Cnr Kohukohu Road and Beach Road, Kohukohu
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.
Kohukohu Playcentre is adjacent to Kohukohu Primary School and is licensed for 20 children, including 10 up to two years of age. The centre is run as a parent cooperative and offers three sessions each week for families from surrounding rural areas.
The centre is the only early childhood service in the Kohukohu area. Its roll has decreased as families have moved out of the area. At the time of this review the centre was not receiving funding for its sessions. The Association is working closely with centre members to increase levels of Playcentre training. Requirements for funding were likely to be met soon after this review.
The Playcentre philosophy of whānau and children learning together and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, underpin centre operations. The centre's philosophy acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism. Most of the 10 children currently enrolled are Māori.
The 2013 ERO report noted that adults worked collaboratively, and that programmes supported children to learn through inclusive mixed-age play. These quality practices continue to be evident.
The centre is one of five in the Far North Playcentre Association. The Association provides a management and policy framework, and centre support personnel. Playcentre Aotearoa is in the process of a national restructure. The Far North Association is now part of Playcentre's northern region and a new regional manager has been appointed. Some support personnel will be based at a Whangarei office.
This review was part of a cluster of three reviews in the Far North Playcentre Association.
Parents/whānau provide a welcoming and safe environment for children. Their interactions with children are respectful and responsive. They are focused on supporting children’s play. Children are settled and happy. They have a sense of security and belonging, as the key adults involved in their play and learning are whānau.
Children make choices about their play. Parents provide challenges for children and encourage them to explore the environment and the available activities and resources. Children move freely into the large outdoor area throughout the session. Their outdoor and nature play promotes an appreciation of the natural environment.
Areas of play are well defined and a separate play space is available for infants when needed. Members ensure that this area is calm, and that the pace of play allows children to take their time to explore resources. Children play well on their own or in small groups, often for prolonged uninterrupted, periods.
Children are confident and are good at initiating conversations with each other and with adults. They engage in interesting and imaginative conversations. Adults support children’s ideas and encourage creativity. They provide good support for children's language development. Literacy, science and maths concepts are included in meaningful ways as children play.
Association support, good leadership approaches and mentoring help new members to settle quickly into shared roles. Some experienced parents/whānau provide good models of learning stories in children's portfolios. Parents/whānau plan programmes in response to children's interests.
The Association currently has effective governance and management practices. A voluntary executive committee takes responsibility for specific management and centre support tasks. Good systems help them to monitor the quality of programmes, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements. The management team provides professional leadership to help centres respond to changes, particularly as they transition to the new national and regional structures.
Centre members agree that to improve programmes for children and support centre development, they should:
enhance the bicultural programme so that it becomes more meaningful in practice
strengthen their assessment of children's learning, programme planning and evaluation
review policies and procedures to ensure they are reflected in practice
develop long-term strategic planning to support sustainability and build on internal evaluation processes.
Before the review, the staff and management of Kohukohu 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 Kohukohu Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
2 November 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.
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Location |
Kohukohu |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17126 |
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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 |
20 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
10 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 5 Boys 5 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
7 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent led |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
September 2017 |
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Date of this report |
2 November 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
October 2009 |
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|
Education Review |
November 2006 |
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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.
Kohukohu Playcentre provides early childhood education for children up to the age of five. The playcentre has an afternoon session on Mondays and a morning session on Thursdays. It operates as a parent cooperative and is managed by parents/whānau who attend sessions with their children. The Far North Playcentre Association provides support and an administrative framework for centre operations.
The Kohukohu Playcentre philosophy focuses on children learning through play with the support of knowledgeable adults. These two aspects of the philosophy were very evident in the centre documents and in the practice at the centre.
The 2009 ERO report recommended the centre continue to develop deeper conversations with children, and use self-review processes to further improve programme planning, evaluation, and health and safety provisions. Good progress has been made in these areas.
Children are confident learners. They choose from a wide range of easily accessible resources when initiating their own play. They play independently and cooperatively with each other. Children sustain their creative play with the support of parents playing alongside them and having fun.
Parents respect each child’s uniqueness and individuality. Te reo Māori is strongly woven through the programme. Adults engage with children to build on group and individual interests. Children respond well to these interactions. There is a strong sense of a community of learners at play. Parents review the programme at the end of each session to share information and help them plan subsequent programmes.
The committee works cooperatively with the centre community to provide a well resourced and dynamic centre. The officeholders work as a team to ensure that sessions are well organised and managed. They encourage parents to share their strengths in order to enhance the programme. More experienced centre members provide support for newer parents. This helps parents to continually develop their role as educators and to learn about their own and other people’s children.
Children, parents and officeholders have benefitted from well directed and relevant professional development provided by the NZ Playcentre Federation. Ongoing self review helps to maintain a focus on promoting positive learning outcomes for children.
A centre support worker attends weekly sessions. She provides invaluable support and guidance for parents and caregivers. Her role includes taking parent groups through parent education courses at various levels and modelling effective ways to promote learning for children through play. Parents are eager to be involved in these learning opportunities.
Centre members value the close communication and support they receive from the association.
ERO and centre members agree that the priorities for the centre are to continue:
Before the review, the staff and management of Kohukohu 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 Kohukohu Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
27 September 2013
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 |
Kohukohu, Northland |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17126 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
15 children, including up to 5 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
15 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 9 Boys 6 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Cook Island Māori |
10 3 2 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2013 |
|
|
Date of this report |
27 September 2013 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2009 |
|
Education Review |
November 2006 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 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.