25 Carey Street, Waitara
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Waitara Playcentre is a parent led service in the environs of New Plymouth. It is part of the Lower North Island regional hub operating under the umbrella of Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa-Playcentre Aotearoa. The July 2019 ERO report identified non compliances with regulatory standards that have been addressed.
The programme for children is underpinned by the Playcentre philosophy and Te Whāriki. Parents’ aspirations and children’s interests guide daily learning activities. The mixed age group experience supports positive and meaningful interactions with adults and peers that encourage reciprocal relationships. Children’s cultures are respected and supported. Parents notice and recognise what their child is learning through play. They need to develop their understanding of how better to evaluate learning and teaching practice.
An annual plan provides some guidance for daily operation. Policies and procedures are reviewed regularly by parents. During a recent restructure period Playcentre Aotearoa regional centre-facing staff have not been appraised.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to ensuring:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008,GMA6,GMA7]
ERO recommends the Ministry follows up with the service provider to ensure that non-compliances identified in this report are addressed promptly.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
26 May 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Waitara Playcentre |
| Profile Number | 50047 |
| Location | Waitara, North Taranaki |
|
Service type |
Playcentre |
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 15 aged under 2. |
|
Service roll |
10 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 1, NZ European/Pākehā 8, Other ethnic group 1. |
|
Review team on site |
April 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
26 May 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Assurance Review, July 2019; Education Review, August 2017. |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
|
Regulatory standards |
|
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
|
Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
|
Health and safety |
Meeting |
|
Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance with regulatory standards that are an unacceptable risk to children.
Waitara Playcentre is one of 428 parent-led early learning services governed by Playcentre Aotearoa.
The August 2017 ERO report identified that centre members needed support to improve their understanding of the legislative and regulatory requirements of a licensed early learning service.
The programme for children reflects the Playcentre philosophy of parent-led education, learning through play and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children experience relationships that are positive and nurturing. Centre members are involved in activities with their own and others’ children.
The playcentre’s strategic and annual plan guides daily operation. Policies and procedures are reviewed by centre members, contributing to the development of the service.
A centre support worker is employed by Playcentre Aotearoa to provide professional advice and feedback to promote improvement. Governance and management need improving to meet legislative requirements and further support centre operation.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to the Governance, Management and Administration criteria:
ensuring suitable human resource management practices
developing an annual budget that guides financial expenditure
ensuring all children’s workers who have access to children are safety checked in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7, GMA7A, GMA9]
Since the onsite stage of the review, the service has provided ERO with:
an annual budget that guides financial expenditure
a current police vet record for the person in the non-teaching position.
ERO recommends that the Ministry reassess the licence of Waitara Playcentre. ERO will not undertake a further review of this service until the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the service meets regulatory standards.
The next ERO review of Waitara Playcentre will be in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
5 July 2019
|
Early Childhood Service Name |
Waitara Playcentre |
||
|
Profile Number |
50047 |
||
|
Location |
Waitara, North Taranaki |
||
|
Service type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Number licensed for |
26 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 - Better than regulatory standards |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:3 - Better than regulatory standards |
||
|
Service roll |
24 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Male 10, Female 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 6 |
||
|
Review team on site |
May 2019 |
||
|
Date of this report |
5 July 2019 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2017 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2014 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2010 |
||
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include:
the Licensing Criteria for Home-based Education and Care Services 2008
the Licensing Criteria for Hospital-based Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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 certification; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
As part of an Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.