8 Enner Glynn Road, Wakatu, Nelson
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Enner Glynn Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Enner Glynn Playcentre is one of 78 playcentres in the upper South Island region. It operates four morning sessions each week and is licensed for 30 children, including up to 20 aged up to two years. Of the 25 children enrolled, four are Māori.
At the time of its May 2015 ERO review the centre was one of 13 administered by the Nelson Playcentre Association, under the umbrella of The New Zealand Playcentre Federation Inc. In June 2019, the 32 associations nationwide amalgamated into one new entity, a charitable trust, Playcentre Aotearoa, (the organisation). Nelson playcentres are now managed as part of a regional hub of the new organisation.
A centre support worker (CSW), employed by the organisation, regularly visits the playcentre and provides professional advice and feedback to strengthen the programme for children. A centre administrator (CA) works with members to support compliance with regulations. Day-to-day management is the role of centre-elected office holders. Three paid session facilitators with recognised levels of training provide ongoing support for the implementation of the daily programme.
The Playcentre philosophy recognises the importance of parents working together, alongside their children, to support their self-initiated play and promote their learning.
This review was one of five in Playcentre Aotearoa, Nelson region.
Children's choices, creativity and self-expression are valued and encouraged. The daily programme is largely child led with adults providing activities to provoke interest, new ideas and investigation. Aspects of literacy, mathematics and science are introduced in play-based ways. Provision for infants and toddlers is well developed.
Children have access to a wide range of learning materials and experiences. Well-organised areas of play promote their interest and participation. The outdoor area effectively promotes adventure and challenge. Children enjoy the range of opportunities provided. Many sustain their independent play for long periods.
The programme is responsive to children's needs and emerging interests. Adults participate alongside their children and encourage them to investigate, socialise, make choices and have fun. Aspects of literacy and mathematics are introduced in play-based ways. Science related provocations and explorations are effectively incorporated through the areas of play. Children are settled, cooperative, confident and independent learners.
Session evaluations not only provide evidence that consideration is regularly given to the bicultural curriculum and cultural responsiveness. Members regularly discuss how complexity can be added to children's investigations. Links to Te Whāriki are incorporated in assessments of children's learning.
Members agree that the organisations acknowledgement of the importance of bicultural partnership has yet to be adequately reflected in centre practice. As a next step they intend to identify the aspirations whānau Māori have for their children's learning to support a more meaningful approach to planning for learning.
A core group of members and the session facilitators are working alongside the CSW to provide strong support for this parent collective. A real sense of community is evident along with a well-established sense of team. High levels of engagement and participation were evident by both children and the adults who were focused on meeting their needs. Nelson-based CSWs are receiving targeted professional learning and development from the organisation linked to regional priorities for improvement. A more evaluative approach to CSW support for centres, including reporting that is more responsive to needs, is in the early stages of implementation.
An appraisal process is in place to support the development of the CSW and session facilitators' practice. Implementation of the process should be strengthened to ensure sufficient rigour particularly in relation to goal setting, observations of practice and feedback. The CA has yet to benefit from an appraisal and targeted training opportunities.
A comprehensive range of Nelson Playcentre Association policies continue to support centre operation. Many are past their review date and no longer reflect current legislation. New policy guidelines, developed by the organisation in 2018, are about to be adopted at centre level. These should support shared understanding of the new organisation's expectations and accountabilities.
Self review is valued and a regular part of practice and informs improvement. Implementation of internal evaluation is being strongly supported by the organisation. Understanding and use of this more improvement-focused approach is developing well at this centre. The format of the annual plan should be further developed, including strengthening links to ongoing internal evaluation.
The restructure of Playcentre operation is being carefully worked through to support a new and more sustainable future for the organisation. The regional office provides a range of valuable support including a new role designed to redistribute the management of compliance and administration. There is also improved assistance for members to implement curriculum, internal evaluation, adult education, and manage marketing and property matters. Leaders report that recent changes are already resulting in increased collaboration between centres and interest in Playcentre philosophy.
ERO and regional leaders agree that the organisation should continue to prioritise:
support for the CSW and session facilitators to promote playcentre members' understanding of programme planning and evaluation, te ao Māori and implementation of a bicultural curriculum
development of CSW support and reporting
review and further development of the appraisal process for the CSWs and session facilitators.
