127-129 Gray Avenue, Papatoetoe, Auckland
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
Since the onsite visit, the service has provided ERO with evidence that shows it has addressed non-compliances and is now taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Playway is a privately owned service previously known as The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe. It was relicensed under new ownership in October 2020. Governance is provided by the owner and a qualified centre manager. The community is ethnically diverse, and the majority of children attending are of Māori or Pacific heritages.
The service curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning experiences. The curriculum provides a language-rich environment that supports children’s learning.
Children have opportunities to develop an understanding of the dual cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. The curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors, individually and in groups.
Leaders need to monitor the implementation of health and safety practices to ensure regulatory standards are maintained.
Key next steps are to:
Improve assessment information to better show children’s progress and learning over time.
Strengthen the extent to which information documented about children’s learning reflects their identity, languages and cultures.
The service has provided ERO with evidence to show the following non-compliances have been addressed:
Ensuring that any windows or other areas of glass accessible to children are either made of safety glass; or covered by an adhesive film designed to hold the glass in place in the event of it being broken; or effectively guarded by barriers which prevent a child striking or falling against the glass (PF7).
Having a tempering valve or other accurate means of limiting hot water temperature installed for the requirements of criterion HS13 to be met (PF24).
Ensuring furniture and items intended for children to sleep on, such as stretchers, allow children using them to lie flat (PF29).
Ensuring the premises are kept safe and hygienic and maintained in good condition (HS1).
Implementing a procedure for the changing of nappies that aims to ensure safe and hygienic nappy changing practices (HS3).
Ensuring heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury or damage are secured (HS6).
Having a written emergency plan that includes evidence of review of the plan on at least an annual basis (HS7).
Ensuring adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry out each type of drill with the children on at least a three-monthly basis (HS8).
Ensuring furniture intended for children to sleep on, such as cots, are arranged and spaced when in use so that children able to sit or stand can do so safely as they wake (HS10).
Ensuring the equipment, premises and facilities are checked every day of operation for hazards to the children.
Ensuring the water stored in any hot water cylinder is kept at a temperature of at least 60°C (HS14).
Ensuring medication records accurately show the amount and name of medication given to a child (HS28).
Maintaining enrolment records for each child that include the name of the medical practitioner (or medical centre) and any court orders affecting day to day care of, or contact with, the child (GMA10).
Maintaining an attendance record that shows the times and dates of every child’s attendance at the service as per the Early Childhood Education Funding Handbook. This includes having a record of any absence, attendance registers that have been marked by staff on a twice daily basis and a signed attendance register that a parent/guardian of each child has regularly examined and confirmed the attendance record (GMA11).
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Patricia Davey
Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
6 October 2023
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Playway |
|
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Profile Number |
25391 |
|
|
Location |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
|
|
Service type |
Education and care service |
|
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80-99% |
|
|
Service roll |
43 |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2023 |
|
|
Date of this report |
6 October 2023 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Previously reviewed as: The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe Education Review, October 2019 First ERO review of the service under new ownership. |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe is a full-day education and care service. It operates from two converted houses, one of which is for infants and toddlers, and the other for children up to six years of age. Each house has a spacious outdoor area. Most of the children attending are of Māori, Pacific or Indian descent.
The owner delegates daily management of the service to a centre manager, who is a registered teacher. There are four registered teachers and two unqualified staff members.
The service's philosophy is to support the best interests of children. This includes teachers developing trusting relationships with parents and whānau, and a respect for families' diverse cultural backgrounds. The centre is part of the Papatoetoe West Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
ERO's 2016 report noted that curriculum provision and teaching practices had improved. It recommended the review of governance systems and professional development for teachers to further improve teaching practices. Progress has been made in both areas.
Children have a strong sense of belonging. They are independent, confident learners who work well with each other. Children confidently make decisions about their learning and make good use of the equipment and resources provided. Infants and toddlers experience a supportive, nurturing environment. They have good opportunities to play outdoors.
Teachers are welcoming and inclusive. They form positive and caring relationships with children, families and each other. Teachers are responsive to the preferences of infants and toddlers and support these younger children's oral language development well. The teaching team has worked deliberately to include children's diverse cultures and languages in the environment and learning experiences. They recognise the need to increase the integration of te reo and tikanga Māori and strengthen support for Māori children to experience educational success.
Parents/whānau who spoke with ERO commented on the positive relationships between teachers, children and families. They appreciate the regular family events and invitations to be involved in community excursions. Teachers talk frequently with families about each child's progress. Encouraging more families to share their wishes for their children's learning is an ongoing priority for teachers.
Children's assessment records show teachers have a good understanding of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. They plan the programme together and are responsive to children's interests. The teaching team now needs to evaluate the curriculum provided for individuals and groups of children. This includes how their actions as teachers contribute to and extend the complexity of children's learning. A next step is continuing to build teachers' shared understanding of how to document assessment, planning and evaluation processes well and more consistently.
The manager skilfully leads a cohesive and collaborative teaching team. There is a focus on growing teachers' leadership capacity. All teachers are motivated to make changes that benefit children's wellbeing and learning. A significant investment in team-wide professional development and a robust teacher appraisal process, supported by external mentors, is helping teachers to reflect more critically on their practice.
