50 The Parade, Bucklands Beach, Auckland
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-Rangi Playcentre is a well established parent-led cooperative. It is licensed for 30 children, including 15 children up to two years of age. The centre offers five morning sessions each week. The Tuesday session is for older children and is facilitated by paid supervisors and volunteers.
The centre's philosophy acknowledges parents as first and best teachers, promotes learning through play, and acknowledges that children learn best in the context of their families and community.
The centre has a stable roll with families from the community continuing to enrol. Maintaining the roll remains a strategic focus for the centre. The regular SPACE (Supporting Parents Alongside Children's Education) programme provides an introduction to Playcentre for parents with babies under one year of age. Parents also receive useful information about early learning and development. Some parents from SPACE choose to enrol their children in Playcentre sessions.
The 2014 ERO report found that children communicated their ideas confidently and were well supported to manage social relationships. Adults extended children's interests through exciting learning opportunities. These effective practices have been sustained. Areas for development included cultural responsiveness, evaluating the impact of improvements made, and building the capability of buddy mentors. The centre continues to make good progress in these areas.
Playcentre Aotearoa is in the process of restructuring, moving from 32 Associations to six regional offices. The Auckland region includes 45 centres from the former Auckland, Tamaki and Counties Playcentre Associations. A regional manager oversees governance, management and administration and has a team of staff to support individual centres. Centre whānau and regional staff are in a period of transition. Regional staff are helping whānau as they adapt to new systems and responsibilities.
This review was part of a cluster of six Playcentre reviews in the Auckland region.
Families display a strong sense of belonging and children are secure, settled and happy. A well-developed sense of community is evident. Children make choices about their play and move freely from indoors to outdoors. Thoughtfully provided resources, well-arranged areas of play, and a challenging and aesthetically designed natural outdoor environment are some of the strengths of this centre.
Adults work collaboratively to support each other and the children's learning and wellbeing. A welcoming atmosphere, and responsive and respectful interactions are features. Strong relationships provide opportunities for families to connect and form friendships. Adults support children to think and problem solve through effective questioning.
Centre members are intentional in ensuring that they support the learning of all age groups. A separate play space and appropriate resources are available for children under two years of age. Parents can access quiet and comfortable spaces to feed infants as needed.
Centre members have developed a shared understanding of bicultural practices. They incorporate waiata and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in everyday practices. Some assessments incorporate te reo Māori. More experienced members should continue to support others to increase the consistency of bicultural practices.
Families with English as an additional language are supported with documenting assessments and are invited to share their language and culture. New members report that they are well supported to integrate into centre life.
Centre members record children's learning and progress in well-presented individual portfolios. The 'notice, recognise, respond' framework is used effectively by some members to document children's learning stories. To achieve consistency of practice, members should continue to support each other to record children's progress and learning over time.
Centre members meet regularly to plan programmes. These discussions occur in daily session evaluations and termly planning meetings. The planning is ongoing and builds on children's interests. Planning would be improved by members reflecting on the effectiveness of their role in adding complexity to children's play.
Internal evaluation is relevant, meaningful and focuses on improving outcomes for children. To strengthen this process, members should set evaluative questions and measurable indicators to assess the impact of the changes made on children's learning.
The strategic plan provides good guidance for ongoing development. Developing an annual plan that aligns with strategic goals and evaluating the progress in achieving these goals are next steps.
Effective leadership from office holders, the 'buddy system' and an induction process helps to familiarise new members with the Playcentre philosophy and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Collaborative leadership provides opportunities for all centre members to extend and share their knowledge and skills. Newly appointed regional personnel are making progress building on existing systems and establishing regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional centre support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements.
The regional management team takes responsibility for specific tasks relating to the effective operation of individual centres. The team is aware of the unique strengths and needs of each centre and provides professional leadership to sustain improvement, growth and the focus on fostering positive learning outcomes for children.
Centre members agree that to improve the quality of programmes for children, they should continue to:
regularly reflect on their practices to help them add further complexity to children's play and learning
strengthen the quality of planning and evaluation.
In order to improve and strengthen practice, the regional leaders should continue to:
revisit the commitment to Te Tiriti partnership, and to increase bicultural understandings and the integration of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori in centre practices
clarify and upskill centre support roles
build regional office capability to embed new adult education programmes and qualifications
improve the understanding and use of internal evaluation as a tool to guide practices
develop, evaluate and report against regional long-term and annual action plans that align with goals for improvement at national and regional levels
embed the new Playcentre structure and systems and evaluate how effectively they support all children, including Pacific children and children with additional needs.
