Kaiwaka Playcentre - 27/09/2013

• On this page:

• 1 Evaluation of Kaiwaka Playcentre
• 2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
• 3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

1 Evaluation of Kaiwaka Playcentre

How well placed is Kaiwaka Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Kaiwaka Playcentre is a parent cooperative, in which parents and whanau take responsibility for their children’s education and for centre operations. The Playcentre is part of the Northland Playcentre Association. The Association provides support personnel and organisational frameworks for parent education programmes and to guide centre management.

Kaiwaka Playcentre is open four days a week, providing two open sessions for children up to six years of age. The Playcentre is also open for two extended sessions which cater specifically for children over four years of age. A supervisor is employed for the extended sessions. This report is based on observations of an open and an extended session. Good practices identified in ERO’s 2010 report remain evident.

This review was part of a cluster approach to reviews of eight Playcentres within the Northland Playcentre Association.

The Review Findings

The Playcentre philosophy of parents/whānau and children learning, playing and growing together is highly apparent. Respectful relationships are a feature of the programme. Adults value children’s knowledge and take the time to listen to children. They make purposeful responses to extend children’s learning in meaningful ways. Infants and toddlers are well provided for, with a specific area for these younger children, as well as opportunities to play in mixed-age groups. Older children are well supported to take the lead in their learning as decision-makers and investigators.

The supervisor models effective teaching practices. She is responsive to children’s ideas and skilfully prompts extension of learning through creative and imaginative play scenarios. She promotes use of te reo Māori in the context of children’s learning. Children confidently use te reo Māori during group times.

The programme is jointly planned by adults and children. Adult led extension activities are skilfully integrated alongside child-initiated learning. Individual records of learning are well developed. The supervisor and experienced Playcentre members clearly identify the learning that is happening in play and plan next steps for children’s individual learning.

Many members are involved in ongoing education courses. Adults share their learning and continue to improve the quality of the learning programme. They work together to collaboratively manage the centre.

Centre members continue to build their self-review capacity using review formats provided by the Playcentre association. Long-term planning is currently based on property development. Members are considering ways to focus these goals on improving learning outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

ERO and centre members agree that key next steps include:

• writing group programme evaluations to identify children’s learning and progress over time
• documenting the outcomes of centre reviews that focus on improving children’s learning
• evaluating progress against annual and long-term goals.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Kaiwaka 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:

• curriculum
• premises and facilities
• health and safety practices
• governance, management and administration.

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.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Kaiwaka Playcentre will be in three years.

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region

27 September 2013

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.