2 Pitoitoi Street, Days Bay, Lower Hutt
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Days Bay Playcentre is one of 17 centres administered by the Hutt Playcentre Association (the association). The association is made up of elected volunteer representatives from its member centres. It provides governance and management support for the parent committee at Days Bay Playcentre. A kaitautoko, a centre support person is employed by the association to provide guidance.
The playcentre is licensed to operate a mixed-age sessional education and care for 24 children, three mornings a week. This includes 15 children up to the age of two. Many long standing families have moved on, resulting in a large number of new enrolments. Members take advantage of the adult training programme provided by the association and are actively involved in their children's education.
Curriculum planning and implementation is a shared responsibility. Each session is supported by a team of parent educators who hold Playcentre training certificates. The centre employs two supervisors to assist the parent group, with the level of training required to meet legislative requirements for group supervision. An administrator is employed who also has responsibilities for personnel and finance.
The service and the association have a positive reporting history with the ERO.
This review was part of a cluster of eight reviews in the Hutt Playcentre Association.
Children know routines well, have easy access to resources and contribute to decision making. This assists them to settle quickly and fosters a strong sense of belonging and independence. Adults actively engage with children, supporting child-led learning.
The service's philosophy strongly reflects the playcentre philosophy of children learning through play in a parent-led education service. The principles and strands of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. It is responsive to children's interests and developmental milestones.
The centre environment has flexible learning spaces and open ended resources that promote curiosity, inquiry and exploration. The individual needs of all children, including those up to the age of two years, are well supported. The outdoor environment encourages physical play.
Assessment, curriculum planning and evaluation practices provide adults with useful information to help them plan programmes responsive to children's interests, strengths and if required, identified needs. Children revisit their profile books to reflect on their learning and past experiences. Significant progress has been made in improving assessment, planning and evaluation practices. Members have identified the need to continue to strengthen planning and assessment of children's learning. Planned workshops for new members should continue to help their understanding of children's assessment.
Bicultural practice is developing. Members have identified they plan to increase their use of te reo Māori in the programme. The inclusion of te ao Māori and acknowledgement of children's cultures, languages and identities continues to develop. Centre members acknowledge the need to continue to explore ways to promote educational success for Māori children. ERO's evaluation affirms this development.
Parents and whānau are well supported in their role as new members including opportunities to participate in Playcentre training. They take time to build positive and respectful relationships with each other. This promotes an inclusive environment.
The association is an improvement focused organisation committed to providing timely and relevant support for its member centres. The August 2013 ERO report found the support provided at the centre level by kaitautoko was appreciated and supportive. ERO also recognised that formalising this arrangement to promote a more effective approach for responding to the needs of individual centres was a next step for development. An evaluation of the effectiveness of changes to kaitautoko practice in improving outcomes for centre members and children is planned for.
Considerable work has been undertaken to strengthen review and internal evaluation and this continues as a self-identified priority for development. Continuing to develop members' knowledge and understanding of self review with a focus on improving outcomes for children is a next step.
The August 2013 ERO report identified that members should strengthen the approach to assessment, planning and evaluation, self review and their bicultural practice. Progress in these areas is ongoing.
The association should assist playcentre members to:
strengthen the bicultural programme and further develop strategies to promote educational success for Māori children
improve their understanding of self review and evaluation.
The association:
must implement rigorous annual appraisal for kaitautoko and identify appropriate professional development to support them in their leadership roles.
should build kaitautoko knowledge and capability to undertake effective internal evaluation. This should include a focus on providing centre members with evaluative feedback that assists them to further develop aspects of the curriculum and centre practice.
Before the review, the staff and management of Days Bay 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance relating to governance and management practices. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following area:
The next ERO review of Days Bay Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
24 June 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.
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Location |
Lower Hutt |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
60014 |
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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 |
24 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
25 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 15, Boys 10 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other Ethnic Groups |
3 18 4 |
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Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
April 2016 |
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Date of this report |
24 June 2016 |
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Most recent ERO report(s)
|
Education Review |
August 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
August 2009 |
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Education Review |
June 2006 |
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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 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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
While many members are new to management roles, their collective commitment and wellconsidered forward planning, coupled with strong support from the Hutt Playcentre Association, (the association) positions this service well to improve and sustain good practice.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The playcentre is one of 18 administered by the association. Bicultural partnership is integral to the way the association operates. An executive committee provides guidance and support for centre members. This includes leadership for strategic planning, financial management and policy development, and for decisions about the education programme, property and equipment.