Before the review, the staff and management of Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-Rangi 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 Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-Rangi Playcentre will be in three years.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
29 August 2018
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 |
Bucklands Beach, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25224 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
35 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 19 Girls 16 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent Led |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
June 2018 |
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Date of this report |
29 August 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
December 2010 |
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Education Review |
August 2007 |
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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:
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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-rangi Playcentre Playcentre in East Auckland is a well established centre with close connections to the local community. The centre caters for children up to six years of age and offers four general sessions each week. Learning programmes are implemented by parents/whānau who are also playcentre members. Paid supervisors facilitate an additional ‘Big Kids’ session for older children.
The centre has a history of very good ERO reports. Members have responded positively to recommendations in the 2010 ERO report. Self-review has been effectively used to improve communication systems and to support the extension of children’s interests. Since 2010, members have increased opportunities for older children to plan for and lead learning experiences. Strategies to promote children’s literacy learning have also been strengthened.
The centre is one of 16 playcentres in the Tamaki Playcentre Association, which provides a management and policy framework to guide centre operations. Liaison officers and other Association staff provide support for centres, including adult education programmes to encourage children’s learning.
The Association is currently undergoing a structural review to streamline its systems, policies and practices and ensure the long-term sustainability of the organisation. A key priority is to empower playcentre members to take an active role in the governance of the organisation at the Association level.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Tamaki Playcentre Association.
Children are highly engaged in the centre programme. They enthusiastically explore a wide variety of stimulating learning experiences and particularly enjoy the physical challenges provided. Children benefit from a relaxed, friendly tone which supports their sense of belonging. They confidently communicate their ideas to adults and are well supported to manage their social relationships with other children. Infants are fully involved in the programme provided.
High quality interactions between members and children support children’s learning. Use of openended questions prompts children’s thinking and investigation. Literacy and numeracy learning is skilfully integrated into play-based experiences. Members continue to develop confidence in using te reo Māori.
The programme is strongly based on children’s interests and ideas. Members support these interests by introducing new and exciting experiences for children. Individual and group learning opportunities are valued. Older children have regular opportunities to take responsibility for, to and independently direct, their own learning.
Very good systems are in place to build members’ understanding of effective planning and assessment processes. Members capably communicate with each other to build on children’s learning across different sessions. They could now increase their focus on identifying the impact of the programme on children’s progress over time.
A special feature of the centre is the strong sense of community spirit. This is based on building support networks for centre members both within and outside of the playcentre environment. Experienced members take on buddy roles to support newer members. Members could now reflect on ways to continue to build the capability of buddy mentors through training and shared discussions about best practices.
Leadership approaches promote collaboration and teamwork. Office holder roles are shared to keep the workload manageable and to build the capacity of a wider group of members. Each person’s contribution is valued. Well established and sustainable management systems are evident. Very good quality self-review systems support ongoing improvement. A useful long-term strategic plan has been developed. These practices contribute to a united responsibility for, and sense of ownership of, all aspects of centre operations.
Association management practices are well established. A current strategic review is focused on streamlining association systems, policies and practices to make them more manageable and to build the operational knowledge of playcentre members. Members report that the Association is very responsive to requests for support and guidance to manage the centre. The Association could now consider how staff can support other centres to strengthen their strategic planning and self review practices. Guiding the improved quality of programmes in other centres should be a more important aspect of the liaison officer role.
To build on current high quality practices that effectively promote positive outcomes for children members could:
The cluster review of six playcentres within the Tamaki Playcentre Association has identified areas of governance and management for the Association to address. These include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-rangi 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 Bucklands Beach Ohui-a-rangi Playcentre will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services
Northern Region
18 March 2014
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 |
Bucklands Beach, Auckland |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25224 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 16 aged under 2 |
|
|
Service roll |
44 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls 25 Boys 19 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Indian/European Sri Lankan Other European Other |
27 2 2 5 8 |
|
Review team on site |
November 2013 |
|
|
Date of this report |
18 March 2014 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
December 2010 |
|
Education Review |
August 2007 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2004 |
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.