11 Manse Street, Clinton
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.
Clinton Playcentre is one of 47 playcentres within the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's newly-formed South Island Southern Region (SISR). It is a rural early learning service that provides education and care for children from birth to school age two mornings a week. The sessions are led by parents who have a range of playcentre qualifications. They take collective responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the playcentre and for providing the learning programme.
There has been recent roll growth for this playcentre. Parents travel from within and beyond the local community to attend the sessions with their children.
In 2017, the playcentre was supported by a centre advisor, with occasional visits and frequent communications from the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA). In 2018, as a result of the Playcentre Federation restructuring of the Association, the playcentre now has regular fortnightly visits and receives ongoing support from a centre support worker (CSW) and a paid administrator.
This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in the SISR Playcentres.
Parents provide a positive and supportive environment for all children and their families. They build strong relationships and friendships between parents and children. Families are welcoming and inclusive. They support children to settle and remain actively engaged in their learning. Parents make good use of group times to foster relationships, oral language and literacy development. An example of this is the shared morning tea where children engage in meaningful conversations with their peers and other adults.
Children have easy access to a well-resourced learning environment. The large open spaces provide opportunities for parents to actively participate in the learning and development of their own child and that of other children. The learning programme is based on the strengths and interests of the children and reflects the strong links and connections with the local community.
Infants and toddlers are the direct responsibility of their parent or caregiver in the programme, and have a separate safe area suitably resourced for their requirements. There is a range of appropriate activities that allow these younger children to be fully involved in the programme.
Parents can confidently talk about what learning matters in this centre. In response to community need, parents have integrated a no fees policy to promote and encourage equitable access for all families. The playcentre is supportive of the whole family. Parents are actively involved in the playcentre education training programme which has resulted in opportunities for emergent leadership within the playcentre and the association.
Parents are improvement focused and have developed a good understanding of internal evaluation. There have been improvements to the programme and practices through spontaneous and planned self-reviews. Parents have identified the need to continue to develop their processes of assessment, planning and evaluation. Bicultural practices have been identified as an area for further strengthening.
At the time of this review the OPA was implementing the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's new operating model, and was amalgamating with Southland and South Canterbury Playcentre Associations to become the South Island Southern Region. While the changes resulted in some disruption to the services provided to individual playcentres in 2017, the OPA are effectively managing the restructure with the resources available to them. Each playcentre now receives regular support from a paid administrator and a centre support worker. There are robust systems in the association for monitoring the progress and performance of individual playcentres, and targeted support is given when needed.
The centre has identified and ERO agrees that the key next steps for the playcentre parents, with the ongoing support of the CSW, are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Clinton 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 Clinton Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
16 May 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 |
Clinton |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
81005 |
||
|
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 |
16 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys: 10 Girls: 6 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā: |
12 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
50-79% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2018 |
||
|
Date of this report |
16 May 2018 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
October 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2011 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Clinton Playcentre is open for two mornings a week. Children from birth-to-school age attend. Most children attend with their parents. The sessions are led by parents.
The playcentre is a parent cooperative. Parents help in all aspects of the programme and centre operation. Recently they have redeveloped the playground. As with all playcentres they benefit from playcentre training.
The centre is very welcoming for children and their families. Some families travel considerable distances to attend. For them and others the playcentre is an important place for friendships and support. This is especially evident for new parents and new families in the community.
Over time, the playcentre has had a positive reporting history with ERO. Parents could show ERO that they had made changes in response to the 2011 ERO recommendations.
This review was part of a cluster of reviews of 11 Otago Playcentre Association playcentres.
Children settle quickly on arrival and enjoy the play-based programme. Parents are very responsive to the children’s interests and actively involved in their play. They seek out resources and experiences that build on children’s ideas. Special thought is given to how older children can be extended and in providing everyday experiences. For example, children enjoyed fixing furniture and dismantling old kitchen appliances.
Parents have sustained conversations with children and support their developing social skills. Adults find many opportunities to weave literacy into children’s play and foster a love of books.
Parents know the children and their home lives well. They use this knowledge to extend children’s conversations and make links between home and centre learning. Children and parents make regular trips into the community, including the local school. Children are well supported in their transition to school.
Adults find incidental opportunities to introduce children to mathematical concepts. This could be strengthened by more explicitly planning how they will add complexity to children’s mathematical learning over time.
Through daily discussions and regular meetings, parents reflect on and consider children’s learning and ideas for future learning. The children’s contribution to this process is evident. Parents’ aspirations for their children’s learning are shared and acted on. However, the frequency and quality of records about individual children’s learning varied. These need a greater emphasis on learning, rather than activities and interests, and should show children’s progress over time.
Some te reo Māori is spoken and several parents have studied to improve their knowledge. Parents want to strengthen the use of te reo Māori.
With the recent increase in the number of infants and toddlers at the centre, parents are reviewing the physical space, resources and programme for this age group. ERO agrees with this direction.
Families show a strong commitment to the playcentre and its philosophy. They have clear roles and responsibilities and regularly report against these.
Parents are improvement focused. They often discuss and reflect on how they support children’s learning and make changes as a result of this.
Further work is needed to strengthen:
The Otago Playcentre Association is facing challenges and uncertainty as the Playcentre Federation and the training it provides undergoes a period of restructuring. During this time, the association has made it a priority to focus on the daily operations of the playcentres. This includes:
ERO found that the association needs to:
Each playcentre has the ongoing support of a centre advisor. This includes:
Centre advisors should find ways to make best practice common practice across the association, for example through effective self review and planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Clinton 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.
Supervision of children was not always as vigilant as it needed to be. Parents need to ensure children are adequately and consistently supervised at all times.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Clinton Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
14 October 2014
|
Location |
Clinton, South Otago |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
81005 |
||
|
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 |
18 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 13 Boys: 5 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
4 14 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
Parent-led Centre |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 October 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2008 |
||
|
Assurance Audit |
February 1997 |
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.