45 Ross Street, Woodville
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Woodville Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Woodville Playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for 25 children two days a week. This includes ten children up to the age of two years. At the time of this review, there were eleven children enrolled.
The Playcentre Aotearoa philosophy, ‘whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, is to 'empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together'.
Since the July 2016 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Woodville Playcentre is part of the Lower North Island Region and are 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.
The previous ERO report identified that the centre needed to develop assessment, planning and evaluation processes, the implementation of te ao Māori and review policies and procedures. Some progress has been made to action these areas of development that continue to require further strengthening.
This review was part of a cluster of 11 playcentres in the Lower North Island Region.
A child-led curriculum provides children with a range of opportunities to follow their interests to develop new working theories. Kaiako work and play alongside children to extend learning experiences. Older and younger learners play together within a mixed-age setting.
Appropriate teaching strategies to support the development of early language and numeracy skills are well promoted. In-depth conversations support children to explain their thinking and demonstrate their prior knowledge. Children benefit from warm relationships with others.
Reciprocal visits with some of the local schools have become established. Regular excursions and visitors to the centre maintains connections with the wider community.
Children's culture language and identity are acknowledged and visible within the environment. Some te reo Māori is used during the session. Kaiako have identified that continuing to develop knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori is a next step.
Kaiako have identified that the assessment, planning and evaluation of children's learning requires significant development. Strategies to facilitate collaborative planning are newly implemented. The participation and contribution from all parents to this process is required to progress and record children's learning over time.
A useful internal evaluation framework supports kaiako to identify systems that requires improvement. They have identified further strengthening the use and understanding of evaluation to improve learning outcomes for children is a next step. ERO's evaluation confirms this.
The revised parent education programme is becoming more accessible to kaiako. At this playcentre the session facilitator role models appropriate practice and provides ongoing support to build kaiako capability. Further participation of kaiako in Playcentre education remains a priority. 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 kaiako 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.
At Woodville Playcentre the priorities are to strengthen:
Playcentre Aotearoa should continue to build knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures, and systematic monitoring of these, to ensure licensing requirements are upheld.
Before the review, the staff and management of Woodville 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 practices.
To meet current compliance practice Playcentre Aotearoa should ensure the service:
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
17 December 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 |
Woodville |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
55032 |
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Licence type |
Playcentre |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
11 |
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Gender composition |
Male 8, Female 3 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
9 |
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Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
17 December 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
September 2012 |
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Education Review |
July 2008 |
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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.
Woodville Playcentre is one of 19 administered by the Central Districts Playcentre Association (the association). This review is one of seven undertaken by ERO in the association's playcentres during Term 2, 2016.
The centre is open for two mornings a week and caters for children from birth to six years of age. Responsibility for day-to-day operations is undertaken by centre-elected office holders. Professional advice and feedback to strengthen members' practice is provided by a liaison officer employed by the association.
The playcentre is licensed for 25 children, including 10 children up to the age of two years. There are presently sixteen children enrolled. The centre philosophy gives priority to child-led play and learning. Parents as first teachers are valued. Adults participate in training programmes that build their capability to guide teaching and learning. This service is in the process of employing a new supervisor to lead sessions.
Families attending the centre are from the local and rural community. Centre whānau appreciate the positive outcomes generated through liaison officer input.
Playcentres' philosophy statement, 'whānau tupu ngātahi – ‘families growing together’, reflects the value this organisation places on families and whānau working collectively to support children’s learning.
The New Zealand Playcentre Federation is currently reviewing the organisational structure of Playcentre across New Zealand. The outcomes of this review may result in changes to operation at centre level.
An internal restructure of the association leadership has created new team roles and responsibilities at executive level. Changes include the service provider contact, president, and new executive members. Information sharing now includes digital media to enhance ease of communication and foster increased support between playcentre teams.
Woodville Playcentre has a positive ERO reporting history.
Children lead their own learning. They make decisions about their routines and goals, choosing independently from a range of resources and learning at their own pace. Literacy, mathematics and creative arts are woven through children's play. Professional development specific to te reo me ngā tikanga Māori has supported some progress within the centre programme.
The curriculum is informed and guided by children's strengths and needs. Localised community experiences provide meaningful learning contexts for children. Some tuakana teina learning support is occurring. Older children engage purposefully in sustained activities, persevering at challenges. Younger children learn individually and alongside others. There is a clear process for evaluating daily sessions.
Portfolios are attractively presented. Te Whāriki goals, dispositions and learning outcomes are reflected in children's portfolios and there are regular entries of children's experiences. The centre philosophy is evident. However, next steps are not always clearly articulated to show learning progression.
Warm responsive relationships and interactions between adults and children occur. Children are confident communicators with peers and adults. High adult-child ratios enable them to know each other well. A sense of belonging is evident.
Significant changes for the centre have impacted on increased workload for members. Strategies to address this are being actioned.
As the association develops new policies in line with recent legislation there is a need to communicate why these are relevant and how they are to be incorporated into practice at centre level.
Internal evaluation is occurring and leading to change. Parent voice is valued in the review process. However, members are aware of the need to further develop their understanding and implementation of effective self review. A recent self review of the outdoor environment resulted in improved outcomes for children. A key next step is for the association to provide ongoing guidance and support to develop the internal evaluation capability of members.
At centre level, the priorities are:
building membership to promote sustainability
ongoing improvement of assessment, planning and evaluation
continuing to develop te ao Māori implementation
to review policies and procedures.
The association should further develop:
systems to consistently respond to centre needs
understanding and implementation of internal evaluation
consistent and systematic appraisal for all employees
members' understanding of assessment, planning, evaluation.
ERO recommends that the association actively participate in and monitor the quality of support provided throughout the playcentre restructure to ensure implementation of requirements that promote sustainability.
Before the review, the staff and management of Woodville 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 Woodville Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
28 July 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 |
Woodville |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
55032 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
16 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 12, Girls 4 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā Filipino Pacific |
9 5 2 |
|
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
May 2016 |
||
|
Date of this report |
28 July 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
September 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 2005 |
||
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.