5 Endeavour Avenue, Hamilton Central, Hamilton
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
River Downs Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
River Downs Playcentre is a parent-led education and care service located in Hamilton. It caters for children from birth to school age and operates five mixed-age morning sessions per week and one session for older children. The playcentre is licensed for 30 children including up to 20 under the age of two years. The current roll of 34 children includes two who identify as Māori.
During 2018, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation transitioned from operating with 32 regional associations to become one national body with six regional offices. In the central north island six associations have merged into a regional hub renamed Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island Region that now includes 95 playcentres over a large geographic area. At River Downs Playcentre the president is supported by a committee of parent members. A centre administrator and centre support worker are provided by the Federation to assist with session operation.
Through their national philosophy the playcentre places emphasis on Whānau Tupu Ngatahi – families growing together. They empower adults and children to play, work and grow together and value and affirm parents as first and best educators of their children.
River downs Playcentre has a positive reporting history with ERO. Since the 2015 ERO review there has been a significant change to membership, self review has improved the way strategic and annual planning is implemented and sustained, a review of the induction process has supported a more systematic way of welcoming people in to the centre and general maintenance of the premises has been kept up to date.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 playcentre reviews in the Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island Region.
Children are encouraged to be independent, confident and competent learners. Responsive interactions by adults promote rich learning opportunities for children. Children lead their own play and they make choices about their learning. Parents have developed good strategies to support positive behaviour and social competence. Children under the age of two years enjoy an inclusive, calm and responsive learning space. It is age appropriate and allows for free movement, fostering curiosity and independence. Children benefit from experiences that value and affirm what they bring to their learning.
The playcentre is well-resourced and all curriculum areas are visible and accessible. Planning, assessment and evaluation identifies children’s interests and their participation within the environment. Children's home languages, cultures and identities are visible in displays and assessment. A range of assessment tools and support is given to new members to encourage building of knowledge about children’s learning. Literacy and numeracy is visible, and the environment is print rich and supports early reading skills. Children are encouraged to problem solve and make decisions about their play and learning. Children benefit from an attractively presented environment that is focused on enabling them to take risk and challenge throughout their learning.
There is a strong focus on building capability of members' use of te reo Māori and increasing te ao Māori in sessions. A considered approach to strengthening the bicultural curriculum has been thoughtfully integrated through links to the historical significance of the local area. To further extend on this practice members should strengthen the use of te reo Māori during sessions and include this in children's learning stories.
Positive and respectful relationships are prioritised across the playcentre between leaders and members. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and there is a process in place for knowledge sharing between experienced members and new members. Opportunities for professional learning and succession planning are promoted at meetings and through the federation. The centre support worker and the centre administrator provide detailed reports that are leading to improved awareness of quality practice and building capability. Children benefit from experienced leaders who model quality practice, focused on positive learning outcomes.
The Playcentre Federation’s overarching strategic and individual annual plans guide playcentre direction. Parent education programmes have a focus on building knowledge and understanding of children’s learning and development. Communication and support between the federation and regions throughout the restructure has supported ongoing operations. Current policies and systems are in place until new systems implemented by federation are rolled out nationally. The playcentre philosophy and vision and documented-strategic goals have been set. There is now the need to measure the impact of actions taken on outcomes for children.
With the centre having many new members, continued mentoring and guidance to strengthen:
continuity of learning and progress, including next steps linking to Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum and learning outcomes are visible in assessment
continued strengthening of member’s use of te reo Māori during sessions and in learning stories
In order to improve practice, the Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island regional leaders should continue to:
develop and implement strategic and annual regional plans
monitor and strengthen each playcentre’s understanding of internal evaluation to inform ongoing improvement, and systems and processes meet regulatory requirements
support individual playcentre personnel to robustly report on the progress towards their appropriate strategic goals
strengthen appraisal processes to support centre support workers and centre administrators to grow their practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of River Downs 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
19 June 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.
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Location |
Hamilton |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
33021 |
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Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
34 |
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Gender composition |
Male 18 Female 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
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Review team on site |
April 2019 |
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Date of this report |
19 June 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2015 |
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Education Review |
November 2012 |
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Education Review |
November 2009 |
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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:
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.
