Cnr Arataki Road & Tihoi Road, Whakamaru
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.
Whakamaru Playcentre is located in a rural community south of Tokoroa and provides education and care for children from birth to school age. The centre operates under the umbrella of the East Waikato Playcentre Association (EWPA) and is licensed for 27 children, including up to 12 under two years. There are 36 children enrolled, including four Māori. The centre is open for two sessions per week. There has been significant roll growth since the 2013 ERO review.
The centre philosophy values parents as first educators, children's individuality and the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa. Parents aim to provide safe and stimulating learning environments, and be true to their name: 'Whakamaru - to nurture and protect'.
The centre has responded to the need to strengthen planning, identified in the 2013 ERO review. The need for the EWPA to improve support and communication has also been addressed and parents feel the association is supportive and responsive.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation is currently undergoing restructuring, and this has implications for EWPA governance actions in the future.
This review was part of a cluster of nine playcentre reviews in the East Waikato Playcentre Association.
Children enjoy warm, caring relationships with all parents. They play and learn in a mixed-age setting, and regularly engage in collaborative play with others. Social competency skills are encouraged, enabling children to interact constructively and develop strong friendships with one another.
Children are highly engaged and have fun learning and exploring in spacious, attractive indoor and outdoor environments. They are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and wellbeing, and have many opportunities for safe physical challenges. Children have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of experiences, either following their interests or participating in parent-led activities. They are provided with feedback from parents that acknowledges their effort and success. Children demonstrate high levels of belonging and wellbeing, are settled and confident learners.
A broad, rich curriculum is in place with many opportunities for exploration and learning through play. Literacy and mathematics are naturally integrated into the programme in meaningful ways. Children enjoy participating in cooking, gardening and science activities. Trips into the local and wider community are a feature of the programme. Children are developing an interest in, and love of learning.
The centre is well resourced with quality, age-appropriate equipment and activities. Parents use authentic contexts and collaboratively plan interesting activities each term, based on the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Session evaluations identify children's developing interests and learning, and some possible extensions for future activities.
Infants and younger children are well supported by their parents to participate in the programme. They have access to resources that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. Parents have adapted the environment to ensure the safety of children who are crawling or learning to walk, and cater well for babies' and toddlers' individual needs.
Māori children and whānau benefit from the respectful, inclusive and welcoming culture. Parents have increased their knowledge of bicultural practices as a result of self review. There is some visibility of te reo Māori in wall displays and resources, and members are working to increase everyday use of the language. Each term's theme includes a bicultural focus, and parents and children visited the local marae last year. Parents agree there is a need to continue developing the way te reo and tikanga Māori are integrated throughout the curriculum.
Easily accessible individual profile books record individual and group activities, and identify some dispositions for learning. Useful playcentre templates encourage parents to include learning outcomes for children and possible next steps to extend interests. A more consistent approach to including the learning that is happening in the profiles would support parents in building children's identity as successful learners.
Recent self review has resulted in improved practices to assist children's transition to school. Members benefit from the input of several parents with a background in education in understanding links between Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum and The New Zealand Curriculum. This focus supports children's positive transition to school.
Parent education has continued as many members participate actively in playcentre courses. The centre facilitates and funds training at the centre for parents undertaking Course 2. Parents are proactive in seeking and using further training to enhance their role as educators for their children.
The EWPA provides useful policies and procedures for centre management. The centre is well managed, with a large number of elected positions and additional voluntary roles. Knowledgeable leaders encourage collaboration and use parents’ strengths effectively. High levels of commitment are providing the playcentre with a strong sense of purpose and direction.
Members regularly review each session and centre organisation. They evaluate the curriculum and the service's effectiveness in promoting best learning outcomes for children. Well-developed, self-review processes are resulting in continual improvement in centre practices.