A kaitautoko, centre support person employed by the association, visits and provides professional advice, feedback and role modelling to strengthen practice and promote improvement. The recently commenced review of the association’s structure, supported by an external consultant, is aimed at improving operation and ensuring the sustainability of playcentres.
The centre runs three mixed-age sessions per week. The majority of children attending are aged up to three years. An ongoing challenge is retaining them to primary school age. Many parents choose to stay for all sessions. The philosophy emphasises the importance of child-led play and a supportive family environment to empower children in their learning.
There has recently been an influx of new families. A core group of long-term members share responsibility for leading the programme. A collective approach to managing operations has been implemented. There is an ongoing focus on promoting leadership. Members employ an administrator. Two of the three sessions are led by paid supervisors. Approximately a third of members have completed Course 2 and 3 (Te Puna and Te Manga) Playcentre Certificates.
The centre has been extensively renovated and extended since the 2009 ERO review. This was also in preparation for licensing under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, which occurred in 2012. The centre has a positive reporting history with ERO.
This review was part of a cluster of nine playcentre reviews in the Hutt Playcentre Association.
Members maintain a wide variety of high quality resources and learning materials. These are freely available for children. The outdoor area provides good opportunities for physical play and adventurous activities. A calm and positive tone is evident. Children are cooperative and settled. They enjoy the environment with its many opportunities for investigation and independent learning.
Adults are responsive and purposeful in their engagement with children. Some members demonstrate well-developed strategies that facilitate learning. These give children time and opportunities to make decisions and solve their own problems. These adults know when to stand back and when to join in and work alongside children to promote particular ideas or extend play. Supporting other members to use these strategies across the centre should result in enhanced opportunities for children to direct their own learning.
Members have a flexible approach to planning daily sessions linked to children's emerging interests and Playcentre philosophy. Creative self expression is encouraged. Literacy and numeracy are well integrated into the programme in the context of play and everyday happenings. There is consistently good support for social and language learning. Profile books are valued records of individual’s participation and learning.
Through in-depth daily discussion, adults share information about children’s developing interests which may be used to plan suitable activities for subsequent sessions. Core group members continue to support others to understand learning linked to the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki. They agree that review and development of their approach to assessment, planning and evaluation should continue to be a priority.
A Māori perspective is evident in the centre environment and is developing in the programme. Children and adults use karakia and waiata as part of their regular routine. The centre philosophy does not yet include consideration of bicultural partnership. This is valued and strongly promoted by the association.
Parents work hard to provide learning experiences for children of all ages. There is a protected area and resources for non-mobile infants when they attend sessions. Toddlers are able to be active participants in all aspects of the programme. They are nurtured by all and are comfortable to explore the playcentre environment. Older children are supported to interact well with those who are younger. Relationships have been developed with local schools. This should provide good support for families with children moving to primary school.
Core group members are strongly focused on improvement and ensuring the sustainability of the centre. They work consistently to foster leadership, collective self management and community awareness of Playcentre philosophy. They continue to review and develop their management approach.
Roles and responsibilities have been clarified to support newer members’ involvement and understanding of expectations. Opportunities to meet, reflect on progress and discuss centre business are timetabled regularly. Members agree, a more formal self-review process should be implemented to better inform decision making about improvement.
The kaitautoko provides regular and valued feedback to support members in their roles. A more formalised approach focused on developing particular skills and knowledge should strengthen reflection on practice over time.
The association has a proactive approach to governance. It works alongside members effectively to support self management.
Further development is needed to strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation, particularly in relation to:
Members need to further develop their understanding and use of self review. This should include working through the association self-review resources and building understanding of evaluation to promote and sustain improvement.
Using the association bicultural indicators should help members to build their understanding of bicultural partnership.
Before the review, the staff and management of Days Bay 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.
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Days Bay Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services Central Region (Acting)
29 August 2013
|
Location |
Days Bay, Lower Hutt |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
60014 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
24 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
31 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 16, Girls 15 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Other European Other ethnic groups |
2 19 6 4 |
|
|
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
June 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
29 August 2013 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2009 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 2006 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2003 |
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.