18 Rell Road, Beachlands, Auckland
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.
Beachlands/Maraetai Playcentre is a parent-led cooperative and is situated on the grounds of Beachlands Primary School. Centre practices are based on the Playcentre philosophy of whānau and children learning and growing together. Centre members have good levels of Playcentre adult education qualifications and are supported well by experienced regional Playcentre personnel.
The centre is licensed for 30 children, including 15 up to the age of two years. It provides four mixed-age sessions each week. A Big Kids specialised outdoor programme for older children is held at Omana Regional Park once a week. Two paid supervisors facilitate this session. A Centre Support Worker (CSW) meets regularly with centre members and offers assistance where needed.
ERO's 2014 report noted that children were settled and confident, and their learning was based on their interests. The learning environment promoted physical and imaginative challenges. These positive features are still evident. Areas for development included building mathematics knowledge, programme planning and evaluation, establishing annual goals and self-review practices. Centre members have made very good progress in addressing these areas.
Playcentre Aotearoa is in the process of restructuring, moving from 32 Associations to six regional offices. The Auckland region includes 45 centres from the former Auckland, Tamaki and Counties Playcentre Associations. A regional manager oversees governance, management and administration and has a team of staff to support individual centres. Centre whānau and regional staff are in a period of transition. Regional staff are helping whānau as they adapt to new systems and responsibilities.
This review was part of a cluster of six Playcentre reviews in the Auckland region.
Children are self-assured, inquisitive and friendly learners. They actively engage in sustained periods of play. Children are articulate and initiate conversations. They respect others as they play cooperatively and alongside one another. Children explore, make discoveries and have good opportunities to make choices about their play. Excursions, centre events and connections with the neighbouring school add to children's learning experiences. A feature of the programme is the opportunity for older children to be involved in the Big Kids experience.
Adults are committed to learning together with their children as kaiako. They value, celebrate and affirm children. The programme is responsive, inclusive and promotes rich experiences for children. Kaiako provide a physical environment that is well defined, richly resourced and conducive to learning. Intentional teaching supports children's learning. Kaiako place an emphasis on the promotion of literacy, mathematics, science and creativity.
Whānau are committed to strengthening bicultural practices throughout the programme. They are growing their skills and understanding around te ao Māori and te reo me ōna tikanga Māori.
Kaiako have a shared understanding of children's interests and needs. This is well documented in children's individual portfolios. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, guides the child-led programme. Adults regularly discuss children's learning and collaboratively plan for individual and group interests. End of session, monthly and termly evaluations contribute to future planning.
Centre leaders have a strong commitment to the philosophy and goals of the service. Good support from past and present members helps to build newer members' capability and knowledge. Meaningful professional development for whānau impacts positively on programmes and practices. A clear framework guides internal evaluation and contributes to a culture of ongoing improvement.
The centre's strategic direction is well documented and reviewed regularly. Annual planning aligns with the strategic plan and is discussed at monthly meetings. Members are beginning to explore options for succession planning.
Collaborative leadership provides opportunities for all centre members to extend and share their knowledge and skills. Newly appointed regional personnel are making progress building on existing systems and establishing regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional centre support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements.
The regional management team takes responsibility for specific tasks relating to the effective operation of individual centres. The team is aware of the unique strengths and needs of each centre and provides professional leadership to sustain improvement, growth and the focus on fostering positive learning outcomes for children.
Centre members agree that their next steps include:
strengthening evaluative thinking and their documentation of internal evaluation
continuing to strengthen bicultural practices and the promotion of cultural diversity
providing further opportunities for children to develop leadership
the implementation of succession planning strategies.
In order to improve and strengthen practice, the regional leaders should continue to:
revisit the commitment to Te Tiriti partnership, and to increase bicultural understandings and the integration of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori in centre practices
clarify and upskill centre support roles
build regional office capability to embed new adult education programmes and qualifications
improve the understanding and use of internal evaluation as a tool to guide practices
develop, evaluate and report against regional long-term and annual action plans that align with goals for improvement at national and regional levels
embed the new Playcentre structure and systems and evaluate how effectively they support all children, including Pacific children and children with additional needs.
Before the review, the staff and management of Beachlands/Maraetai 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 Beachlands/Maraetai Playcentre will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
29 August 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.
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Location |
Beachlands, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25223 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
36 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 20 Girls 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent Led |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2018 |
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Date of this report |
29 August 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2011 |
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|
Education Review |
August 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Beachlands/Maraetai Playcentre is located on the grounds of Beachlands Primary school. It operates as a parent co-operative under the umbrella of the Tamaki Playcentre Association. The centre is governed by the Association which provides a management and policy framework to guide centre operations. Liaison officers and other Association staff provide support for centres, including adult education programmes to encourage children’s learning.
A key feature of Playcentre is that children and parents learn alongside one another and promote the philosophy of the parents as first teachers of their children.
The centre is one of 16 playcentres in the Tamaki Playcentre Association. It is licensed to provide care and education for 30 children including 15 children up to the age of two years. It offers five sessions each week for mixed age groups and includes a specialised outdoor programme for older children. The centre is well established and families make good use of the service.
The programme is child initiated and underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. A licensing support worker is available to support the parents/whānau to implement programmes. Centre members continue to work towards raising training levels and to increase centre membership.
The Association is currently undergoing a structural review to streamline its systems, policies and practices and promote the long-term sustainability of the organisation. A key priority is to encourage and support Playcentre members to take an active role in the governance of the organisation at the Association level.
The 2011 ERO report recognised the good quality adult and child interactions which remain a key feature of the centre’s programme.
This review was part of a cluster of eight playcentre reviews in the Tamaki Playcentre Association.
Children are settled and confident in the centre environment and enjoy positive friendships with each other. Children have access to a range of resources and activities. They are curious, independent learners who direct their own learning.
The indoor and outdoor learning environments promote creative, physical and imaginative challenges for children. Children benefit from having adult role models who value their play and provide stimulating learning experiences.
Parent educators’ interactions with children are generally positive and affirming. They listen to children and are interested in their ideas and views. Adults support children to build friendships with others. Some use questions to prompt children’s use of language. They could now develop more deliberate teaching strategies, and build on their knowledge in using mathematics in daily programmes.
Parents/whānau assess children’s learning based on their interests. Children’s portfolios contain attractive records of children’s involvement in the programme. With the support of the liaison support worker parents/whānau could now consider ways to develop their planning processes further and evaluate the impact of the programme on children’s learning. This may enable them to better document children’s progress over time.
Association management practices are well established. Heightening awareness of the playcentre within the community so that centres are well attended is an ongoing focus for the Association. Members report that the Association is very responsive to requests for support and guidance to manage the centre. The Association could now consider how staff can better support centres to provide quality programmes for children and also promote continuous improvement in effective centres.
Centre leaders agree they could develop annual goals that link to strategic plans. Identifying measurable goals could enable them to evaluate their progress in key areas of centre operations.
Self-review systems are yet to be implemented. Critical reflection and the use of documented evidence should assist centre members to understand how effectively the programme and bicultural teaching practices are supporting improved learning outcomes for children. Centre leaders agree that professional development is needed to support all members in developing their understanding of self-review.
The cluster review identified areas of governance and management for the Association to address. These include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Beachlands/Maraetai 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 Beachlands/Maraetai Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
3 December 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 |
Beachlands, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25223 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
33 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 21 Girls 12 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā South East Asian other European |
2 26 2 3 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
September 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
3 December 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 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:
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.