-resourced environment provides a broad range of experiences for children to extend their play and ideas. Equipment and materials are arranged so they are easily accessed and able to be used by children in a variety of ways. The playcentre places emphasis on physical activity and children's independence.
Infants and toddlers are active participants in the programme and are viewed as competent and capable learners. An appropriate range of equipment and resources has been purposefully positioned to enable easy access. While there is a safe area for very young babies, if needed, adults consistently encourage infants and toddlers to be fully involved in the programme, and facilitate interactions with other children. The current focus of internal evaluation is on supporting infants' and toddlers' relationships.
The playcentre is an integral part of the community and makes good use of its local connections to extend children's learning experiences. This includes use of a nearby park and links with local schools. Increasing networking with other playcentres in the region is benefitting this playcentre.
The session supervisors and parents work effectively together to promote positive outcomes for children. Supervisors provide useful role modelling and support to help parents recognise and plan for learning, using Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum. A number of parents are working towards playcentre qualifications so they can better support and engage in their child's learning.
Recent initiatives have strengthened aspects of planning for children's learning. There is now clearer individual assessment and planning for all children that shows how their interests are noticed, and learning planned for. This information is now displayed and has made learning more visible and easier for the parent group to monitor. Some of these initiatives are still being trialled by the parent group. They have not yet fully embedded the new approaches and developed a system for revisiting the learning goals they have identified for children.
Strategic planning is now in place. Goals have been identified by parents and should support a more meaningful approach to developing the local curriculum and improved outcomes for children. Parents have identified that they now need to extend this by identifying how they will implement, monitor and evaluate this plan.
Aspects of internal evaluation are developing with continued assistance from the centre support worker.
Playcentre Aotearoa has a well-established philosophy that acknowledges and values parents as the first educators of their children. It provides a broad range of support for playcentres, including nationwide training courses and personnel who liaise with and assist centres. The effective implementation of a recently-reviewed policy and procedural framework should help parents and whānau to ensure that children have safe and healthy learning environments while at playcentre.
The parent group, centre support worker and ERO agree that the key next steps to improve outcomes for children include:
strengthening the understanding and use of internal evaluation
continuing to develop strategic planning so that goals identified are planned for and monitored to ensure they are achieved
embedding new planning and assessment initiatives to ensure children's learning over time is evaluated.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mayfield 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 service advised ERO that they have an area of non compliance related to the revised playground safety standards NZS 5828:2015. This relates to the height of a wooden platform on the outdoor play equipment. At the time of this review, this was under consideration. Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa - Playcentre Aotearoa need to take steps to rectify this.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, PF5.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
8 May 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.
|
Location |
Mayfield-Ashburton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70086 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
16 Girls, 13 Boys |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
8 May 2020 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 2009 |
||
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.
Mayfield Playcentre is located in a small, rural community near Ashburton. It is licensed for four morning sessions a week for up to 26 children from birth to school age. At the time of the review there were three sessions a week. Roll numbers fluctuate at certain times of the year. The centre provides an important first point of contact for new families. In recent times the centre has become increasingly multicultural with nearly half of the families originating from South America or the Philippines.
Each session is led by a paid supervisor and playcentre members. They are gaining playcentre qualifications through an adult-education training programme provided by the Mid Canterbury Playcentre Association.
Mayfield Playcentre is one of seven playcentres in the Mid Canterbury Playcentre Association. The association is made up of a 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 Mid Canterbury 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.
ERO's 2012 report noted a number of areas for review and development. These included strategic and annual planning, self review, assessment and the bicultural programme. ERO found good progress has been made in most of these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of seven playcentre reviews in the Mid Canterbury Playcentre Association.
Children and their families show a sense of belonging to the Mayfield Playcentre Community. Children and adults benefit from the positive, nurturing relationships they have with one another. The diverse languages and cultures of the families are valued. For example, some South American parents speak Spanish with their children and each other in the sessions. In doing so they enrich the experience for all children attending.
The supervision team and parents are building their capability in helping children to develop knowledge and an understanding of the cultural heritages of both parties to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This includes celebrating significant events such as Mātariki, using simple te reo Māori with the children and meaningfully including Māori perspectives in play activities. They should continue to build their confidence in this area.
Children are settled and focused in the programme. They independently make choices about what they want to do. They confidently engage with adults and know they will be listened to. Older children play well alongside younger children. Infants and toddlers are the immediate responsibility of their parents. They are fully included in the programme and there are many suitable resources and experiences available to them.
Other positive aspects of the programme that support children's learning include:
the well-resourced indoor and outdoor areas
opportunities for early literacy, mathematics, science and exploration
connections to local schools
visitors to the centre and outings into the community.
Parents are fully involved in the running of the sessions. ERO observed adults skilfully extending children's thinking and ideas. They work alongside the supervisors and contribute their ideas to the programme. They follow the children's play ideas.
Supervisors have a purposeful discussion before each session begins to set the direction for the day. After sessions they discuss what the children were interested in and what activities should be continued in the next session. These discussions and the written notes need to have a greater focus on what learning adults are supporting.
The supervisors and parents have a well-established system for planning. This includes regular planning meetings where parents think about their children's possible learning for the term. This system is being refined to make it easy for all parents to use.
The playcentre philosophy is regularly reviewed. It contains the parents' shared values and beliefs, and recognises the importance of families being involved in their children's learning. Centre documentation and the conversations ERO had with parents show that they have clear ideas about what the desired learning outcomes are for their children. When the philosophy is next reviewed these desired learning outcomes should be included and linked to aspects of planning and self review.
There are guidelines in place for self review that help parents as they reflect on and improve aspects of the programmes and practices. However, parents agree that self review is work in progress within the playcentre. They need to develop a schedule to ensure they review key aspects of the playcentre's programmes and practices over time.
The parents meet regularly to oversee the smooth running of the playcentre. All parents are encouraged to complete the adult-education programmes so there are enough qualified adults to run the sessions. This is an ongoing priority for the playcentre. Parents are yet to develop an annual plan to guide their work.
The Mid Canterbury Playcentre Association responded well to the issues and trends emerging from the 2012 ERO review reports for each playcentre. The board is very supportive of each playcentre and provides additional support in response to their needs. The board should ensure it receives evaluative reporting on key aspects relating to the centre support and supervisor support roles.
The board has a strategic plan with purposeful actions to help guide the association work. This should be more formally monitored. Board members meet regularly to discuss key aspects of the smooth running of the association. They are working proactively to assist the smooth transition through the New Zealand Playcentre Federation changes. The board has an expectation that each playcentre will have its own annual plan, however these are not yet in place. The association appraisal system for the supervisors has been reinstated and needs to continue to be embedded.
Key next steps for the association are to:
monitor the board's annual plan and support all playcentres to prepare annual plans
ensure it receives evaluative reporting on key aspects of playcentre operations.
The Mid Canterbury Playcentre Association, playcentre team leaders and parents need to:
review the playcentre philosophy to include their desired outcomes for children
continue to refine assessment planning and evaluation practices
develop and implement a Mayfield Playcentre annual and strategic plan
continue to build the bicultural programme.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mayfield 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 Mayfield Playcentre will be in three years.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
20 September 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.
|
Location |
Mayfield-Ashburton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70086 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
29 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 18 Girls: 11 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā South American Filipino |
17 9 3 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent Led |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
July 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
20 September 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2005 |
||
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.