Schools Grounds Western Valley Road, Little River
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Little River Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little River Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative under the governance and management of the Playcentre Federation, Upper South Island Region. This centre is licensed for up to 25 children, including 10 children under two. The centre is open three mornings a week.
The playcentre employs two coordinators. Parents are rostered to help at each session. The Upper South Island Region employs a centre support person and an administrator who regularly visit the playcentre to support the parents and coordinators.
The centre's philosophy places a strong emphasis on the important role of parents in their children's learning and wellbeing, and identifies the significance of play, and children and adults learning together. Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whāriki (2017), the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum, also reinforce aspects of the centre's aspirations.
The parent cooperative has made some progress towards meeting the recommendations in the 2014 ERO review report. Areas for ongoing improvement include monitoring of strategic planning and goals, and ensuring that assessment processes clearly identify learning outcomes for children.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Playcentre Federation, Upper South Island Region.
Children and adults enjoy positive and affirming relationships. They know each other well from their regular contact at the centre and in the wider community. Adults work effectively within the parent cooperative. They share common beliefs about children's learning and wellbeing. As a result, children are well supported to value and respect others and work alongside and with each other.
Children are actively engaged in meaningful learning. The playcentre provides a wide range of activities and resources for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Children confidently choose their learning, work at their own pace and take the time they need to achieve success in their learning. Adults know the children's interests, provide additional resources and use a range of approaches to help children think more deeply and problem solve.
Children's knowledge, interests and understandings are regularly extended by the wide range of skills and interests that adults share in the programme. Extensive use is made of the local community to build children's appreciation of their environment. Promoting sustainability, growing vegetables and maintaining the environment are features of the centre's local curriculum. A strong relationship with the neighbouring school, and regular reciprocal visits and information sharing, help to ensure children transition easily into school.
Some te reo and tikanga Māori are evident in centre practices. The adults now need a planned approach for continuing to increase bicultural aspects within the programme and centre documents.
Members of the parent cooperative are making appropriate use of Te Whāriki (2017). Coordinators and parents are partners in children's learning. Parents' aspirations for their children are sought and carefully aligned to children's interests and the strands and goals of Te Whāriki. Coordinators and parents work closely to help children achieve their goals. Extending documentation to include the evaluation of children's learning outcomes should provide useful information on the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Internal evaluation is used well to identify and improve what is important for children's learning. Adults use an appropriate process to identify what is going well, next steps and action plans. However, outcomes as a result of evaluation are not always clear. A more defined process, and better documentation of the review, would make it more useful as a reference for further evaluations. It would also help to better identify those practices and approaches that are having the most positive impact on children's learning and wellbeing.
The centre parents and coordinators are well supported by the Upper South Island Region Playcentre Federation.
The parent cooperative and ERO's evaluation confirms that the key next steps include:
There continues to be significant change occurring with the playcentre's governance and management at regional and federation levels.
Before the review, the staff and management of Little River 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.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
30 May 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 |
Little River |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
70082 |
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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 2 |
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Service roll |
21 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 9, Girls 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
17 |
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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 |
February 2019 |
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Date of this report |
30 May 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2014 |
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Education Review |
July 2010 |
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Education Review |
March 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:
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 |
Little River Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Little River Playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent co-operative with parents encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the centre’s programme and operation. Playcentre philosophy is based on the belief that children reach their full potential when their parents understand their development and take part in the learning process.
Since the last ERO review in July 2010, there has been a complete change of the coordination team and parent committee. There is a strong focus on encouraging parents to continue further training to develop the centre’s capacity to have more funded sessions. The playcentre is now open three sessions a week. It has three coordinators, with higher playcentre training, who take responsibility for supporting the parent group to run the programme for children.
The playcentre is located in a rural area, adjacent to a local school. It is the only early childhood service in the area. The playcentre is well supported by a dedicated parent committee and the interested local community.
Children and families are warmly welcomed by the parent group. They foster positive and supportive relationships that help parents and children to develop a good sense of belonging.
The parent group helps all children to be well involved in all aspects of the playcentre programme. Children with specific learning needs and their families are well supported through sensitive and individual responses.
Infants and toddlers are seen as young learners and a valued part of playcentre. Adults support them to access resources in ways that are meaningful to them. Secure relationships built up over time help children to develop a positive sense of self, and the confidence to freely explore and make their own discoveries.
Adults and children enjoy each other’s company and have fun together as play partners within an increasingly child-led programme. Children are encouraged to try new things. Adults praise children’s efforts and celebrate their successes.
Adults work well together. They value and make effective use of parent skills and community resources to promote what is important to the parent group, including bicultural perspectives and practices. Visitors to the playcentre and visits into the wider community help children to make purposeful links to people, places and things that are of importance in the local area. Established relationships and reciprocal visits with the local school provide a very supportive transition process for children.
Children benefit from a wide range of quality resources that are presented in ways that inspire their curiosity and investigation. The outdoor area has been recently upgraded to provide interesting experiences and physical challenges for children.
Attractively presented profile books capture significant aspects of children’s interests and participation in the programme. This provides a treasured record for children and families to revisit.
The effective and proactive parent cooperative supports further education that is focused on early childhood education and care. They promote a shared leadership approach to the roles and responsibilities within the playcentre. Parents are very reflective and have regular discussions about the ongoing improvement of the playcentre programme. They make good use of self review and continue to look at ways to make the process easier for new parents to understand and use.
The Canterbury Playcentre Association framework and guidelines help the parent group understand its legal requirements. The parent group finds the support of the centre support person from the association useful.
In order to build on the good work that the parent group has achieved the key next steps are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Little River 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 Little River Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
12 June 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 |
Little River |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
70082 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
36 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 22 Girls 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Asian |
8 22 3 |
|
|
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 |
April 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
12 June 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review |
July 2010 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2007 |
||
|
Education Review |
April 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:
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.