Te Mai Road, Woodhill, Whangarei
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.
Horahora Playcentre is open for two sessions each week for up to 19 children between birth and school age. Most children are Māori and whakapapa to hapū in Northland. In addition, SPACE Northland offers two sessions each week for a group of parents and their infants.
The Playcentre philosophy values parents/whānau as the first and best educators of their children. They take on roles and responsibilities that contribute to the running of the centre. This structure offers opportunities for emergent leadership.
In the past two years the centre has had a significant growth in membership and has upgraded the building and outdoor area. Many parents/whānau are currently enrolled in Playcentre adult education programmes. They have responded positively to areas for development identified in ERO's 2014 report, which included strengthening curriculum and self-review processes.
The centre is part of the Northland Playcentre Association, which provides governance and management support for 31 Playcentres in Northland. The Association provides systems and adult education programmes to help members manage centres and support their children's learning. A centre support worker (CSW) regularly visits each centre. The Association also provides education support for five Playcentres in the Far North.
Playcentre Aotearoa is in the process of a national restructure. It is expected that a new regional manager and centre support personnel will be appointed towards the end of 2017.
This review was part of a cluster of 10 Playcentre reviews in the Northland Playcentre Association.
Children at Horahora Playcentre have a strong sense of wellbeing and show pride in being part of their centre. They develop friendships and positive relationships with adults and other children. Older children participate in collaborative and imaginative play. Tuakana/teina relationships amongst children are promoted well.
Children have fun, are encouraged to explore resources and are able to make choices about how and where they play. Parents/whānau work with and alongside each other’s children. There are good examples of adults using open questions and rich vocabulary to prompt and extend children’s thinking and language development.
The outdoor environment supports children to explore and build their physical skills. The indoor environment is spacious and creatively presented, and provides a good range of learning resources. A specific area contains a selection of equipment suitable for infants.
Te reo me ōna tikanga Māori are integrated throughout the programme and centre environment. A key group of centre members leads and models this integration and learning. They support and enhance adults' and children's knowledge of tikanga and Māori values.
Good structures are in place to support parents/whānau to improve programme planning, assessment and evaluation in ways that align with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Group and individual learning experiences are planned for each session and recorded in a day-book. Assessment records show children's programme experiences and their learning progress over time.
Centre members work well as a team, encourage emergent leadership and share decision making. They place children at the heart of what they do and have a strong commitment to continuous improvement. Members use internal evaluation to identify what is working well and what improvements are needed. They could now record the positive outcomes for children that happen as a result of changes made.
Programme documentation shows that SPACE Northland facilitators plan flexible programmes to support parents' and infants' learning. As the SPACE programme progresses, facilitators explain the learning that happens as part of infants' play experiences. They foster parents' increased understanding of young children's learning very well. Day-book and individual assessment records show parents' increasing knowledge as they begin to record what they notice about their children's learning.
The centre support worker (CSW) is aware of the strengths and needs of the centre. Her support helps members to foster positive learning outcomes for children. The CSW provides good leadership to sustain improvement and growth. Centre members appreciate that the CSW is available to answer their questions and share information that adds to their collective knowledge.
The Association continues to provide a sound management framework to assist members in managing their centres. Centre members' leadership and increased participation in adult education courses help to sustain the Association and centre viability. The governance board works collaboratively to share information with centre members as they respond to changes, including the national restructure.
Next steps for centre members are to:
To enhance current practices in all Northland Playcentres, the new regional manager and support personnel should assist centre members to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Horahora 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 Horahora Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
6 October 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 |
Woodhill, Whangarei |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
16766 |
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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 |
19 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
34 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 19 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
15 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
Parent led |
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Reported ratios of adults 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 |
August 2017 |
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Date of this report |
6 October 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
August 2014 |
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Education Review |
May 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:
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.
Horahora Playcentre is a small urban service situated within the grounds of the Horahora School. Centre practices are based on the Playcentre philosophy of families learning and growing together. The centre caters for children from birth to school age and is open for a family session one day a week. The centre is licensed for nineteen children and has a current role of six children.
At the time of the 2009 ERO report, twenty-eight children were enrolled at the centre and sessions were held four days a week. Over the past three years the centre has found it difficult to attract and keep members. Currently membership training levels are low. Since the 2009 ERO report the centre has been relicensed under the 2008 Early Childhood Regulations. Very recently several visitors have shown an interest in the centre and centre leaders believe membership will grow.
The 2009 ERO report recommended that centre members develop programmes focussed on further extending children’s emerging interests. The report also recommended that members continue to promote course training, encourage emerging leadership and continue to refine self-review. Centre members continue work to address these recommendations.
The playcentre operates as part of the Northland Playcentre Association. The association is the umbrella organisation for twenty-three centres, covering a wide geographical area. Many of these centres are rural or semi-rural with a high turnover of membership. The association manages and distributes centre funding and provides a training programme for parents/whānau to achieve playcentre qualifications. It also has systems to support centre members to manage the playcentres and to provide educational programmes for children. The association support workers carry out the administrative workload for its members. They have reviewed ways to make courses more manageable and accessible for centre members and have implemented a ‘course two in a term’ initiative.
This review was part of a cluster of four playcentre reviews in the Northland Playcentre Association.
Horahora Playcentre is well placed to promote positive outcomes for children. Although the playcentre has a very transient membership, the centre president has worked hard, with association support, to keep the centre open over the last three years. Most members are new to the centre and are still becoming familiar with playcentre expectations and philosophy for working with children.
Children play alongside their parents, exploring a range of activities provided. They use the library to read together. Some children approach other children and are beginning to play cooperatively. An attractive, well maintained outdoor area provides children with opportunities to be physically active.
Centre members have recently elected a new president, secretary and treasurer. As they develop their knowledge of their roles, the centre support worker should be able to focus more of her time on modelling effective ways of working with children for centre members.
The association provides a basic framework to guide centre operations and offers training opportunities for parents and caregivers of children attending its centres. Strategic and annual plans are in place. Centre members could now consider ways to strengthen these to include measurable, achievable, improvement focussed goals, together with timelines and details about how these plans will be achieved over time.
Commitment to promoting a bicultural partnership with Māori whānau is evident in the Northland Playcentre Association policies and procedures. The association has developed Te Roopu Whakaaro Kotahi as a forum to support whānau Māori in playcentres. However, bicultural practices need to be further strengthened. The New Zealand Playcentre Federation’s Te Tiriti O Waitangi framework could be used to promote ongoing development if Association support is to impact authentically on bicultural practices in Northland Association Playcentres.
ERO and centre members agree that in order to better provide positive learning outcomes for children, they should work with the association to:
develop a culture of ongoing self review to improve the quality of the programme.
ERO recommends that the Northland Playcentre Association continues to work closely with Horahora Playcentre members to support existing members and attract and retain new members.
Before the review, the staff and management of Horahora 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 Horahora Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey National Manager Review Services Northern Region
14 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 |
Woodhill, Whangarei |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
16766 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
19 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
6 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 4 Boys 2 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
5 1 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
December 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 March 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2009 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2006 |
||
|
Accountability Review |
August 2002 |
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.