628 A Worcester Street, Linwood, Christchurch
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Linwood Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for all children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Linwood Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative under the governance and management of the Playcentre Federation, Upper South Island Region. This centre is licensed for up to 25 children, including 10 children aged under two. The centre is open three mornings a week. Woolston Playcentre holds sessions on the other two mornings while they wait for a new centre to be built.
The playcentre employs a coordinator. Parents are rostered to help at each session. The Upper South Island Region employs a centre support person and an administrator who regularly visit the playcentre to support the parents and coordinator.
The centre's philosophy places strong emphasis on the important role of parents in their children's learning and wellbeing. Respect for and use of te reo and tikanga Māori is promoted, and children's home cultures are similarly valued and respected. The philosophy states that the learning environment is to be inclusive, rich and sustainable. Adults are encouraged to learn alongside their children and participate in the parent education courses offered by the Playcentre Federation.
With support from the Upper South Island Regional Hub, the centre's adults have made good progress in many areas to address the recommendations identified in the 2014 ERO report. Internal evaluation is now well understood and used. Progress and outcomes related to strategic goals need to be better documented. Adults also need to improve the documentation of children's goals, progress and learning outcomes in assessment and programme planning.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Playcentre Federation, Upper South Island Region.
Children are settled, friendly and engaged in meaningful learning. Adults skilfully use their knowledge of each child and their interests to provide activities that help children extend their interests and knowledge. Children confidently discuss their learning and request support.
Children and adults are warmly welcomed and respected for the skills and interests they bring and share. The centre is inclusive of all cultures and families. Children are well supported by all adults who show a genuine interest in their wellbeing and learning. Adults work collaboratively to care for babies. Children are valued as individuals and members of the playcentre. Parents enjoy a positive and relaxed environment where they are well supported in their parenting role.
Te reo and tikanga Māori are well integrated into all aspects of the programme and centre operations. Māori children are well supported to succeed as Māori and be proud of New Zealand's bicultural heritage. Knowledgeable and highly skilled adults willingly share te reo and te ao Māori in ways that are meaningful and accepting of genuine efforts to learn and participate. Children and adults are actively involved in the bicultural programme, take pride in their progress and willingly share it with others.
The local curriculum is clearly evident in the well-resourced and easy-to-access learning environment. Adults provide good support for children to follow their interests and lead their learning. Sustainability and the provision of a natural learning environment that incorporates strong Māori values, are thoughtfully embedded and are a feature of the playcentre. Children know about and value their food sources, and enjoy eating and cooking their own home grown vegetables and fruit. The natural environment successfully promotes imaginative play and creativity.
All adults are purposefully involved in assessment and planning for all children. Detailed records are kept of children's interests, involvement in the programme and activity extensions. Te Whāriki (2017), the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum, has been used well in this process to help adults:
The strategic plan and internal evaluation processes have been used appropriately by the parent cooperative to provide direction for the centre, show progress and identify what needs to happen next. A stronger focus on parents' aspirations and valued outcomes for children should enable the adults to know more about the effectiveness of the implementation of their plans and strategies.
The centre parents and coordinator are well supported by the Upper South Island Region. The playcentre operates effectively as a parent cooperative.
The parent cooperative and ERO confirms that the key next steps are to extend:
There continues to be significant change occurring with the playcentre's governance and management at regional and federation levels.
Before the review, the staff and management of Linwood 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
30 May 2019
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 |
Christchurch |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70080 |
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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 |
19 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 8, Girls 11 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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|
Review team on site |
March 2019 |
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Date of this report |
30 May 2019 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
July 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
December 2010 |
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Education Review |
May 2007 |
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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 |
Linwood Playcentre is well placed because of the enthusiasm and commitment of the new group of parents and the support that the association will provide to ensure the quality of education improves.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Linwood 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 programme and centre operation.
Linwood Playcentre operates four morning sessions a week. A playcentre programme called Babies Can Play also operates a session a week from this centre.
The outdoor area is a special feature of the centre. It has been carefully developed over a number of years to incorporate community values and memories. It has many interesting spaces for children to explore and use their imagination. Well cared for vegetable beds provide considerable produce for the children, families and community.
The Linwood community was significantly affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. There have been many changes in coordinators and families attending. The centre has become a meeting place for young families. A number of new families have enrolled during 2014.
This review was part of a cluster review of seven playcentres in the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
The centre provides a welcoming, calm and accepting environment for young children and their families. Children are encouraged to actively explore the environment and their parents regularly join them in their play and talk with other parents.
Strong bicultural values are embedded in the culture of the centre. Māori whānau willingly share their cultural identity and join the centre’s journey to become more bicultural. Professional development is well attended and suggestions are thoughtfully included into the programme.
The centre has a good range of resources that children can easily access. Adults carefully observe children and have a good knowledge of their interests. They help extend children’s learning experiences by providing extra resources and talking to children about their play.
The area for infants and toddlers has recently been reviewed. It provides a spacious, well resourced play space where infants and toddlers can easily access resources that are suitable for their age group. ERO observed children and parents playing, relaxing in and enjoying this space.
Playcentre education courses are well attended by the parents who are nearly all new to playcentre. Leaders are starting to emerge from the parent group. A good understanding of playcentre as a parent cooperative is developing.
The association has effective systems and practices for monitoring health and safety, and parent involvement in the centres. The association’s support team visits assist centre staff to meet the association's expectations for the daily operation of the centre.
The association centre support team provides a vital link between the parents and the association. In centres where this link is strong, ERO found the centres received good quality targeted support. In these centres the coordinators and parents worked effectively as a parent cooperative. They had well defined roles and responsibilities and were able to provide evidence that the centre’s programme was extending children’s learning.
The association is undertaking major restructuring. A new manager was appointed in April 2014. The playcentre philosophy provides a good foundation for the association to build its vision and make the changes for the organisation and its centres. Plans to support the achievement of this vision have yet to be put in place.
Next steps for the association should include:
The centre parents need significantly more support from the association to be able to successfully manage and sustain the centre, and improve learning outcomes for all children.
The centre parents have identified key priority areas for development and ERO agrees with these priorities. The association and centre now need to clearly document future goals, plans and expected progress to improve administration, the programme and learning outcomes for all children.
The plan should include:
ERO requests a copy of the centre development plan from the association when it is developed.
Before the review, the staff and management of Linwood 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 Linwood Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
16 July 2014
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 |
Linwood, Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70080 |
||
|
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 |
26 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 18 Boys 8 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other Ethnicities |
8 16 2 |
|
|
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 |
May 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 July 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
December 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
June 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.