5 Sunpark Place, Massey, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Massey Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Massey Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative and is licensed for 30 children, including 15 under the age of two years.
Programmes for children are underpinned by the Playcentre philosophy of parents and children playing and learning together. Massey Playcentre members recognise parents as first educators of their children. They aim to support each other to provide the best environment for children to learn and grow, and to build relationships within the community.
The centre is part of the newly established Northern North Island Playcentre Region. Regional systems support centre members to manage their centres and to provide educational programmes for their children. Playcentre personnel also provide adult education programmes for parents/whānau to achieve Playcentre qualifications.
ERO's 2015 report identified a number of areas for development including bicultural practices, integrating science into the programme, strengthening relationships with local schools and completing the outdoor environment. Centre members have responded positively and worked well towards strengthening these aspects of practice.
This review was part of a cluster of 12 reviews in the Northern North Island Playcentre region.
Children lead the programme. They benefit from the provision of a rich learning environment which is spacious and well resourced, both indoors and outdoors. Easy access to resources allows children to explore new activities and experiences, and rediscover old favourites. Children are settled and engaged.
Infants and toddlers are well integrated into the daily programme. Play areas have been thoughtfully arranged with these young children in mind. All children benefit from the mixed-age setting and the opportunities for tuakana/teina relationships.
The Playcentre philosophy is well enacted. Parents are positive, supportive and responsive to children's ideas and requests. They enable children to sustain their play through the provision of resources and conversations that support play-based learning. Children have a good sense of belonging in the Playcentre environment.
Parents provide good opportunities for children to learn about the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa. Centre leaders model the use of te reo Māori in conversations with children and other adults. Some families who have English as an additional language, use their home languages during session times, maintaining and supporting children's sense of cultural identity.
Children's portfolios are good records of their participation in centre sessions and excursions. Learning stories capture their interests and strengths clearly and well. Links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, have become more evident over time. Science is now well integrated throughout the programme.
Parents work collaboratively. They provide good role models for children's developing oral language and social competence. There is good commitment to ongoing adult education. A distributed leadership model involves centre members taking on different roles and responsibilities, ensuring the centre's sustainability.
Well aligned strategic and annual plans are guiding the centre's future direction. The purpose of internal evaluation is well understood by centre members. A robust process guides the review of relevant areas of practice and promotes positive outcomes for children.
A regional structure is replacing individual Playcentre Associations. Newly appointed regional personnel are making good progress in building on existing systems, and establishing effective regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels, and health and safety requirements.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps for centre improvement include:
making the centre philosophy more specific to the centre's unique context and more aligned with the aims of current centre members
continuing to develop programme planning processes that promote children's more complex thinking and learning.
The Northern North Island Playcentre regional manager (acting) and support personnel agree that key next steps for the region include:
implementing and embedding the revised Playcentre adult education programme
establishing a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of centre support systems, roles and processes.
Before the review, the staff and management of Massey 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 Massey Playcentre will be in three years.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
31 January 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 |
Massey, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
22009 |
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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 |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
34 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 19 Girls 15 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
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Review team on site |
November 2018 |
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Date of this report |
31 January 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2015 |
|
Education Review |
June 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
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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.
Massey Playcentre is located in a quiet residential area adjacent to a park. It has been dedicated to parents and children learning together for over 50 years. The parent led cooperative offers four sessions per week to children from birth to six years old. The centre operates under the organisational umbrella of the Te Akoranga Playcentre Association. A liaison worker and other elected Association officers provide support for the centre. Association members deliver the Playcentre adult education programme to help parents/whānau build their understanding about children’s learning.
Massey Playcentre philosophy reinforces the value of parents/whānau and children learning with and alongside each other. Centre members promote the importance of developing a holistically confident child. They are aware of the need to maintain good levels of qualifications and have a high number of parents involved in training across all course levels.
The 2012 ERO report noted that children and families benefit from an inclusive and welcoming environment that supports learning opportunities for children in a mixed age setting. It also recognised that adults support children to play collaboratively and to make independent decisions about their play and social needs. These features continue to be evident throughout the centre.
Centre members have responded well to the recommendations in ERO’s 2012 report. They have explored ways to promote conversations that extend children’s learning and thinking and are continuing to strengthen documentation of children’s learning to inform programme planning and review. Centre members have addressed concerns identified in ERO’s 2012 report relating to hazards in the environment.
Children at Massey Playcentre benefit from positive learning opportunities where they co-construct their learning alongside adults. Adults are skilled at providing appropriate guidance and assistance to extend children’s play. They are responsive to children’s preferences and cues and often promote tuakana/teina relationships.
Children enjoy a positive, well resourced environment. The large, natural area outdoors features established trees and grass slopes that provide many opportunities for exploration and physical challenge. This environment is complemented by the availability of the neighbouring park. Children move freely between the indoor and outdoor environments. They make good use of the spacious indoor areas and large covered deck to play with their peers.
Centre members have a very good understanding of their role as facilitators of children’s learning. They display a good knowledge of Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and provide opportunities for literacy and numeracy to be integrated throughout the programme. There is an emphasis on providing children with experiences to be creative and expressive. Centre members agree that they could consider further ways for children to revisit learning through their portfolios and access to displays.
Families know each other well and provide opportunities to celebrate each others’ cultures. There is evidence of bicultural practices in the centre. Some sessions are well supported with te reo and tikangi Māori. Adults now need to continue to develop this across all sessions.
Centre members bring varied skills and knowledge to their role at the centre. There is an organisational culture that supports ongoing improvement for individuals and centre-wide systems. Adults are reflective and self review is both planned and spontaneous. Consultative processes help inform programme planning and improvements to the environment. A re-development of the entire outdoor learning environment is planned to commence this year. Adults agree to consider refining their self-review documentation in order to strengthen reflective practice.
Association management practices are well established. Good systems are in place to sustain quality practice and improve outcomes for children. A recent policy review has been completed and implemented. Centre members are encouraged to become involved in centre management and have opportunities to develop leadership skills. They are enthusiastic and committed to promoting the centre in the wider community. They uphold a child focus and endorse the importance of children’s play as essential for their holistic development.
Before the review, the staff and management of Massey 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 Massey Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
30 April 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 |
Massey, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
22009 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
30 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
40 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 21 Girls 19 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Samoan Cook Island Indian other European |
4 20 5 2 2 7 |
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Reported ratios of staff 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 |
February 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
30 April 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
June 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
May 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
March 2006 |
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.