1A School Road, Western Springs, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Morningside Playcentre is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Morningside Playcentre is a well-established centre that is run as a parent cooperative. It is licensed for 29 children, including up to 15 under two years of age. The centre operates five parent-led morning sessions per week, which include a regular outdoor session for older children, as well as an afternoon SPACE session for new and aspiring centre members with their babies.
Centre practices are based on the Playcentre philosophy of families learning together. The centre's philosophy affirms parents as valued and best educators of their children. Sessions are guided by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The 2015 ERO report highlighted centre strengths, including reflective practice, high quality management, and support for and documentation of children's learning. These and other strengths have been very well maintained. Areas for further development in 2015 were self review, the visibility of cultural diversity and the inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori. Centre members have responded very positively to these recommendations.
The new Playcentre Aotearoa structure is now fully operational. It provides a sound management framework and support personnel to help parents/whānau to manage their centres. Playcentre Aotearoa administers centres’ funding and provides adult education programmes for parents/whānau to achieve Playcentre qualifications.
This review was part of a cluster of six reviews in the Playcentre Aotearoa Auckland region.
The centre's pēpeha, He taonga te mokopuna kia whāngaia, kia tipu, kia rea, is strongly evident in all aspects of centre operations.
The centre is welcoming and inclusive. Warm relationships are evident across the small group of children and adults currently attending. Children settle quickly and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. They are confident to approach adults and show positive social skills. Children develop friendships, play together for extended periods of time, and make choices about their learning.
Parents/whānau appreciate and immerse themselves in the Playcentre philosophy of learning through play. Interactions with children are positive, respectful and challenging. They provoke active enjoyment of and engagement in learning. Parents/whānau are adept at extending children's conversations and providing opportunities for them to sustain play and use their creativity and imagination.
Using current theories and research, parents/whānau focus on providing challenging learning experiences for infants and toddlers. They align resources with children's current interests and encourage physically active and challenging play. Children use the centre's extensive outdoor areas well. There is good support for children's literacy and numeracy learning.
Playcentre's 'whānau tupu ngātahi' philosophical approach is reflected in centre members' commitment to incorporating bicultural practices in programmes for their children. Adults use te reo Māori and promote children’s use of their own home languages.
Centre members are reflective and collaborative. Their observations of children support them to recognise current interests and to plan how they might respond. Group interests are recorded at the end of each session and used as a reference for future planning. Individual interests are captured well in learning stories that make up each child's portfolio. There are good links between end-of-session discussions, children's individual learning records and Te Whāriki. Playcentre workshops have been used well to improve centre members' assessment of individual children’s learning.
Regular meetings and communications promote positive relationships amongst centre whānau, who know each other well and work together very effectively. Experienced centre members have a significant leadership role in centre operations.
Centre members have adopted planned approaches to implementing the Playcentre Aotearoa policy framework. They manage the centre well and have developed strategic and annual planning to guide centre development. Leaders use self review to focus on improvement and continue to work at distributing centre and curriculum leadership roles. Increasing expectations for children’s learning and development are key strategic goals and are incorporated in the centre philosophy.
Centre members agree that to continue strengthening internal evaluation and to enhance outcomes for children, they should:
Key next steps for development in the Playcentre Aotearoa Auckland region include:
strengthening the use of internal evaluation to measure the effectiveness of systems and practices across the region.
Before the review, the staff and management of Morningside 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
3 June 2020
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 |
Western Springs, Auckland |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
22026 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Number licensed for |
29 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 years |
|
|
Service roll |
21 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 15 Girls 6 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
16 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2019 |
|
|
Date of this report |
3 June 2020 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2015 |
|
Education Review |
April 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2008 |
|
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 |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Morningside Playcentre is a parent cooperative where learning programmes for children are implemented by the families who are centre members. Centre practices are based on the Playcentre philosophy of families learning and growing together. Very good training levels have been sustained over time. Currently, 18 members have Course 2 or 3 Playcentre qualifications including a number who will soon complete Course 4.
