Avonhead Playcentre

1 Evaluation of Avonhead Playcentre

How well placed is Avonhead Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Avonhead Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

This playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative with parents encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the centre’s programme and operation. The playcentre philosophy is based on the belief that children reach their full potential when their parents understand their development and take part in the learning process. Adults with higher playcentre training take responsibility for coordinating the programme each session.

Avonhead Playcentre operates four days a week and shares a City Council facility with other groups. Often children from a variety of different cultures attend the playcentre. After a period of limited growth the roll has begun to increase again recently.

While there is a core group of parents who have been involved with the centre for a number of years, many parents have only become part of the centre recently. A current priority for this core group of parents is to increase the number of other parents with playcentre qualifications and their involvement in managing the centre.

This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Canterbury Playcentre Association.

The Review Findings

The parent group places an emphasis on building effective relationships among parents. They actively support each other and their children. Extended whānau are welcomed.

Children’s sense of wellbeing and belonging is effectively promoted. Many adults choose to stay in the programme. They:

• demonstrate a good awareness of the programme and maintain appropriate supervision
• readily provide support for children
• are affirming, encouraging and nurturing with children.

Children benefit from a wide range of resources and play activities. This includes a spacious outdoor environment that gives good opportunities for children to explore the natural world. Adults add and change resources to provide a programme that continues to be interesting for children and build on their capabilities.

Children, including infants and toddlers, experience a programme where caring adults play alongside them, recognise their interests and provide opportunities for these to be extended.

Children have good opportunities to make choices about what they want to play with, contribute their ideas and stay involved in play for long periods of time. Adults plan a daily programme that ensures children’s play is not interrupted unnecessarily.

Parents value the opportunities their children have to interact with and play alongside children of different ages.

New parents are being well supported to learn more about the playcentre philosophy. The parent group has introduced a useful range of strategies to help parents learn about recording children’s learning.

Adults’ skills and interests, including sharing aspects of their culture, are well used to extend children’s experiences in the programme.

Key Next Steps

The playcentre parent group and ERO agree, that the following developments would help to continue to improve the programme for children and promote sustainable management practices.

The parent group should:

• review and update this centre’s philosophy statement to incorporate changes to obligations for early childhood centres and to better reflect current practices and parents’ aspirations
• build on recent efforts to improve programme planning, assessment and self review and monitor the impact of developments on the quality of these practices
• maintain a strong focus on building sustainable centre practices by increasing parents’ participation in the day-to-day management of the centre
• consider ways of further promoting biculturalism and supporting children’s transition to school.

The new parent group is making changes to a number of areas of the playcentre operations. With ongoing support from the association it is likely the playcentre will continue to improve its practice. This development could be better supported by extending centre planning. ERO recommends the parent group extend playcentre planning in ways that help to clarify long terms goals, establish short term objectives and provide continuity as officer holders change. ERO has requested a copy of this planning.

There is significant change occurring in the structure of governance and management at association level. The recent review of governance and management has been supported by useful and consultative processes.

The association has identified, and ERO agrees, that the next steps for the association include association staff:

• providing more documented feedback to parent groups about the quality of teaching and learning, with a particular focus on interactions
• developing a stronger understanding of the government's focus on priority learners so that they can better support parent groups to respond more effectively to these children
• helping parent groups more effectively sustain the developments in bicultural practices
• providing more useful guidelines to parent groups about supporting children's transition to school.

In addition a system for the regular appraisal of Centre Support Team members should be re-established.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Avonhead 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:

• curriculum
• premises and facilities
• health and safety practices
• governance, management and administration.

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.

In order to improve current practice ERO recommends the parent group extend records related to accidents and the treatment of injuries.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Avonhead Playcentre will be in three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

14 March 2014

The Purpose of ERO Reports

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.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

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.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

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:

• Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
• Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
• Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
• Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

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.