16 Ward Street, Te Kuiti
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Te Kuiti Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Te Kuiti Playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for 30 children three days a week. This includes 15 children up to the age of two years. At the time of this ERO review, there were 20 children enrolled, including eight who identify as Māori.
The Playcentre Aotearoa philosophy, ‘whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, is to empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together.
Since the September 2016 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Te Kuiti Playcentre is part of the Central North Island Region and is supported by a regional manager and support persons.
Whānau and families share responsibility for the curriculum. Day-to-day operation is undertaken by session support personnel and centre-elected office holders. A centre support worker and centre administrator regularly visit playcentres to provide professional support, strengthen practice and promote improvement.
This review was part of a cluster of eight Playcentre reviews in the Central North Island Region.
Children's play and exploration are promoted as valued learning. Parents are fully engaged alongside children, supporting and extending learning through listening, role modelling and asking open-ended questions. The child-focused programme is planned around the knowledge of what children and their families bring to the centre. Oral language, literacy, mathematics and science are well promoted and integrated throughout play. Responsive and engaged relationships between adults and children supports them to be confident and competent learners.
The curriculum is inclusive and responsive to the needs of children. Areas of play are purposefully planned to meet the individual needs of babies, toddlers and young children. Transitions into the centre and on to school are well supported. Centre leaders have developed useful tools to increase the use of te reo Māori by parents and children. A next step for the centre is to strengthen the use of te reo Māori. Wall displays and resources for children reflects the diverse cultures within the centre. Children benefit from an effectively resourced and rich learning environment.
The centre has developed procedures and practices for assessment, planning and evaluation. Children's learning is well documented. Individual portfolios include records of their interests and show progression of learning over time. A shared approach that supports adults to assess learning is strengthening learning outcomes for children. The current self-review process requires strengthening. Priority should now be given to support members to strengthen their knowledge of self review and its alignment to the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki.
Induction processes and parent education programmes support parents as children’s first teachers. Experienced members work alongside new members to support and develop their learning of their responsibilities and roles. There is effective and regular communication between leaders and members. Playcentre members feel well supported in their role.
The revised parent education programme is becoming more accessible to centre members. Appraisal processes for session support staff have recently been strengthened to better evaluate performance in relation to specific roles and responsibilities, identify professional learning and development needs and focus on achievement of goals.
The national restructuring process continues to require significant attention and support to implement an extensive range of systems and processes. Regular communication from Playcentre Aotearoa seeks to keep parents informed of progress, changes and upcoming requirements. National policies and procedures have recently been introduced and parents are in the process of aligning practices to these. Ongoing support is required to enable parents to understand and implement these procedures to meet licensing requirements.
The next steps for Te Kuiti Playcentre, leaders and members are to:
develop a self-review framework with a focus on learning outcomes for children
regularly use te reo and tikanga Māori throughout the programme.
Playcentre Aotearoa should continue to build knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures to ensure licensing requirements are upheld.
Before the review, the staff and management of Te Kuiti 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance relating to health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following area:
securing items on shelves that could fall on children and cause serious injury.
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood and care Centres 2008, HS6.
Since the on-site phase of the review, members have provided ERO with evidence of action taken in securing furniture (HS6).
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
19 March 2020
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 |
Te Kuiti |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
31014 |
|
|
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 |
20 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Male 12 Female 8 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
8 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2019 |
|
|
Date of this report |
19 March 2020 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2016 |
|
Education Review |
February 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2010 |
|
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:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
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 will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.
Te Kuiti Playcentre is a parent-led centre located in Te Kuiti, providing education and care for children from birth to school age. The centre is licensed for a maximum of 30 children, including 15 children up to two years. At the time of this ERO review there were 16 children enrolled, two of whom identify as Māori and two of Cook Island descent. Currently there are three mixed-age sessions a week, led and managed by parents committed to the playcentre and its philosophy.
The playcentre operates under the umbrella of King Country Playcentre Association (KCPA). The centre is affiliated to the New Zealand Playcentre Federation (NZPF), which provide the centre with effective governance, strategic direction, management support and adult education programmes. The centre's practice is based on the guiding principles of the NZPF philosophy. These principles include a commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi and values productive partnerships with Māori.
