98 Layard Street, Invercargill
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.
Waihopai Playcentre is parent led and provides two sessions each week for children up to school age. The sessions are led by an experienced, paid supervisor with the help of members.
Playcentre parents are gaining Playcentre qualifications by being involved in the adult-education training programme provided by the Southland Playcentre Association (SPA).
The SPA is experiencing a time of change as all playcentre associations throughout New Zealand merge with the New Zealand Playcentre Federation (NZPF) to reduce duplication and make cost savings. This restructure will mean significant changes at the local association level. An interim board is being established at SPA to support playcentres through this transitional period.
The October 2013 ERO report identified a number of areas for review and development. These included: supporting children and families for their move to school; reducing documentation workload for parent members; philosophy review; and strengthening strategic planning. These have been addressed.
This review was part of a cluster of 13 in the Southland Playcentre Association.
The playcentre philosophy is strongly evident in practice. Parents learn alongside their children. They model respectful relationships and positive interactions. Children share and collaborate. They are confident explorers and show care and concern for one another. Infants and toddlers learn alongside their older friends.
Most adults notice, recognise and respond appropriately to children's interests and previous learning. More experienced playcentre parents model assessment practices for newer members. A revised approach to assessment has recently been introduced to better support parent participation. Members should continue to embed this approach to promote consistency in assessment practices.
Warm, responsive and reciprocal relationships are a strength of the playcentre. Parent members are supportive of one another and are involved in all children's learning. Team work is highly evident.
Children and adults are warmly welcomed into the playcentre in a gradual, unhurried manner. They are encouraged to settle at their own pace. A useful range of strategies supports older children and families as they prepare for their move to school.
Bicultural practices are evident in routines, resources and cultural celebrations. Members recognise a need to strengthen this approach across playcentre programmes and to further develop their understanding of supporting Māori children's learning. ERO's evaluation affirms this development.
Self review for improvement is ongoing and has led to positive change. The focus for internal evaluation has recently progressed from how adults can solve a problem to how well the curriculum and teaching practices are supporting improved outcomes for children. Parent members should continue to strengthen this approach.
The board has been proactive in developing processes to assist in the smooth transition for playcentres to work under the NZPF. Opportunities have been offered to playcentre members to engage with SPA to consider how they can best support services through the impending restructure.
The board has identified a number of systems and processes have lapsed and need improvement. Immediate attention is required to review policies that guide the appointments procedure and health and safety practices. The appraisal process has also lapsed, or not been robustly implemented. These improvements are a priority to meet licensing criteria, and for monitoring the quality of centre practices.
More consistent, timely and evaluative reporting should be provided to the board to assure them that accountabilities are met and to better inform their decision making.
The playcentre supervisor and members agree areas for strengthening include:
developing members' knowledge and understanding of bicultural practices and of supporting Māori children's learning
continuing to strengthen internal evaluation
continuing to promote consistency in assessment practices.
Key next steps for the association are to:
review SPA policies, giving priority to those related to appointments and health and safety practices
re-establish the appraisal process
facilitate the evaluative reporting to the board.
Before the review, the staff and management of Waihopai 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.
ERO also identified areas of non-compliance for the Southland Playcentre Association in relation to governance and management. To meet requirements the association needs to:
implement a system of regular appraisal. [Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7]
To improve practice the Southland Playcentre Association should:
The next ERO review of Waihopai Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
10 April 2017
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 |
Invercargill |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
90024 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
13 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 7, Boys 6 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic group |
2 10 1 |
|
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2017 |
||
|
Date of this report |
10 April 2017 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
October 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 2006 |
||
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Children at Waihopai Playcentre benefit from rich learning experiences.
Waihopai Playcentre is one of 19 centres governed by the Southland Playcentre Association (SPA). It is located in the Windsor area and provides three parent-led sessions a week for up to twenty children aged birth to five years. Children attend multiple sessions each week. A number of families attend from the wider Invercargill area.
The centre hosts a weekly Supporting Parents Alongside Children’s Education (SPACE) session for first-time parents with young babies. Many parents have joined the centre as a result of participating in the SPACE programme.
There is a strong culture of adult education within the centre. There are capable leadership skills within the parent group. Many parents stay for the sessions and involve themselves in their children’s play and learning.
The parents have proactively responded to the recommendations of the 2010 ERO report. In particular, they have improved the way they plan for individual children’s learning and for group programmes. Parents have clear roles and responsibilities which contribute to the smooth running of the sessions.
This review was part of a cluster of 17 reviews in the SPA.
Environment. Children benefit greatly from a richly resourced indoor area that supports their early literacy and numeracy development. There is an extensive range of materials suitable for all ages. This stimulates children’s play and learning in many ways, for example, in creative and imaginative play, construction and problem solving. The outdoor area has many resources for children to explore and to develop their physical skills.
Interactions. Parents work closely with their own and other children to support learning and to help children develop their social skills. They often join in with children’s play. Parents have purposeful conversations to extend children’s learning and understanding. They know the children and each other well. This enables them to make close links between children’s homes and the centre. Parents deliberately teach children how to work and play harmoniously with other children. They support children with learning how to learn through persevering to complete tasks.
Child-led programme. Children contribute to the decision making in the programme. Their wishes are respected and acted on by the parents. Children may choose to play independently or together.
Focus on learning. Children’s learning is the main priority in the sessions. Before sessions the duty parents discuss children’s learning goals and how parents could support these. After sessions parents reflect on the learning they have noticed and discuss improvements that could be made to enrich and extend this.
Programmes. The group and individual programmes are strong.
They develop over time.
Children’s interests are used as a context for learning.
Prior experiences are built on and used to extend children’s learning.
The programmes include literacy, numeracy, imaginative play and social development.
Children revisit experiences often over extended periods of time.
There is a wide variety of activities for children within and beyond the centre.
Māori dimensions are evident in the environment and programme.
Learning stories show that parents notice and recognise learning and suggest possible next steps. Parents are well informed about how to support all children’s learning as the goals are prominently displayed.
SPA Support. The SPA provides strong support to the playcentre through:
The SPA provides strong leadership to guide the future direction and ongoing improvement of all its centres. This includes the way association team members foster emergent leadership. Currently there are high numbers of people participating in playcentre training. The association has identified, and ERO agrees, that its next step is to improve its knowledge and understanding of self review. It then needs to support playcentres to implement effective self review.
The parents with the support of SPA need to develop their knowledge, understanding and use of self review to monitor the centre’s effectiveness in an ongoing way. Aspects for review should include:
The strategic plan would be a more useful document if it contained details about how the goals might be met and indicators of what good practice would look like. It should also have a greater focus on improving outcomes for children.
Before the review, the staff and management of Waihopai 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Waihopai Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
9 October 2013
|
Location |
Invercargill |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
90024 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
22 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 15 Boys: 7 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
22 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
N/A |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
9 October 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2006 |
||
|
Accountability Review |
October 2001 |
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.