106 Queenspark Drive, Parklands, Christchurch
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Parklands Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Parklands 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 under two. The centre is open four mornings a week and offers a separate session one morning a week for infants and their parents called 'Babies can play'.
The playcentre employs two coordinators. Parents are rostered to help at each session. The Upper South Island Region employs a centre support person and an administrator who regularly visits the playcentre to support the parents and coordinator.
The centre's philosophy places a strong emphasis on providing a nurturing and supportive environment where adults and children play and learn together. Bicultural practices and cultural diversity of families is valued. The centre places importance on children being able to play, being creative and following their own interests to foster their learning and wellbeing.
The parent cooperative has made good progress to meet the recommendations in the 2014 ERO report. Assessment and planning, internal evaluation, and strategic planning have improved and become more useful. There are clear links between the philosophy, strategic plan, internal evaluation and the parent education programme.
This review was part of a cluster of eight playcentre reviews in the Playcentre Federation, Upper South Island Region.
Children are confident, competent and happy. They are well supported in their learning by caring adults who know each child well as a learner.
Children are inclusive, considerate and social. Adults are welcoming and show genuine interest in all children. They effectively use their collective knowledge of children to ensure all children are well supported and nurtured.
Children under two-years old are particularly well supported by all adults and children. Toddlers are actively encouraged to select and try activities under the close supervision of responsive and caring adults.
Te reo and tikanga Māori are becoming well integrated into the programme and all aspects of centre operations. Carefully planned and implemented approaches ensure all adults are involved and cultural knowledge and understandings are built on regularly. Children and parents are proud of New Zealand's bicultural heritage and share responsibility for continuing to improve its inclusion in the centre.
Assessment, planning and evaluation are well understood and used by the adults. Systems are simple and clear. Processes are in place to help new parents participate and learn from more experienced adults. Children's learning and the ways adults extend learning are clearly documented and show progress over time. The adults are in the early stages of collecting and using parent aspirations for their children's learning. Children's home cultures are not yet clearly visible in assessment, planning and evaluation.
The philosophy clearly states the vision, the shared values and beliefs of the parent cooperative for children's learning and wellbeing. Achievement of this vision is closely linked to strategic goals, internal evaluation and parent participation in the education programme. It is clearly evident in the programme that the coordinators, parents and caregivers work effectively together to achieve the shared outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing.
Coordinators and parents have made effective use of the Playcentre Federation's internal evaluation processes and parent education programme to implement an internal evaluation process. This process is well understood and implemented by the adults. An internal evaluation has been successfully completed on how effectively the adults respond and support play. As a result, assessment and planning have improved and parents are more engaged in extending children's learning. This review is the first to be completed using this internal evaluation process. Adults now need to embed the process of internal evaluation into all aspects of centre operations.
Strategic planning goals are clearly based on what needs to happen to achieve the centre's philosophy and vision. Progress to achieve strategic goals is regularly discussed and documented. The next step is to identify the outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing, particularly in relation to achieving the philosophy vision, values and beliefs.
The Upper South Island Region, the playcentre and ERO agree that the key next steps for the parent cooperative to continue to improve outcomes for children include:
strengthening assessment, planning and evaluation by including parent aspirations for their children and home cultures
embedding internal evaluation processes
extending the strategic plan to include outcomes for children resulting from achieving the plan goals.
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 Parklands 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 Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
29 August 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 |
70097 |
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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 |
24 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 13, Girls 11 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
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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 |
June 2019 |
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Date of this report |
29 August 2019 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
July 2014 |
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Education Review |
January 2011 |
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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 |
Parklands Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Parklands 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 operation. Parklands Playcentre operates three morning sessions a week.
Since the January 2011 ERO review, the centre has experienced considerable challenges that relate to the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Despite these challenges the coordinators and parents have made good progress towards meeting the recommendations in the ERO report. The outside play area now provides more stimulating learning activities for older children. The coordinators have developed new systems for planning and assessing children’s learning and are beginning to include more bicultural perspectives in the programme and environment.
This review was part of a cluster review of seven playcentres under the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
Parklands Playcentre strongly reflects the Playcentre philosophy. Children lead their own play, and create their own challenges, with adult support. Parents are actively encouraged and supported to take part in playcentre training. The coordinators and parents provide a positive, friendly and welcoming environment.
Parents relate well to each other, and to all children. Children play well together. The coordinators and other parents give considerable support to new families.
The coordinators have developed new ways to identify children’s interests and learning needs. This includes:
The coordinators and parents are successfully identifying and including bicultural perspectives into the centre’s environment and programme. The coordinators have attended professional development which has helped them to learn more about Māori culture. They are beginning to use te reo Māori in session and are including it in children’s learning stories. The skills and knowledge of Māori parents and whānau are effectively used and valued. This helps to support other parents' confidence and children’s learning experiences.
Infants and toddlers have a strong sense of belonging. They play well with older children and confidently explore the environment.
A good range of activities and resources interest children and support them to develop literacy, numeracy and creative play.
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 association, centre parents and ERO agree that the next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Parklands 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 Parklands 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 |
Parklands, Christchurch |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70097 |
||
|
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 |
23 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 13 Boys 10 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Asian Other Ethnicities |
3 15 2 3 |
|
|
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 |
January 2011 |
|
|
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.