84 Aranui Road, Mapua
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Mapua Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mapua Playcentre is one of 78 playcentres in the upper South Island region. It operates for three morning sessions each week and is licensed for 25 children, including up to 15 aged up to two years. Most children are enrolled for one session per week. Many attend other early childhood services. There is a relatively high turnover of young families in this community. A large proportion of parents and caregivers (members) are new to the centre and Playcentre philosophy.
Playcentre philosophy recognises the importance of parents working together, alongside their children, to support their self-initiated play and promote their learning.
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. A paid session facilitator with recognised levels of training provides ongoing support for the implementation of the daily programme.
The 2015 ERO report identified key next steps for improvement. These included increasing the use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and the involvement of Māori whānau in the programme, and developing leadership and self review.
This review is one of five in the 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. There is dedicated play space and learning materials for non-mobile babies. A recent focus celebrates older children's efforts to support younger peers. Children are settled, cooperative and independent learners.
Children benefit from the wide range of learning experiences provided. Well organised areas of play promote their interest and participation. The outdoor area is equipped to promote exploration, adventure and challenge. Children make the most of the opportunities provided. Many sustain their independent play for long periods.
Leaders continue to strongly promote parents' active participation in the life to the centre. The induction process is being reviewed and new initiatives introduced to ensure new members' needs are being met.
Children's needs and emerging interests form the basis of the daily programme. A core group of members has made good progress in strengthening the centre's approach to planning. Tools and collaborative processes for supporting individual children's learning and progress have been introduced. There is now a stronger focus on identifying learning rather than activities as a basis for the programme. All parents' active involvement is expected and strongly encouraged. The CSW and session facilitator should now:
continue to support parents to identify, respond to and record their children's learning
consider ways of more clearly recording children's progress over time
prioritise the acknowledgement of te ao Māori in children's profile books
include parents' aspirations for their children's learning as a key part of the planning process.
Members and the CSW should continue to work together to identify the learning that matters in their community and develop their understanding of the revised early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki.
Leaders acknowledge that their approach to supporting children's transitions to primary school requires strengthening. A relationship is in place with the local school. As a next step, members should seek ways of sharing information with new entrant teachers about individual children's progress, achievement and interest to support continuity in their learning as they move on to school.
Members agree that the organisation's acknowledgement of the importance of bicultural partnership has yet to be adequately reflected in centre practice. This should remain a strategic priority for the new organisation.
A core group of members and the session facilitator are working alongside the CSW to provide strong support for this parent collective. A real sense of community is evident. Nelson-based CSWs are receiving targeted professional learning and development from the organisation linked to regional priorities for improvement. A more constructive 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 there is sufficient rigour in goal setting, observations of practice and feedback. The CA should have the opportunity to participate in an appraisal process 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. Implementation of internal evaluation is being strongly supported by the organisation. Understanding and use of this more improvement-focused approach is developing well in this centre. Identification of success indicators should better support decision-making about change and improvement.
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 facilitator to promote playcentre members' understanding of programme planning and evaluation, internal 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 facilitator.
The continuing focus on strengthening leadership, growing a sense of community, and parent participation and collaboration between playcentres should continue.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mapua 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance.
The service provider must ensure that:
earthquake drills are undertaken as required.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS6]
To improve current practice, the service provider should ensure that the centre has a complete set of up-to-date policy guidelines which members are supported to implement. Currently hazard and emergency management practices do not reflect all the requirements of the new policies. 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
18 October 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 |
Mapua |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
65105 |
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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 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
30 |
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Gender composition |
Male 17, Female 13 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
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Reported ratios of adults 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 |
August 2019 |
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Date of this report |
18 October 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
June 2013 |
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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 |
Mapua Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mapua 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, to care for very young children and participate in training.
Mapua Playcentre offers two mixed-age-group sessions per week. The supervisors hold playcentre qualifications. Most of the parents have also completed a number of the playcentre parent-training courses.
Since the 2012 ERO review, the association has effectively supported the parent cooperative to make significant progress, particularly with leadership and operational procedures.
Parents have made good progress with the use of self review to develop child assessment and programme planning and a stronger profile in the community.
This review was part of a cluster of 14 reviews in the Nelson Playcentre Association.
Children have a strong sense of wellbeing and belonging to the centre. The supervisors and parents are welcoming, inclusive and responsive to all children’s needs.
The playcentre environment is well organised, attractively presented and richly resourced. The indoor and outdoor areas are spacious and support play for infants, toddlers and young children. Activities are attractively displayed and children’s learning is celebrated.
The supervision team provides strong leadership and support to parents on session. The supervisors use effective ways to evaluate children’s learning. Parents are active members of the parent cooperative and have a shared understanding of the playcentre philosophy. Parents are well supported with workshop training.
Parents of Māori children confidently express their aspirations for their children to succeed as Māori. These aspirations are linked to children’s learning within the programme. Parents are keen to become more confident and competent to use te reo Māori and understand tikanga Māori in the session. The supervisors and parents have provided a range of useful prompts and bicultural resources to support children’s learning.
Children’s learning is regularly evaluated and linked to programme planning and session activities. Evaluations effectively include children’s and parents' ideas about children’s progress and learning.
Children have close contact with the local community. This includes planned visits to the local school, community events and library.
The association, supervisors and parents identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps to further improve learning outcomes for children include:
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 Mapua 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 Mapua 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 |
Mapua, Nelson |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
65105 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under two |
||
|
Service roll |
15 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys; Girls 4 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
March 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
11 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO reports
|
Education Review |
June 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2012 |
||
|
Education Review |
August 2007 |
||
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.