River Downs Playcentre is located in the suburb of Flagstaff, Hamilton in well-maintained buildings and established grounds. It is licensed for 30 children, including 20 under 2 year olds and at the time of this review, there were 50 children on the service roll from a range of different cultural backgrounds. Eight of these children are identified as Māori. The centre offers six mixed-aged sessions, a session to extend the older children, and a session to cater for the children of parents attending playcentre training each week.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation and the Waikato Playcentre Association continue to provide effective governance and strategic direction for the centre. Members also benefit from the ongoing guidance and support of centre support workers, and adult education courses. This support and training is underpinned by the association’s philosophy “Whānau tupu ngātahi - families growing together”. The association’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is evident in its bicultural leadership model, support for Māori whānau, and funding to support members to include te reo and tikanga Māori in learning programmes.
Centre members have made good progress on the areas identified for development since the 2012 ERO report. Members have:
The centre philosophy states that, 'Our River Downs family will support children and adults in developing a love of life-long learning'. This philosophy is highly evident at all levels of centre operations.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Waikato Playcentre Association. Delete if not part of a cluster
River Downs Playcentre is a whānau-run cooperative that values child-initiated play and provides a culturally inclusive, mixed aged learning environment. There is a strong commitment to adult education, a high proportion of members have achieved advanced levels of training, and all members are participating in playcentre adult education courses. Adults are encouraged and valued as educators. This has lead to high quality teaching and learning for the children. These are skilled at modelling highly cooperative and collaborative ways of planning and implementing a child-led curriculum. Parents as teachers, understand the importance of play in engaging and extending children’s interests and responding to memorable moments of learning.
Children are encouraged to express their opinions and ideas to interested adults who listen carefully and respond in a way that empowers children. They confidently access and use equipment and materials in flexible ways to enhance their play and develop problem-solving skills. Children’s creativity is enriched by experiences in music, dance, dramatic play and the creative arts.
Children benefit from strong and positive relationships, and are recognised as unique learners in the context of their families. They are strongly affirmed in their identity, language and culture as their parent is their teacher. They experience continuity of learning between home and centre. Babies are actively included in the centre programme, and are nurtured by their parents and other caring adults creating a strong sense of well-being and belonging.
The curriculum is underpinned by the principles of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is well-designed to promote children’s developing understanding of literacy, mathematics and science concepts. They engage in complex learning conversations with adults to build their oral language, thinking skills and knowledge of the world. Some children are demonstrating confidence in using te reo in meaningful contexts of their play.
The curriculum is enhanced by the wide range of knowledge and experiences that parents and extended whānau bring to share with their children. These experiences include local community activities such as farming, performing arts, sciences and medical services. The programme extends beyond the playcentre through regular excursions and experiences in the wider community including family camps. Celebrations and special events are woven into the annual calendar providing opportunities for children to anticipate familiar happenings.
How children learn and progress is well understood by centre leaders, and there is a clear and documented approach that guides planning. Learning displays are attractively presented throughout the centre and are recorded in comprehensive learning portfolios. Children and parents use portfolios to share and revisit their learning.
A particular strength of this centre is the use of a shared leadership model, which is equitable, inclusive and fosters the emerging leadership of all members. The dedicated leadership of knowledgeable, long serving members maintains a deliberate focus on succession planning. Self reviews are systematic, well researched and documented using multiple perspectives to inform ongoing centre development and improvement. Centre members have a good understanding of using self review for identifying their next steps for development.
Centre leaders have identified that the next step for centre improvement is to strengthen strategic planning. This includes the key elements for effective long term planning such as SMART goals which are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound.
In addition, at WPA level there is a need to review and strengthen:
Before the review, the staff and management of River Downs 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 River Downs Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
8 October 2015
|
Location |
Hamilton |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
33021 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 20 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
50 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 31 Boys 19 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Cook Island Māori Chinese African Other |
8 22 2 3 2 13 |
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Review team on site |
August 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
8 October 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
Education Review |
November 2009 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2006 |
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.