Cheltenham Street, Hanmer Springs
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Hanmer Springs Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Hanmer Springs 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 playcentre programme and management.
Hanmer Springs Playcentre operates two morning sessions a week. It has a close relationship with the adjoining primary school. Many of the families work in the tourist industry or on local farms and are often in the area for a short time. The playcentre provides a meeting place for families with young children, particularly families new to the area.
This is the centre's first review. It has previously operated for a number of years as a playgroup affiliated to the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
This review was part of a cluster review of nine playcentres in the Canterbury Playcentre Association.
Children enjoy a welcoming and inclusive environment where they are well supported in their learning and their wellbeing is nurtured. Parents competently join in play and have fun with children. They actively encourage children to be leaders, to listen, include others and problem solve. Children are fully involved in their own learning and confidently share their knowledge and experiences with others.
Infants and toddlers are valued members of the playcentre family. They are well known to, and cared for by, all adults. The parents recently completed an internal evaluation that has resulted in a well-presented and resourced infant area. This area is well used by infants and older children who respectfully care for and play with the younger children.
The environment is inviting and resources are easy for children to select and use to extend their play. Children's interests are clearly reflected in the indoor presentation. The wide range of resources provides many opportunities for children to extend their knowledge and skills across the early childhood curriculum. Internal evaluations, particularly of the environment, are effectively used by the parents to ensure the presentation remains interesting. Resources are regularly increased to include children's interests and local contexts.
Parents are actively involved in all aspects of centre operations. They have effectively used association personnel, systems, guidelines and practices to establish a good foundation for centre management. They have also strengthened their own knowledge and skills as parents and members of the playcentre community.
Parents make very good use of the playcentre parent training programme and benefit from the regular visits of the centre support and education teams. They have used these opportunities to develop a useful knowledge of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, the ways that children learn and the many ways that they can record children's learning and parent aspirations. Parents are all involved in assessment and planning and confidently encourage others.
The centre strategic plan is closely linked to the association goals. Parents find the plan useful in helping them monitor how well they are achieving the centre goals and priorities.
The Canterbury Playcentre Association has made significant progress since the 2014 ERO cluster review. They have implemented a strategic plan that effectively identifies goals, plans and progress. The centre support and education teams have been structured to provide more efficient and timely support and guidance for the centres. The parent education programme has become more accessible to parents. Noticeably more parents are participating in all levels of the training and are making good use of this new knowledge in the centres. The centre support team is successfully facilitating the sharing of useful knowledge and practices across centres.
The association has high expectations for every child to experience high quality education and all parents to be actively involved in parent education and the management of the centres. They have established some very useful systems and practices to ensure the sustainability and improvement of the organisation and the centres. This includes effective evaluation and monitoring of the quality of education for parents and improved outcomes for children.
The key next steps for the association are to:
review how well the individual playcentre philosophies are meeting the changing contexts of centres
implement appraisals for the members of the centre support team that align more closely with centre needs and association expectations.
The association, parents and ERO agree that the next key steps include:
strengthening assessment and planning by focusing more on learning outcomes for children and the ways that adults support this learning
extending internal evaluation to focus more on outcomes for children and on all areas of centre operations
increasing te ao Māori in the programme and links with the local Māori community to ensure Māori children experience success as Māori.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hanmer Springs 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 areas of non-compliance relating to appraisal. To meet requirements the association needs to improve its performance in the following areas:
implement a system of regular appraisal for members of the Education Support Team.
[Regulation 47 (GMA7) Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008]
The next ERO review of Hanmer Springs Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu
14 March 2017
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 |
Hanmer Springs |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
46380 |
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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 two |
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Service roll |
17 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 10; Boys 7 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnicities |
0 15 2 |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
October 2016 |
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Date of this report |
14 March 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report |
No previous ERO reports |
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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.