Greenlane Road, Taupiri
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Taupiri Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Taupiri Playcentre is a parent-led playcentre located in Taupiri. It caters for children from birth to school age and operates two morning sessions per week. The playcentre is licensed for 25 children including up to 15 under the age of two years. The current roll of 18 children includes three 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 Taupiri Playcentre the president is supported by a supervisor. A centre administrator and support worker are provided by the federation to assist with session operation.
The national philosophy places emphasis on whānau tupu ngātahi – 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.
Taupiri Playcentre has a positive reporting history with ERO. Since the last ERO report in 2015, progress has been made to strengthen areas around self review, parent education, leadership and to increase the inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 playcentre reviews in the Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island Region.
The centre is highly responsive to the needs of children and whānau. Children are engaged in a play based programme that allows time and space to explore. They are well supported by attentive adults who play alongside them. A sense of belonging is enhanced through positive relationships in which children and parents know each other well. The philosophy is evident in practice.
A well-resourced environment allows for a wide range of learning experiences. Tuakana teina relationships are evident. Science and early language learning opportunities are well integrated throughout the curriculum. Adults engage children in meaningful conversations to extend their thinking. They are affirmed as competent, confident and curious learners.
Aspects of te ao Māori are evident within the environment. Acknowledgement of whakapapa promotes Māori children's sense of identity and belonging. Some te reo Māori is spoken in meaningful ways. As members continue to grow their understanding of Te Whāriki, they should consider ways to include local Māori heritage and areas of significance within their localised curriculum and continue to build members confidence to speak te reo Māori.
Members have strengthened their understanding of planning, assessment and evaluation processes. Daily session templates provide useful prompts to support members to make links between parent aspirations, children’s interests and previous learning to inform the delivery of the curriculum. Adults need to increase entries into learning journals to show how children's learning has progressed over time.
The centre support worker and the centre administrator are provided by the federation. Their support and detailed reports are leading to improved awareness of quality practice and building capability through appropriate feedback and feedforward. The centre supervisor models appropriate play experiences for adults and children to participate in. Parents actively engage in their children's learning and contribute to operation of the service. Members should continue to develop their understanding of internal evaluation to monitor the effectiveness of their actions to improve outcomes for children and achievement of annual strategic goals.
The Playcentre Federation’s overarching strategic and individual annual plans guide the 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 the federation are rolled out nationally. The playcentre philosophy and vision and documented-strategic goals have been set. There is now a need to measure the impact and outcomes for children.
At playcentre level priorities are to continue to strengthen the:
consistency of learning story entries to show how children's learning has progressed over time
use of te reo Māori and local Māori heritage to strengthen the delivery of a localised curriculum
use of internal evaluation.
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
support individual playcentre personnel to robustly report on the progress towards their appropriate strategic goals
strengthen appraisal processes to support centre support and administrators.
Before the review, the staff and management of Taupiri 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 areas of non-compliance relating to governance and management and health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with children on an at least three-monthly basis.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7A, HS8]
To improve practice:
obtain parent signatures once they have sighted the risk assessment management forms for excursions.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
17 July 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 |
Taupiri |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
33025 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
18 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Male 11 Female 7 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
|
Review team on site |
April 2019 |
|
|
Date of this report |
17 July 2019 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2016 |
|
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
November 2009 |
|
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.
Taupiri Playcentre is a well-established, rural playcentre situated in attractive and spacious grounds in Taupiri. Families come from a wide geographical area that stretches from Hamilton to Huntly. The roll has remained steady over recent years and there are currently 23 children enrolled, including 6 who identify as Māori. The centre operates under the umbrella of the Waikato Playcentre Association and is open for 4 morning sessions each week.
Parents are focused on centre improvement and further enhancing outcomes for the children. They have received valuable support from the Waikato Playcentre Association (WPA) and Centre Support Worker (CSW) in responding to the areas for development in the 2012 ERO report. These include improving the ways that parents document children’s learning, increasing te reo and tikanga Māori, and using self review to improve aspects of the curriculum.
The centre philosophy is evident in the relaxed and supportive way that children and their families learn and play alongside each other. There are positive relationships and effective communication amongst parent members. Children experience a strong sense of belonging and confidence within the centre environment.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Waikato Playcentre Association.
Taupiri Playcentre is well placed to provide positive outcomes for children. Children and their whānau are warmly welcomed into the centre. They experience respectful and supportive relationships modelled by experienced parent members and office holders. A feature of the playcentre is the way that parents share the care of each other’s children and contribute to the recording of their learning. They know the children well and provide support and encouragement when needed. Children experience a strong sense of belonging at the centre.
Children are settled, engaged in their play, and confidently communicate with parents, visitors and other children. They independently access resources and equipment, make choices about their learning, and help set up and pack away learning activities. Their independence is encouraged through carefully considered transition-to-school processes. Children benefit from respectful learning interactions that are modelled by the CSW, the supervisor and other parent members.
Parents contribute their knowledge and skills to enhance the playcentre curriculum and environment for children. They provide a play-based curriculum supported by good quality resources and a wide range of interactive activities. The spacious and natural outdoor play area challenges children’s physical skills and promotes exploration. Parents encourage children to experience and learn about the natural environment. They often organise excursions into the local and wider community as a way of extending children’s learning experiences.
Parent members have established some useful and effective processes to help them notice, recognise and record children’s learning and play. These include the ‘who am I’ charts, recording of magic moments, learning portfolios, session evaluations and the learning story wall. Adults use technology to photograph and print learning moments to share with children. A next step is to continue to develop member expertise in recording and using their observations of children’s learning to plan for their next learning opportunities.
Leadership roles and responsibilities are shared amongst members and collaboratively carried out. These roles are strengthened through reciprocal relationships and effective communication between centres, with the WPA, and amongst parent members. A newly appointed CSW is providing valuable support and feedback for parent members.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation and the WPA continue to provide effective governance, strategic direction, management support and adult education programmes for the centre. This support and training is underpinned by the WPA philosophy 'Whānau tupu ngātahi - families growing together'.
The association’s strategic commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is evident in its bicultural leadership model. High value is placed on productive partnerships with Māori whānau, and funding is made available for related professional development. The association’s high quality response to Ka Hikitia has resulted in clear expectations, and a systematic and sequential approach to building members’ understanding, confidence and competence in te Ao Maori.
A long-standing kaiawhina continues to support centre members to develop their understanding of te Ao Māori and their confidence to integrate this knowledge in the context of playcentre philosophy.
The Playcentre leaders and CSW agree with ERO that the next steps for ongoing development and improvement are to continue to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Taupiri 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 Taupiri Playcentre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
23 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 |
Taupiri |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
33025 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
23 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 12 Girls 11 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā |
6 17 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
23 February 2016 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2012 |
|
Education Review |
November 2009 |
|
|
Education Review |
October 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:
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.