The centre provides four mixed-age sessions each week. It also offers an additional outdoor session for children over 3 years of age, where children play, explore and learn in a natural environment in the local community. An educator is employed to lead this session alongside parents/whānau.
High quality practices identified in ERO’s 2012 and 2008 reports remain evident. These include a culture of reflective practice, high quality management processes and purposeful self review. The support for, and documentation of children’s learning continues to be a feature of the centre’s programme. Since the previous review, members have worked together to further improve the environment and resources and enhance the ways they foster children’s complex play.
Morningside Playcentre is part of the Auckland Playcentres Association that provides Playcentre adult education, frameworks of policies and procedures and support from Association personnel. The Playcentre contributes to the make-up of the association and has representatives at Association level.
At present the Playcentre Federation is undertaking a restructure with the aim of maintaining the viability of Playcentres throughout New Zealand. This is likely to change the current structure of the Auckland Playcentres Association.
This review was part of a cluster of nine Playcentre reviews in the Auckland Playcentres Association.
The Playcentre philosophy of parents/whānau and children learning, playing and growing together is highly apparent. Respectful relationships provide a strong foundation for supporting children’s wellbeing. Infants and toddlers experience a calm, settled and well-resourced environment. They are encouraged to explore and play alongside older children. Adults know children’s individual preferences and use this information to plan specific learning experiences for this group of children.
Older children have frequent opportunities to play cooperatively with each other and to express their ideas and theories. They involve themselves in sustained and imaginative play for long periods of time. Children initiate and engage in complex play situations. They are independent, self-managing learners.
Adults work skilfully alongside children and extend their learning in meaningful ways. They value children’s knowledge and take time to listen to their ideas. Experienced centre members model high quality practices and support newer members to develop their understandings. As a result of these effective practices, children are very well supported to take the lead in their learning as designers, decision makers and investigators.
The learning programme is underpinned by the Playcentre philosophy and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Children clearly express their plans to extend their own learning. Adults are highly responsive to children’s thinking. They contribute their ideas and strengths to enrich children’s experiences.
Planning and evaluation processes are used effectively and contribute to programmes provided for individuals and groups of children. Records of group projects show how adults add to children’s collective learning and knowledge. Individual learning is documented in attractively presented portfolios that celebrate children’s progress over time. Portfolios provide very good information about children as they transition to school.
Adults are committed to strengthening the bicultural nature of the programme. A pepeha has been developed to share a story about Morningside Playcentre and its place in the local area. Parents/whānau plan to strengthen the integration of te reo me ona tikanga Māori in the programme. They could also consider ways to increase the extent to which diverse cultures and language are visible in the environment and included in the programme.
The centre is well managed. Centre members work collaboratively to promote a high level of engagement and belief in the centre’s vision. They continue to be very involved in Playcentre adult education and ongoing professional development. Robust strategic and annual plans are reviewed annually and have a clear focus on improving outcomes for children.
Strategic, planned and spontaneous self review contributes to a culture of continual improvement. Processes to support the privacy of children and families have been reviewed and agreed practices have been established. Centre members are committed to providing a safe physical environment for children and adults.
The Association’s strategic plan provides a guide for governance and is regularly monitored. Management and governance processes are well established. The Association provides assistance for centres and appropriate Playcentre training courses. It provides regular termly visits from a curriculum and programme supporter. Association office holders are highly committed to Playcentre philosophy and to maintaining Playcentre as a valuable early childhood education option for parents/whānau.
To enhance existing high quality practices centre members agree that they could:
Before the review, the staff and management of Morningside 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 Morningside Playcentre will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
25 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 |
Morningside, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
22026 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
29 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
34 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls 20 Boys 14 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā other |
2 24 8 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
25 May 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
December 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
November 2005 |
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:
Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education
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.