133 Taharepa Road, Taupo
View on mapNot well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
Taupō Family Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Taupō Family Playcentre is a parent-led education and care service located in Taupō. It caters for children from birth to school age and operates six mixed-age sessions per week. The playcentre is licensed for 30 children including up to 20 under the age of two years. The roll is continuing to grow. Currently 80 children are enrolled. Most are of Pākehā descent and a small number of families identify as Māori, and other ethnicities.
During 2018, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation transitioned from operating with 32 regional associations to become one national body with six regional offices. In the central North Island six associations have merged into a regional hub renamed Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island Region that now includes 95 playcentres over a large geographic area. During this transition there is some overlap between associations and the new national regional systems and processes. At Taupō Family Playcentre the president is supported by a committee of parent members, including a bicultural sub-committee. A centre support worker is provided by the federation.
Through their national philosophy, the playcentre places emphasis on whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together. They empower adults and children to play, work and grow together and value and affirm parents as first and best educators of their children.
Taupō Family Playcentre has a positive reporting history with ERO. Leaders have responded positively to the next steps identified in the 2015 ERO review.
This review was part of a cluster of four playcentres in the Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island Region.
Children are engaged in learning-centred relationships, supported by their parents as first teachers. The attractive and well-presented grounds offer challenge and support risk taking. The playcentre offers 16 areas of play which are well resourced, accessible and inclusive for all learners. Children with additional learning needs, including oral language and English as a second language, are well- supported. Infants and toddlers attend with their primary caregivers, developing secure attachments. Children are encouraged to be confident and competent learners.
A rich curriculum integrates mathematics and literacy. Children lead their own learning. They learn about the living world and sustainability. Regular trips and excursions into the local community enrich learning. Māori children are supported to achieve success and members have developed an approach to further strengthen the bicultural curriculum. External support from a kapa haka tutor and participating in the Tūwharetoa festival annually is supporting all learners to appreciate the bicultural diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand. Children develop a strong sense of belonging and well being.
Recent improvements to the way in which the programme is planned have been strengthened to be more responsive to emergent interests. Children's learning is captured in portfolios. There are some models of good practice and support for members to strengthen their knowledge on how to assess children's learning. This remains an area to focus on to ensure consistency for all children.
Highly-effective leadership is promoting positive outcomes for children. Positive relationships and a culture for learning have been established. An experienced team of leaders is mentoring and supporting newer playcentre members. Responsibilities are shared and there is a succession plan to ensure sustainability of the service. Effective internal evaluation is leading to positive improvements. Comprehensive systems and processes have been established, ensuring the smooth running of sessions. Decision making is focussed on ongoing improvements and positive outcomes for children.
The Playcentre Aotearoa overarching strategic plan, philosophy, vision and individual annual plans have been implemented and guide the playcentre direction. There is a focus on building capability through recently reviewed and improved parent education programmes. Regular communication and support between the Playcentre Aotearoa and regions during the restructure, supported business as usual. Existing policies and systems support centre operations until all new systems developed by Playcentre Aotearoa are implemented nationally. The federation is committed to offering more accessible localised training to respond to the needs of the community.
Taupō Family Playcentre leaders now need to provide further support for members to ensure that all children have regular assessments of their learning and development to show progression over time. These records should also capture the language, culture and identity of all learners.
Before the review, the staff and management of Taupō Family 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.
In order to improve practice leaders need to ensure that all trips and excursions out of the centre have a risk analysis completed.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA8
The next ERO review of Taupō Family Playcentre will be in three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
28 February 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.
| Location | Taupo | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 40037 | |
| Licence type | Playcentre | |
| Licensed under | Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 | |
| Number licensed for | 30 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 | |
| Service roll | 80 | |
| Gender composition | Boys 47 Girls 33 | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Other | 4 71 5 |
| Review team on site | November 2018 | |
| Date of this report | 28 February 2019 | |
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | May 2015 |
| Education Review | November 2011 | |
| Education Review | August 2008 | |
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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Taupo Playcentre is a family cooperative, early childhood service where parents and children learn alongside one another. The centre is located in Taupō and provides high quality, mixed-age, sessional education and care for children from birth to school age. It is licensed for 30 children, including 20 children under 2, at any one time. At the time of this ERO review, centre rolls were increasing and there were 58 children, including 6 children who identify as Māori.