Centre members agree that the next steps are to:
include goals in the strategic plan that identify and focus on improving learning outcomes for children. This should enable parents to more closely focus on expectations and aspirations for learning in the centre
strengthen the consistency in profile books of the identification of learning, to show children's development over time and success as lifelong learners
strengthen parents' confidence and capability to integrate te reo and tikanga Māori in the daily programme. This should develop the identity of Māori children in the centre more fully and provide other children with a better understanding of New Zealand's dual heritage.
Before the review, the staff and management of Whakamaru 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 Whakamaru Playcentre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato / Bay of Plenty
26 June 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.
|
Location |
South Waikato |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45783 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
27 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
36 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 20 Girls 16 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2017 |
|
|
Date of this report |
26 June 2017 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
September 2013 |
|
Education Review |
May 2004 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 1999 |
|
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.
Whakamaru Playcentre is a sessional, parent-led service providing education for children from birth to school age, and their parents. This rural playcentre operates in a community hall and is licensed for 27 children, including up to 10 under two years of age. At the time of this ERO review, 13 children were enrolled. The centre is a member of the East Waikato Playcentre Association (EWPA).
The Whakamaru Playcentre philosophy emphasises the importance of parents as the foremost educators of their children. Children’s individuality, the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa/New Zealand and the provision of a safe and stimulating environment are key aspects of the programme.
ERO’s last review of the centre was in 2004. Between June 2005 and November 2006 the centre was in recess. At the beginning for 2007 it reopened as a licence-exempt playcentre. Members have worked conscientiously to meet licensing requirements. The centre was granted a full licence under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 in April 2013.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 playcentre reviews in the East Waikato Playcentre Association.
Whakamaru Playcentre is a vibrant and well-led service for children and families. A core group of enthusiastic centre members bring a wide variety of skills and experience that contribute to the centre’s success in promoting positive outcomes for children. Centre members are proactive in accessing ongoing adult education and networking with the New Zealand Playcentre Federation and other playcentres. Members express a high level of appreciation for the leadership and long-term commitment demonstrated by the centre president. Her dedication has been pivotal to the revival of playcentre education in this community.
The centre has a strategic plan that gives clear direction for centre development and ongoing sustainability. This plan includes common goals and is informed by self review of the programme and centre operations. Centre members have effective strategies for engaging the wider community to support playcentre events and projects.
A feature of the playcentre is high levels of collaborative and respectful relationships among members and children. The playcentre’s philosophy is well implemented through the curriculum and childrens’ play and learning. Parents remain focused on supporting childrens’ ideas and interests. They skilfully foster children’s social and language development and integrate concepts related to literacy and mathematics.
Centre families demonstrate a strong commitment to strengthening links with stories and places of significance to the tangata whenua of the Central Plateau. They value opportunities to increase their understanding of Māori culture and language. ERO acknowledges progress made and affirms the centre’s strategic priority in relation to New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.
Members develop a plan for each term based on childrens’ interests and community happenings. It would now be beneficial for members, to consider ways to strengthen planning in response to what they notice about children’s play, and how they might respond in the shorter term.
Children make good use of spacious, well-resourced and interesting learning environments. Thoughtful design and readily available resources and equipment present children with possibilities and opportunities to make independent choices. They are able to involve themselves in a wide range of learning experiences. Members regularly review areas of play to enhance presentation and use by children.
During this review it became evident that relationships between Whakamaru Playcentre and EWPA are strained. Centre members feel unsupported by the association and do not believe that their ideas or contributions are valued by the umbrella organisation. Also, the current lack of locally-based playcentre adult education courses is a challenge for members of this remote rural centre. More responsive support and inclusive communication from the association is needed to minimise the sense of isolation, and to assist members to further enhance outcomes for children and families.
Before the review, the staff and management of Whakamaru 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 Whakamaru Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
16 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 |
Whakamaru, Waikato |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45783 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
27 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
13 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 7 Boys 6 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
2 11 |
|
Review team on site |
June 2013 |
|
|
Date of this report |
16 September 2013 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
May 2004 |
|
Accountability Review |
June 1999 |
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.