35 White Street, Rangiora
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Rangiora Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Rangiora Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative under the governance and management of Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa - Playcentre Aotearoa. The Playcentre employs a centre coordinator. Playcentre Aotearoa employs a centre support worker and administrator who regularly visit the playcentre to support the parents and coordinator.
Rangiora Playcentre is licensed for 25 children, including 10 children aged up to two years. It is open five mornings a week. Parents are rostered to help at each session. The playcentre's philosophy emphasises the importance of a community of learners, both adult and tamariki. It encompasses freedom of expression, learning, growing and lasting relationships.
Playcentre parents have made progress in addressing the recommendations from the 2014 ERO report. This includes supporting parents to record how they extend and build on children's learning, strengthening the ways parents interact with children to extend thinking and problem-solving skills and supporting parents to plan and assess children's learning.
This review was part of a cluster of four playcentre reviews in Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa - Playcentre Aotearoa.
Children are actively engaged in meaningful, self-chosen learning experiences. They are encouraged and supported by adults to explore imaginative and creative play. The outdoor environment is spacious, providing an attractive, natural play space. Climbing equipment provides the opportunity for physical challenges. Infants and toddlers are well supported. They have easy access to an appropriate range of equipment and resources. This supports them to develop a sense of belonging.
Children experience a programme that is thoughtfully planned to extend their interests. This includes regular excursions in their local community which provide rich learning experiences within the learning programme. Adults establish strong supportive relationships with all children. They have meaningful interactions with them. Parents work alongside children and are responsive to their interests extending them in their play. The high ratio of adults to children helps to ensure that children can be well supported in their learning and wellbeing.
Whānau are welcomed and supported by other parents to be involved in the playcentre programme. All parents are encouraged to complete the Playcentre adult-education programmes so there are enough qualified adults to run the sessions. Parents contribute to their child's assessment by writing stories about their interests and participation in the programme.
Parents and the coordinator work effectively in collaboration. They model respectful relationships and are confident in their roles and responsibilities. This supports a well organised playcentre session.
Parents are developing an understanding of te ao Māori. They are building confidence in their use of te reo Māori in the playcentre programme. They recognise the need to continue to incorporate this practice into the daily programme in meaningful ways.
The playcentre has a newly developed strategic plan that sets clear priorities. The centre is planning to evaluate the effectiveness of its implementation. Internal evaluation is becoming established and results in positive outcomes for children and whānau.
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 nation-wide training courses and personnel who liaise with and assist centres. The effective implementation of a recently reviewed policy and procedure framework will help parents and whānau to ensure that children have safe and healthy learning environments while at playcentre.
The parent cooperative identified, and ERO's evaluation confirms, that key next steps are:
extending the use of te reo and tikanga Māori in the centre programme
planning specific strategies to support parents in their communication with children
continuing to encourage parents to contribute to assessment, planning and evaluation with a focus on children's learning.
Key next steps for the Northern South Island Hub are to provide better support to playcentres in relation to planning for learning, internal evaluation, strategic planning and, health and safety practices including relevant risk assessment and management for excursions.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rangiora 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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
21 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.
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Location |
Rangiora |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70108 |
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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 |
52 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 21, Boys 31 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
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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 |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
21 May 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2010 |
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Education Review |
April 2014 |
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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 |
Rangiora Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
This playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative with parents encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the centre’s programme and operation. The playcentre philosophy is based on the belief that children reach their full potential when their parents understand their development and take part in the learning process. Adults with higher playcentre training take responsibility for coordinating the programme each session.
Rangiora Playcentre is open for four sessions a week for children up to six years of age and one session a week for infants and toddlers under two years of age. It operates in a purpose-built facility. Since the September 2010 ERO report, there has been a change of coordinators, improvements to the indoor and outdoor areas, improved planning and assessment and reviewed bicultural practices.
Most of the recommendations from the 2010 ERO report have been addressed. These include improved planning and assessment, a review of biculturalism in the centre and improvements to indoor facilities.
Significant change is occurring at association level including a review of the management and governance structure. This process has been supported by a useful and consultative self-review process and regular consultation with parents.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
Children benefit from the way adults build positive relationships and support children’s sense of belonging. Interactions between adults and children are positive and nurturing. Adults actively support each other and children. Extended whānau are welcomed.
Infants and toddlers are well included in the programme. Adults make sure children have good opportunities to interact with older children and that they take part in the full range of playcentre activities. A safe play area for young babies has been developed.
There has been a recent emphasis on responding more effectively to older children’s learning needs. This includes a greater focus on recognising and responding to their strengths and abilities and providing them with more leadership opportunities. Greater consideration has been given to developing ways that will support these children’s successful transition to school.
Children have good opportunities to make choices about how they play. The programme provides a wide range of play activities and appealing experiences that build on children’s interests. Adults regularly change resources to ensure the programme is interesting. They spend time playing alongside children and encouraging them to participate in activities that may be new to them.
The playcentre’s strong links with the local community extend children’s learning experiences. These include visits to a local school, excursions in the community and regular visitors to the centre, such as planned visits from the residents at a nearby rest home.
Coordinators demonstrate a good understanding of children’s skills and learning needs. Parent involvement in planning, assessment and evaluation has been strengthened through the effective support and guidance of the centre coordinators.
Parent involvement in the playcentre is growing. The parent group is building leadership through effective teamwork and the sharing of responsibilities and roles. The parent group use good processes to guide improvements to the programme and children’s learning.
The parent group and ERO agree that the following areas for development would help them to continue to improve the programme for children.
The coordinators have focused on building parents' confidence so they can contribute more to planning and assessing children’s learning. There has been a marked increase in the numbers of parents participating in these processes. However there are some practices that could be strengthened to improve children’s learning. These include:
Self review has led to a number of positive changes to practices that better support children’s learning. However the process to sustain ongoing improvement needs clear guidelines and procedures to support parents’ confidence and understanding about self review. For example the outcomes of the bicultural review should be more visible within the centre.
The programme that supports children’s transition to school has evolved over the last year as a result of self review. Despite the reluctance of schools to be fully involved, the centre could further strengthen the programme by looking at different ways to share children’s assessment information with schools.
There is significant change occurring in the structure of governance and management at association level. The recent review of governance and management has been supported by useful and consultative processes.
The association has identified, and ERO agrees, that the next steps for the association include association staff:
In addition a system for the regular appraisal of Centre Support Team members should be re-established.
Before the review, the staff and management of Rangiora 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 Rangiora Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
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 |
Rangiora, North Canterbury |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70108 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under two |
|
|
Service roll |
42 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 22 Girls 20 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā British |
3 33 6 |
|
Review team on site |
December 2013 |
|
|
Date of this report |
9 April 2014 |
|
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
September 2010 |
|
Education Review |
March 2007 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 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:
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.