The centre operates under the umbrella of Rotorua Playcentre Association, which acts as its governing body. The association strongly endorses the playcentre philosophy, and aims to empower parents to be the first and best educators of their children. It expects that parents will act as volunteer leaders and managers for their playcentre. The association employs staff to provide centre parents with guidance and support. The knowledgeable operations manager is readily available to assist with information, and an experienced centre support officer attends playcentre sessions and meetings to advise and mentor members. The association receives reports from the centre support officer and the centre members who provide assurance of compliance with licensing, health and safety and other operational requirements.
Playcentres offer a recognised adult education qualification, designed to assist parents to provide appropriate learning opportunities for their children. The association offers training towards this qualification for all members. In addition, the association recently provided professional development through a Ministry of Education contract. An experienced tutor assisted the association and its centres to use self review to promote and evaluate the organisation’s strategic goals.
Through its strategic plan, the association provides a framework for centres to set their development goals. These relate to their Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitment, the vibrancy of their communities of learning, their recognition in the wider community, and their sustainable future.
The playcentre philosophy is highly evident and families are strongly committed to the concept of 'parents as first and best educators of their children.'
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Rotorua Playcentre Association.
Children and families/whānau have established caring and responsive relationships and interactions that contribute to a strong sense of belonging and well being. The aesthetically pleasing and well-designed environment invites children to explore and experiment with a wide variety of high quality materials and equipment. A recent and innovative development of the infant area is a result of highly effective self review that included appropriate research into learning environments for children under two years old. This area provides a safe, inclusive and interesting environment for infants. The park-like outdoor environment provides children with outstanding opportunities to build their confidence and experience physical challenge.
Children of mixed ages demonstrate well-developed social skills and confidence as they participate in meaningful work such as gardening and baking. Older children build their leadership capability as they support and include younger children and siblings in their play. Knowledgeable adults are unhurried and make good use of calm and positive strategies to guide children’s decisions and choices.
Literacy, mathematics and concepts of natural science are woven holistically into play through use of equipment, conversations, singing and storytelling. Parents take time to listen to children’s ideas and use open questions and rich vocabulary to support children to develop their oral language along with thinking and problem solving skills. Aspects of Māori culture are evident in the programme and environment and as whānau learn alongside their tamariki. Centre members agree there is a need to further build their knowledge of local Māori history, discover the places of significance to local Māori, and include these as an important part of the programme.
Parents are enthusiastic to plan a good quality programme that recognises and responds to children’s interests and ongoing development. Continuity of learning is enhanced because parents are the children’s educators. The skills and interests of parents enrich the programme as they share their knowledge of the wider world. Centre members have set a goal to make greater use of the local and wider community to extend children’s learning experiences. Attractive displays and individual assessment portfolios record aspects of children’s involvement and experiences in the programme and celebrate their successes.
Centre members are highly collaborative. They make effective use of self review to develop and improve centre equipment, materials and the environment. Appropriate policies and processes are in place to protect the privacy of children and their families. Each parent decides what information to display about their children. Centre sustainability is promoted by the ongoing commitment and dedication from experienced members to foster the emergent leadership and learning of all members.
ERO has identified, and Taupō Playcentre leaders agree that self-review processes could be further enhanced by making greater use of Ministry of Education tools and guidelines. Attention should be given to continuing to strengthen parents’ understanding and knowledge of:
The association has agreed that recognising and celebrating the learning for both adults and children is an essential part of valuing the ‘Playcentre experience’. Adding a goal to the association and centre strategic plans for identifying and building on programme successes would focus attention on the quality of learning opportunities and outcomes for children. To implement this goal, agreed indicators are needed to identify the effective teaching practices that build programme success. These should include interactions that foster children’s language development, and intentional teaching strategies to engage in, and extend, children’s learning. Consideration could be given to including responsibility for identifying and modelling quality teaching interactions, and providing feedback, as part of centre support visits.
Including references to Ministry of Education tools and guidelines would assist centres to further evaluate their programmes and identify areas for ongoing improvement.
For example:
Before the review, the staff and management of Taupo Family 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 Taupo Family Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
12 May 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 |
Taupo |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40037 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
58 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 33 Boys 25 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other |
6 46 6 |
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
12 May 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2011 |
|
Education Review |
October 2008 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2005 |
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.