The programme places strong emphasis on children and parents learning together through play, in a safe and supportive environment. Members aim to build a strong sense of belonging in the community for children and adults and assist children to develop as socially competent and confident learners.
This centre has a positive reporting history with ERO and responded well to the areas identified in the 2013 report.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the King Country Playcentre Association.
Children are highly engaged in learning and play activities that cater for a wide range of interests and ages. They have many opportunities to choose and explore their interests alongside parents and whānau. They enjoy playing alongside others, developing friendships and extending their social skills.
Babies and toddlers are fully integrated into all aspects of the programme. Their mothers and whānau are well supported by other adults, who enjoy interacting with each other's children in a family-like environment. The mixed-age sessions encourage older children to learn patience and tolerance as they play alongside the younger children. Tuakana-teina learning is evident through older role modelling oral language, physical challenges and social competencies.
Children benefit from respectful and reciprocal relationships in an environment where parents and families know each other well. The high ratio of adults to children enables rich oral language and opportunities where children's talk is encouraged, accepted and respected. Adults listen to and extend children's vocabulary, and use open-ended questions to further develop their language development and communication skills.
Children have access to all resources, which empowers them to initiate their own play and explore their ideas. Mathematics is promoted through meaningful and interesting opportunities that enable children to experiment, investigate and problem solve. Children's early literacy skills are fostered through actively participating in storytelling, developing a love of books, and through creative and imaginative play. Mat time provides flexible routines as well as providing time for families to enjoy music, singing and dancing together.
The outdoor area is spacious, attractive and deliberately planned to offer physical challenges for all age groups. Parents set up the environment to invite children to practice their gross motor skills and redesign the environment to sustain their interests and extend their play. A next step for the centre is to have a planned approach to further build on the concepts about the natural world, linking this to children's interests. This approach should further enhance their understanding of science concepts.
Te reo Māori is being included in the programme as parents build their knowledge and gain confidence. Centre members are engaged with ongoing professional development provided by the Maniapoto Marae Trust to continue to build their knowledge, understanding and daily use of te reo and tikanga Māori.
The centre has a strong commitment to ensuring smooth transitions to school and is currently part of a Ministry of Education initiative 'Curriculum and Transition to School'. This initiative is focused on further strengthening relationships between parents and schools and developing transition packs for parents and children.
All adults are currently engaged in playcentre education programmes that empower them to actively take a positive and more confident role in the development and education of their children. Parents plan and evaluate the programme regularly. They recognise the benefits of allowing children to lead their learning and choose their own activities. A next step is to review the planning and evaluation process, and build on the strong examples in the centre that show how parents are adding complexity to individual children's ideas and interests over time.
Members maintain a collaborative approach to leadership. Self review is well understood and valued. Leaders use this to develop a strategic plan to guide ongoing development and improvement. Regular playcentre meetings include reflective discussions that lead to improvements for children's play and learning. There is a positive approach to succession planning, fostering emergent leadership, building on individual strengths and supporting those in new roles and responsibilities.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation and the King Country Playcentre Association continue to provide good quality governance and management for this centre. The association provides comprehensive policies and guidelines, and employs a centre support person who assists families to operate the service in the best interests of children and their parents and whānau. The benefits of this support would be made more evident if a process was introduced to provide formal reports on the quality of centre programmes.
The playcentre and ERO agree that the next steps for the service are to work with the association centre support person to review and strengthen the purpose of individual portfolios to ensure they clearly identify children's learning and progress, and allow children to revisit and share their experiences.
Before the review, the staff and management of Te Kuiti 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance relating to legislative and health and safety requirements. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following area:
ensure the outside shed provides accessibility to resources for children as well as meeting the health and safety standards and regulations (regulation 45)[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008]
The next ERO review of Te Kuiti Playcentre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato/Bay of Plenty
5 September 2016
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 |
Te Kuiti |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
31014 |
|
|
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 |
16 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 13 Boys 3 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Cook Island Other |
2 7 2 5 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2016 |
|
|
Date of this report |
5 September 2016 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
February 2013 |
|
Education Review |
February 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2003 |
|
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:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
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.