43 Canterbury Street, Ashley
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 |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Ashley Playcentre is a parent-led early childhood education service administered by Te Whānau Tapu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. Since the 2018 ERO report there has been significant restructuring and change at the national playcentre level. Ashley Playcentre is open five mornings a week. Regular support is provided by a Centre Advisor. Approximately one third of the children attending identify as Māori.
Children are provided with a range of experiences to enhance and extend their learning and development. They are seen as confident and competent learners and their preferences are respected. The playcentre curriculum provides a language rich environment that supports children’s learning. It is informed by assessment, planning and evaluation that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whānau and life contexts. Positive steps are taken to respect and acknowledge the aspirations held by parents and whānau for their children.
A national policy, procedure and process framework guides the operation of each playcentre. Reasonable steps are taken to promote the good health and wellbeing of children.
Next steps include:
continuing to build parent/whānau knowledge and understanding of assessment, planning and evaluation to show progress of children’s learning over time in relation to the learning outcomes in
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum
parents making their children’s identity, language and culture more visible in individual assessment documentation.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
22 November 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Ashley Playcentre |
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Profile Number |
70020 |
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Location |
Ashley, Canterbury region |
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Service type |
Playcentre |
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Number licensed for |
21 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
38 |
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Review team on site |
September 2022 |
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Date of this report |
22 November 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018; Education Review, July 2014 |
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.
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 Akanuku | 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 Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Ashley Playcentre is well placed to provide positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ashley Playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative, where parents are encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the programme and centre operation. A centre support worker works with the parent group to support the curriculum, relationships, parent education and good health and safety practices. A centre administration team has been appointed to assist centres with administration, including health and safety.
The playcentre philosophy gives emphasis to parents as first and best teachers, and the provision of a play-based curriculum. Parents are encouraged to participate in playcentre education training to assist them in providing a parent-led early learning service.
Ashley Playcentre is in a semi-rural setting and operates five morning sessions a week. The parent group provides early childhood education for children aged from birth to school age. Infants, toddlers and young children play and learn in a mixed age-group setting.
Since the July 2014 ERO review, the parent group has made good progress in improving the quality of assessment and planning for individual children, and documenting future goals, plans and progress to ensure the ongoing improvement of the programme and learning for all children. The appraisal process for coordinators remains an area to further develop and fully implement.
At the time of this ERO review, the playcentre was being led by two coordinators who share the responsibility for supporting the parent-group. All office-bearing roles on the committee have been filled by a responsive and committed parent-group.
This review was part of a cluster of four playcentre reviews within the national organisation of the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
The parent group and coordinators warmly welcome families and foster positive and reciprocal relationships. They model care and respect (manaakitanga) for one another, the children and parents, which helps children and their families to develop a good sense of belonging. The language, culture and identity of families are respected and valued.
Children are happy and engaged and at the heart of all decision making. They benefit from a child-led, play-based curriculum that provides freedom of choice and long periods of uninterrupted time to develop their ideas. A wide range of interesting resources and learning experiences are made available to children to inspire their curiosity and encourage exploration. Planned excursions into the local community enrich the curriculum offered to children.
During the on-site stage of the review, ERO observed explicit teaching for oral language to extend on children's vocabulary, thinking, reasoning and social skills. Adults promote tuakana teina, encouraging older children to play with and help younger children.
The parent group demonstrates a commitment to developing understandings of bicultural perspectives and growing practices that are respectful of the Māori culture.
The playcentre philosophy is highly evident in practice. Parents are valued as first educators of their children. Parents actively participate in playcentre professional development. This professional development grows confidence and understanding of children's development. Parents are empowered to take collective responsibility for children's learning, wellbeing, and the effective operation of the service.
Parents are reflective and make good use of strategic planning and internal evaluation to support ongoing improvement and positive outcomes for children. A range of effective communication strategies are well used to ensure a collaborative approach to assessment, planning and documenting of children's learning interests.
The parent group has identified, and ERO's evaluation has confirmed, that the key next steps to build on good practices are to continue to:
strengthen bicultural perspectives in practices and documentation
encourage and involve all parents in the playcentre training to provide ongoing support for children's learning, including assessment and internal evaluation processes.
Canterbury Playcentre Association is undertaking major restructuring, including the amalgamation of some regions and improving systems and processes. The centre support team now has more defined roles. The centre support person provides guidance with strategic direction, internal evaluation and curriculum. The centre administration role has been developed to provide centres with administration support, including the oversight of health and safety. The centre support team provides a vital link between the parent group and Playcentre Aotearoa.
The Canterbury Playcentre Association is undertaking major restructuring, including the amalgamation of some regions and improving systems and processes.
The key next steps are to:
embed the new governance and management structure and processes and, over time, review the effectiveness of these
support parents as first teachers and increase understandings of Te Whāriki 2017
ensure the long-term strategic goal for te ao Māori is successfully implemented
support centre support workers and centre administration teams to work effectively and provide consistent quality assurance and reporting processes
further develop and fully implement appraisal processes and provide quality professional development for leaders
update policies and procedures, including the requirements of the Vulnerable Children's Act, and ensure these are distributed and well understood at each playcentre.
Before the review, the staff and management of Ashley 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 Ashley Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
22 June 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.
|
Location |
Ashley, North Canterbury |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70020 |
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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 |
21 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 years old |
||
|
Service roll |
43 |
||
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Gender composition |
Boys 19 ; Girls 24 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnicities |
1 34 8 |
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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 |
May 2018 |
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Date of this report |
21 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
July 2014 May 2010 March 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.