2098 State Highway 12, Mamaranui
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.
Mamaranui Playcentre is a well-established rural centre located north-west of Dargaville. The Playcentre is governed and managed cooperatively by centre members, who support each other in their parenting and educator roles.
The centre offers one session per week for up to 30 children, including 12 under two years of age. Children enrolled are mainly from farming families. The centre's roll fluctuates and members struggle to maintain the roll to licensed capacity. At present there are 12 children attending the centre.
The Playcentre philosophy affirms parents as valued and best educators of their children. Sessions are guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Members are committed to this philosophy as it promotes social opportunities for children and their families.
The centre has a history of positive ERO reports. Strengthening assessment and planning processes identified in the 2015 ERO report have been addressed. Promoting the Playcentre model, particularly with whānau Māori, is an ongoing goal. Centre members have made significant upgrades to the internal environment. The Waharoa is a highly valued addition to the entranceway.
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 reviews in the Northern North Island Playcentre Region.
Children show kindness and respect for others. Friendships between children are evident as they explore. They demonstrate the whanaungatanga and the sense of belonging the environment promotes. Their communication skills are well supported.
Children are engaged and respond with enthusiasm to the programme. They play in an attractive, spacious and well-resourced environment. Children enjoy a variety of activities and make their own play choices. Babies have a calm, safe space to crawl and explore. Young children have opportunities to climb and develop their turn taking and physical capabilities.
Members provide a play-based programme that reflects the Playcentre philosophy. Programme planning and assessment is focused on responding to children's individual and group learning interests.
The centre is led by an experienced early childhood educator. She models good practices to build the teaching capacity of other members. Assessment portfolios record each child's learning journey with a focus on positive learning outcomes for the children.
Respectful and supportive relationships contribute to the sense of community. Members value the diversity of the cultures in the centre. These could be more visible in the programme.
Regional leaders have a strong commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They are building links with local kaumātua and promote bicultural partnerships. Whānau Māori are invited to join Te Roopu Whakaaro Kotahi. The inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori is an integral part of centre practices that affirm Māori children’s cultural identity and success as Māori.
Some bicultural practices are evident in the centre. Recent membership in the region's Kāhui Ako l Community of Learning, prioritises te reo Māori across it membership. The centre, along with the support worker, will continue to build the capability of members to use te reo, tikanga Māori practices and include Te Ao Māori within the programme.
Members are developing internal evaluation systems. Current processes focus on making decisions about areas for improvement. Recent reviews have resulted in improving resourcing and upgrades to the environment.
Members are committed to the success of the centre. Experienced members support newer members to develop their confidence and skills as educators. Leadership roles are promoted and encouraged. Continuing education for all members is an ongoing commitment and priority.
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.
Centre members acknowledge that the next key steps are to:
increase the bicultural understanding and integration of te reo and tikanga Māori through professional development
highlight children's cultural identity in their learning records
develop shared practices and expectations on how best to extend children's learning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mamaranui 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 Mamaranui Playcentre will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
11 May 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 |
Mamaranui, Dargaville |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17464 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
12 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 7 Boys 5 |
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
8 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
50-79% |
||
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
11 May 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
2015 |
|
|
Education Review |
2010 |
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Education Review |
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:
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.
Mamaranui Playcentre is a well-established rural centre located north-west of Dargaville. The centre is licensed for 30 children up to five years old. Children enrolled are mainly from farming families. The centre operates two morning sessions per week. The centre’s roll fluctuates considerably and members struggle to maintain the roll to full licence capacity.
The centre operates under the umbrella of Northland Playcentre Association (NPA). The Association provides administration and policy frameworks to guide centre practices and a centre support worker (CSW) visits the Playcentre several times each term.
The Playcentre philosophy of parents and children learning together underpins centre operations. Members are committed to this philosophy as it promotes social opportunities for children and families. Centre members are working with local iwi and Māori whānau to promote the Playcentre service.
The centre has a history of positive ERO reports. The areas for development identified in the 2010 ERO report have been addressed. Over recent years centre members have been involved in significantly upgrading the internal environment.
The close relationships members have with each other gives children a strong sense of belonging. Children are confident and curious about their play. They play well together and invite adults to participate in what they are doing. Children initiate conversations with adults and talk about their play.
Adults are respectful and responsive to children. They support and follow children’s play. Some adults confidently use te reo Māori appropriately with Māori children. Members recognise the importance of using children’s whakapapa to develop their sense of who they are in terms of their identity, culture and language.
The learning programme is focused on children’s individual interests, strengths, and on group learning interests. Literacy, science and mathematics are included throughout the session. Some parents demonstrate deliberate mathematics teaching in the context of children’s play. These good practices could be modelled to build the teaching capacity of other members.
Parents have a good understanding about the developmental and learning needs of infants and toddlers. Intentional consideration is made to ensure that these young children have a calm space to play in and can take their time to explore resources.
A good range of resources and equipment is available to support children’s learning and play. Children confidently explore the well-defined curriculum areas. Some parents make good use of these opportunities to further develop their children’s learning. They document their child’s learning experiences in portfolios they create for their child. It would be valuable for members to also contribute to the individual portfolios of children other than their own.
Members use self review to promote a shared approach to improving in the routines and programme they provide for children. They agree they could now develop more in-depth self review of the effectiveness of the programme and also of how well bicultural practices are promoted.
Centre members agree they could develop annual goals that link to the centre’s strategic plans. Identifying measurable strategies could enable them to evaluate the progress made to achieve these goals.
In addition the CSW could support members to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Mamaranui 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 Mamaranui Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern Select Region
11 February 2015
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 |
Mamaranui, Dargaville |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17464 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
11 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 6 Boys 5 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
8 3 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
11 February 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 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.