Sinclair Park Macky Road, Kaukapakapa
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kaukapakapa Playcentre is governed and managed cooperatively by centre members, who support each other in their parenting and educator roles. The centre caters for up to 30 children, including 15 under two years of age. It offers three sessions per week, including a newly introduced off-site nature session. The sessions all feature child-initiated play in a mixed-age group. They affirm the Playcentre philosophy of parents as their children's first educators, and the value of play-led learning.
The centre's 2013 ERO report highlighted high quality management and leadership that promoted ongoing improvement. The report included recommendations relating to the programme, parent training and raising the centre's community profile. The Playcentre has undergone some marked challenges since that time. Long attending, experienced members have moved on and the roll has dropped by over half. Despite these factors, the Playcentre continues to be a viable choice for families. New parents have moved into leadership roles and have made very good progress in addressing ERO's 2013 key next steps.
The centre is part of the newly established Northern North Island Playcentre Region. Regional systems support centre members to manage their centres and to provide educational programmes for their children. Playcentre personnel also provide training programmes for parents/whānau to achieve Playcentre qualifications.
This review was part of a cluster of nine playcentre reviews in the Northern North Island Playcentre Region.
Kaukapakapa Playcentre is very well resourced and well maintained. Its attractively landscaped grounds encourages exploration that is meaningful and enjoyable for children. Parents/whānau and children also make use of the extensive community grounds and facilities nearby. The indoor play areas promote children's imaginative and creative play. There is a separate space in which infants are able to explore safely and independently.
Children display a strong sense of belonging and ownership in the centre. They learn in a calm, peaceful and positive atmosphere. They are confident learners and are empowered to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and to care for others and the environment.
Effective planning supports parents/whānau to provide well designed programmes that reflect the Playcentre philosophy. The child-initiated programme is thoughtfully implemented and provides many opportunities for children to make choices, experience challenge and engage in a wide variety of activities. Parents/whānau write learning stories that are authentic records of children's learning and interests. These records are used to plan further experiences.
Interactions between children and adults are meaningful and help extend children's learning. Parents are proactive and perceptive in identifying and responding to children's emerging interests and needs. Children benefit from relationships with adults that support their learning and development in positive and holistic ways. Children under the age of two enjoy high quality care. They are included in learning opportunities and are nurtured in an inclusive and caring environment.
The centre is well led. Centre members' commitment to working cooperatively with a shared sense of purpose promotes positive outcomes for children. Thoughtful, strategic leadership empowers parents and utilises their skills and knowledge. Members have planned a variety of future developments. These include focusing on sustaining good practices, meeting new challenges and attracting new families. Members demonstrate the capability necessary to promote such ongoing improvements.
Playcentre course work and opportunities for professional learning have successfully increased adults' individual and collective capacity to further support all children. Members are very ready to access further Playcentre qualifications, when these become available.
Regional leaders have a strong commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They are building links with local kaumatua and promote bicultural partnerships. Whānau Māori are invited to join te Roopu Ngātahi o Puāwai. The inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori is an integral part of centre practices that affirm Māori children’s cultural identity. Kaukapakapa Playcentre is increasingly promoting and implementing the bicultural underpinnings of Te Whāriki, the early learning curriculum.
The regional structure is replacing individual Playcentre Associations. Newly appointed regional personnel are making good progress building on existing systems and establishing effective regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional centre support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements.
Key next steps for centre members are to:
continue with the strategic plans already underway to cater more directly for older children and to better reflect the bicultural curriculum
adapt the philosophy statement to capture the unique features of this centre.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kaukapakapa 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 Kaukapakapa Playcentre will be in four years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
8 June 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 |
Kaukapakapa |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
22042 |
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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 |
29 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
12 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 6 Girls 6 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
12 |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
8 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
August 2010 |
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Education Review |
February 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Kaukapakapa Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative within the North Shore Playcentre Association. The playcentre is licensed for 29 children including 15 up to two years. The centre offers four family sessions each week for parents and children of mixed ages and one session a week for older children.
The North Shore Playcentre Association is the umbrella organisation for twenty one playcentres situated in North Auckland. Many of these centres are semi-rural. The association manages and distributes centres’ funding and provides a training programme for parents/whānau to achieve playcentre qualifications. It also has good systems to support centre members to manage the playcentres and to provide educational programmes for children. The association is currently reviewing many aspects of its operations to help reduce the administrative workload for its members.
Kaukapakapa playcentre has attractively landscaped grounds that provide many opportunities for children to explore and learn. Parents and children also make good use of the extensive community grounds and facilities nearby.
The 2010 ERO report identified many positive aspects of the centre operations that continue to be evident. The report also identified some aspects of planning and programmes that could be improved. Good progress has been made in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of twelve playcentre reviews in the North Shore Playcentre Association.
Children have a strong sense of belonging in this centre. They have independent access to resources and make choices about activities. Children initiate and sustain imaginative and cooperative play.
Children engage well with each other, with adults and the environment. They communicate effectively and confidently. Parents record learning stories for their own and other people’s children. Children contribute to and revisit their portfolios independently and with adults.
The playcentre is well led. Parents share the leadership role to promote sustainable management practices. They have strategies to successfully engage parents in the playcentre community. All parents effectively and diligently complete duties and roles distributed by centre leaders.
The playcentre association field officer supports centre leaders and parents well. Centre leaders and parents benefit from the reciprocal learning relationship they have with the field officer. They value her formal reports to the association, and suggestions for improvements.
Parents share a clear understanding of the purpose of playcentre and fully implement its philosophy. They support each other personally and help all children to learn through play. A culture of care and cooperation is evident within the playcentre community.
Centre leaders understand and use self review well to support ongoing improvement in the centre. They include parent input and use the findings to complement external review processes. Ongoing self review is documented and formalised. Centre leaders ensure parents contribute to self review processes. The association management team identifies that aspects of self review could be more robust and better documented.
The association management team takes responsibility for specific tasks relating to the function of the association. They are committed to and enthusiastic about their involvement in Playcentre and actively foster emergent leadership to help sustain the association.
The association management team demonstrates the professional leadership necessary to help the association respond to change, make decisions and manage issues as they arise. The North Shore Playcentre Association provides effective support to help this playcentre remain very well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.
A bicultural partnership with Māori whānau is evident in association operations. The association management team has a strong commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to building both adults’ and children’s familiarity with te reo and tikanga Māori.
Centre parents are committed to promoting New Zealand’s bicultural heritage. They find ways to include te reo Māori in children’s play. Some parents are able to support others to become more confident with te reo Māori and waiata.
Centre parents are committed to the ongoing improvement of the playcentre and agree that key next steps could include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kaukapakapa 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 Kaukapakapa Playcentre will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
15 November 2013
|
Location |
Kaukapakapa |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
22042 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
29 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 18 Girls 15 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
2 31 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
August 2013 |
||
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Date of this report |
15 November 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 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:
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.