9 Crows Nest Road, Hukerenui
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.
Hukerenui Playcentre is located in the grounds of Hukerenui School. It offers three sessions each week for 21 children between birth and school age. There are two mixed-age sessions and a 'Big Kids' session for four-year-old children. In the past three years the centre has experienced a significant growth in membership. Many centre members are currently enrolled in Playcentre adult education programmes.
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.
Centre members have responded positively to areas for development identified in ERO's 2014 report. These areas included aligning long-term and annual plans with internal evaluation systems and continuing to increase adult education levels.
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 Hukerenui Playcentre are confident, creative and curious. Infants and toddlers have opportunities to explore, make choices and try out new activities. Older children play cooperatively and sometimes lead small group activities. They initiate imaginative play, learn about the natural world and experience physical challenge in a spacious outdoor area. Children participate with enthusiasm in pōwhiri, waiata and karakia.
Positive relationships between families foster a sense of community and shared purpose. Together, parents/whānau provide a play-based programme that is responsive to children’s interests. Adults listen to, and respond to children's ideas. They provide a range of learning experiences that promote investigation, innovation and hands-on learning. Adults recognise when to offer extra resources that affirm and foster children's sustained play.
Parents/whānau have developed good planning systems to guide the programme. Assessment information records children's individual interests and their participation in group experiences. Individual assessment and 'day-book' records include clear links with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.
Parents/whānau and school staff have developed shared understandings about positive ways to support young children's learning. These shared understandings contribute to a cooperative, mutual approach that nurtures children's wellbeing as they move onto school.
Centre members' enthusiasm for Playcentre training reflects their commitment to having an active role in their children’s education. Experienced members recognise they should continue to model effective practices, to build the capacity of all members to contribute to the curriculum and centre operations.
Members have made good progress towards their identified long-term and annual goals. They are capably managing the centre rebuild on a new site within the school grounds. Members have developed a robust internal evaluation system. They could now document how long-term and annual goals contribute to improved outcomes for children and families.
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:
Before the review, the staff and management of Hukerenui 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 Hukerenui Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
6 November 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 |
Hukerenui, Northland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17663 |
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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 |
21 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
25 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 17 Girls 8 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
3 |
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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 |
|
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 November 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
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Education Review |
February 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.
Hukerenui Playcentre is a small rural service situated within the grounds of the Hukerenui 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 twenty-one children and has a current role of eleven children. It is well resourced with an outdoor learning environment that invites children to explore and to take on physical challenges.
The centre enjoys a close, reciprocal relationship with the adjoining school. Children benefit from the use of some school facilities and opportunities to join in many school activities. Children’s transition to school is well supported as they know many of the school staff members and are familiar with the buildings. Most children from the playcentre join their friends and siblings already attending the school.
At the time of the 2010 ERO report, centre membership and training levels were low. Sessions were only funded when an association support worker attended. Centre members currently have sufficient training levels to enable all sessions to be funded. Since the 2010 ERO report the centre has been relicensed under the 2008 Early Childhood Regulations.
The playcentre operates as part of the Northland Playcentre Association. The association is the umbrella organisation for twenty-three playcentres, 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’s funding and provides a training programme for parents/whānau to achieve playcentre qualifications. It also has good 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 rural 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.
Hukerenui Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The playcentre philosophy of families learning together within a child-initiated play programme is well evident in the centre. Parents and whānau share in the supervision of each other’s children.
Children are engaged in play for long periods of time. Behaviour management and social skills are fostered in caring ways. Aspects of literacy, mathematics and science are incorporated naturally into children’s play. There are examples of children playing co-operatively with friends, looking out for each other and being involved in imaginative play. Children under two are cared for by their parents and supported to access activities well suited to their age and developmental stages.
Centre members plan for the daily programme using information they have gathered about children’s interests. They provide interesting resources to scaffold children’s learning. Adults allow children to take the lead and make their own decisions about their play. Routines are generally flexible giving children choices about when to eat and where to play. While some parents/whānau engage in good learning conversations with children, this is an area that could be further promoted by all adults.
Children’s learning is recorded in their ‘daily book’ and portfolios in a variety of ways. Some learning stories record children’s ideas, and identify possible next steps. Centre members could think about ways of identifying and incorporating what they observe about children’s dispositions into learning stories.
The association management team provides training opportunities for parents and caregivers of the children attending its centres. It also provides systems and personnel to support the operation of the centre. The Playcentre philosophy statement has been personalised to the Hukerenui Playcentre and is modelled for new members by long-standing members. Centre specific strategic and annual planning is in place. While strategic plans include measurable, achievable, improvement focussed goals, they could now include timelines and detail how these plans will be achieved over time. Annual plans should also be better linked to strategic plans. They should include timelines, person responsible and enough details to ensure that goals are implemented over time.
Centre members are enthusiastic about their involvement in playcentre. A small group of centre members have shown a high level of commitment over several years to providing good quality programmes and to growing membership and parent/whānau qualification levels. They have taken on leadership roles and enabled new members to transition into the centre at their own pace. This commitment has enabled the playcentre to now meet funding levels independently. The core group of members has grown and, together with the association, are planning ways to increase and sustain training levels.
Commitment to promoting a bicultural partnership with whānau Māori 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. Kaiawhina have been appointed to help members develop bicultural practice and resourcing in centres. However, bicultural practices now 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. Centre members use a low-key approach to developing their own knowledge of te reo and tikanga within the centre. Centre members acknowledge they are still developing their knowledge in this area.
The next steps for Hukerenui Playcentre are to:
Playcentre leaders are responsive to external reviews. While they have established processes for self-review, these could be further developed to self identify and maintain improvements over time.
Before the review, the staff and management of Hukerenui 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 Hukerenui 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 |
Hukerenui |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17663 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
21 children, including up to 12 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
11 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 8 Boys 3 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Chinese German |
1 8 1 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 |
November 2013 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 March 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 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.