The service provider and manager ensure that management policies and practices are regularly reviewed. Long-term and annual plans prioritise relevant improvement goals. Managers and teachers could now strengthen internal evaluation, including curriculum review, by developing measurable improvement indicators. Evaluating their progress against these indicators could help the service provider and teachers to identify and document how well all aspects of centre operations are progressing.
Key next steps include:
teachers improving assessment and planning records to show how they engage all children in complex play that extends their learning over time
teachers consistently implementing their learning from professional development in their teaching practices
managers and teachers developing their understanding and use of internal evaluation, to explicitly show how improvements to teaching practices, curriculum provision and operational systems benefit children.
Since ERO's onsite evaluation, the service provider has provided evidence to show that non-compliances relating to health and safety have been satisfactorily addressed. The owner must ensure health and safety systems are consistently monitored including the police vetting of unqualified staff.
Before the review, the staff and management of The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
9 October 2019
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 |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25391 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 24 Boys 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
6 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:7 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2019 |
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Date of this report |
9 October 2019 |
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|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
February 2016 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2013 |
||
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.
The Childrens Corner is located in Papatoetoe. The centre occupies two converted houses, one of which is for children under two years of age and the other for children from two to six years of age. It offers all day care and education for 50 children, including up to 15 children under two years of age.
The centre philosophy was recently reviewed by all teaching staff. The philosophy recognises the importance of a child-centred and play-based approach to learning and development, and partnerships with parents and whānau. It also continues to acknowledge the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as well as the diverse cultural backgrounds of many of the children who attend. Most of the children are of Māori, Pacific or Indian descent.
This is the second ERO review of this privately owned centre. One of the owners continues to work in the centre weekly to manage financial, property and broader governance responsibilities. A new centre manager has been appointed in the last five months. In October 2015, a new teacher joined the teaching team in the under three area.
The centre manager's role is the day-to-day management of the centre, leadership of the teaching team, and programme development. The centre has two fully registered and three provisionally registered teachers.
The 2013 ERO report identified three areas of non-compliance. These related to the quality of the educational programme, self review and teaching practice. In June 2015, staff worked with an external facilitator to develop an action plan to address the non-compliance matters and areas for development identified in the 2013 ERO report. Good progress has been made to improve the quality of the educational programme and teaching practices. Self review is in the early stages of development.
Children are happy and settled in the centre. They are supported to be independent learners. Children have many opportunities for uninterrupted play. They work well in groups and are often able to sustain play for prolonged periods. They have a lot of fun and enjoy the opportunities for exploration and creativity. Children's voice is valued and they have a strong sense of belonging. Children with special learning needs are well supported.
Teachers provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for children and their families. They have positive and caring relationships with children, families and each other. Interactions are frequent and teachers support children well. Some teachers use te reo Māori incidentally in their interactions with children. Adults’ respectful conversations acknowledge children's competence and empower them to make their own decisions. Infants and toddlers are provided with a safe and secure environment, and teachers' main focus is on encouraging children's communication and exploration.
Teachers plan collaboratively and are responsive to children's interests. Recent refinements to planning have strengthened teachers' focus on noticing, recognising and responding to children's individual interests and strengths. The principles and goals of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum underpin and guide the curriculum. Teachers plan deliberately to integrate early literacy and mathematics concepts into the context of children's play. This is a deliberate focus to support the four year olds to transition more successfully to school.
Teachers integrate biculturalism and aspects of tikanga Māori into the programme and would like to continue to strengthen this in the centre. Portfolios show the development of each child's knowledge, skills and dispositions over time. The centre manager would like to continue to build consistency in the documentation and analysis of children's learning.
Parent involvement and participation in children's learning is encouraged and valued. Teachers provide a range of opportunities for parents to participate in the programme, share their aspirations and be aware of their child’s progress. Parents are pleased with the positive changes to the indoor and outdoor learning environments. The centre manager has identified the need to continue to increase parent contributions to children's learning and the curriculum.
The centre manager's decision making and improvements are all focused on improving outcomes for children. She is effectively building a cohesive and collaborative team. Teachers' leadership skills and areas of expertise are valued. Teachers spoke enthusiastically about the leader's positivity, passion for the work, and care. They are also proud of the changes and improvements to programme planning and the physical learning environment.
The centre owners have established a sound policy framework. Policies are visible in practice and are regularly reviewed. Self review is in the beginning stages and the centre owners and manager should continue to strengthen this in the centre. Strategic planning is in the beginning stages. The next steps are to develop a strategic plan that is more long term, and then each year develop an annual plan to implement chosen aspects of the strategic plan. The owner and centre manager would like to work collaboratively to continue to strengthen strategic planning and self-review.
Following a recent personnel management issue the centre owners appropriately plan to conduct a review of all governance and management systems in order to improve them and to ensure that they effectively promote the wellbeing of children and adults in the centre.
ERO recommends and centre leaders agree that key next steps should include:
Before the review, the staff and management of The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe 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.
During the review, ERO identified areas of non-compliance. The service provider must
Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA4, 6, 7.
The next ERO review of The Childrens Corner Papatoetoe will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
24 February 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 |
Papatoetoe, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25391 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
50 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
48 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 31 Girls 17 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Indian Samoan Tongan other |
14 2 15 5 4 8 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
November 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
24 February 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2013 |
|
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.