The continuing focus on strengthening leadership, growing a sense of community, parent participation and collaboration between playcentres should continue.
Before the review, the staff and management of Enner Glynn 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.
To improve current practice, the service provider should ensure that the service has a complete set of up-to-date policy guidelines which members are supported to implement. Currently practice does not match all the requirements of the new policies in the following areas hazard management, risk assessment for excursions, emergency management. In addition, the following needs attention:
clarify police vetting requirements for centre administration personnel.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
19 November 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 |
Nelson |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65008 |
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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 20 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
25 |
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Gender composition |
Males 13, Females 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
July 2019 |
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Date of this report |
19 November 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2012 |
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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 |
Enner Glynn Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Enner Glynn Playcentre operates under the guidance of the Nelson Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative. Parents are encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the programme and centre operation. A feature of Nelson Playcentres is the provision of a whānau room. These rooms are well used by parents to rest, socialise, care for very young children and participate in training.
This playcentre operate five morning sessions a week. The centre operates a well-supported programme twice a week for mothers and their babies. The positive outcome of this programme is the enrolment of these children into the daily sessions. The provision of a comfortable and spacious whānau room ensures parents feel valued and an essential part of the centre.
The centre has made some progress towards addressing the recommendations from the 2012 ERO review report. This includes planning, assessment and evaluation, and a developing understanding of self review.
This review was part of a cluster of 14 playcentre reviews in the Nelson Playcentre Association.
Children learn in a calm, welcoming and child-centred environment. Children are initiating their own play and requesting support from parents when needed.
Parents are actively involved in children’s learning. This is evident in the way the environment is prepared, both indoors and outdoors. There is a strong focus on literacy, science and the natural environment.
The diverse needs of children are well supported. Children’s home cultures and countries of origin are celebrated and valued by the centre. Many parents have chosen to write learning stories in the children’s home language.
There are helpful prompts in te reo Māori displayed in key areas of the centre. However, supervisors and parents don’t feel confident with using te reo Māori regularly in the programme.
The centre has useful processes for planning, evaluation and assessment. The planning board contains regular, updated information about children’s learning in each session. Supervisors and adults on session contribute to this information.
Assessment of children’s learning is well documented. There are good examples of analysis, including the role of the adult, parent voice and sometimes children’s opinions.
Parents are working well as a cooperative. The resignation of experienced staff has motivated a number of parents to move into supervision and management roles. Parents have adapted to new ways of doing things.
Self review is evident and is developing. This is contributing to a greater level of knowledge and understanding about the formal management of good practice to support children’s learning.
The association, supervisors and parents identified, and ERO agrees that the next key steps to improving learning outcomes for children include:
strengthening processes for sustaining a focus on bicultural Aotearoa/New Zealand and the use of te reo Māori
The playcentres, with support from the association are increasing their interest in te reo and tikanga Māori, and getting to know Māori parents and their aspirations better. The re-establishment of Te Rōpū, a special group for Māori parents, is beginning to grow Māori parents’ confidence and pride in being Māori.
Playcentre environments are inviting, attractively presented, well resourced and spacious. Good use is made of self review to ensure the wide range of equipment and resources are regularly updated and build children’s creativity, confidence and resourcefulness. Centres often have a strong focus on literacy, mathematics and science.
Families are valued and provided with considerable support in their parenting role. Parent-education courses are held during playcentre sessions and the majority of parents attend. A high percentage of parents are progressing quickly through the education courses.
Children and parents are well supported by experienced and long-serving supervision team members, who have also been or still are playcentre parents. Supervision team members provide considerable support to parents to understand and put into practice:
Individual centres are well supported by the association executive and the liaison officers who have a good knowledge of children’s wellbeing and learning, and playcentre operation. They are committed to making playcentres work well for families.
The association and centres have a good range of policies and procedures to guide the day-to-day operation of individual playcentres. The liaison officers use their extensive knowledge of playcentre to ensure the centres provide high standards of health and safety, are well maintained and activities are well presented and interesting for children.
There continues to be significant change occurring in the structure of governance and management at association and federation levels.
The association executive and ERO agree that the key next steps for the association to continue to provide positive outcomes for all children include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Enner Glynn 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 Enner Glynn Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
11 May 2015
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 |
Nelson |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65008 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
13 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 7; Boys 6 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Czech |
1 11 1 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
11 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
March 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
August 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 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.