37 Durham Street, Dunedin
View on mapERO’s Akanuku | Assurance Review reports provide information about whether a service meets and maintains regulatory standards. Further information about Akanuku | Assurance Reviews is included at the end of this report.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
|
Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.
Mornington playcentre is a parent-led early childhood education service administered by Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. Since the 2018 ERO review, there has been significant restructuring at the national playcentre level. Mornington Playcentre is open four mornings a week. The roll is culturally diverse and includes a small number of Māori children.
Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children’s preferences are respected, and they are involved in decisions about their learning.
The design and layout of the premises supports the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor learning. This includes quiet areas, space for physically active play and a range of individual and group learning experiences. Health and safety practices are suitably monitored to enable compliance with the regulatory standards.
National policies and procedures guide the operation of the playcentre. Parents and families contribute to policy reviews and other operational documents.
Next steps include:
increasing the visibility of children’s languages, cultures, and identities in the learning environment and documentation
further exploring the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and make greater use these when assessing, planning and evaluating children’s learning.
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
22 November 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Mornington Playcentre |
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Profile Number |
81023 |
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Location |
Dunedin |
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Service type |
Playcentre |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
|
Service roll |
80 |
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Review team on site |
October 2022 |
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Date of this report |
22 November 2022 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, June 2018; Education Review, February 2013 |
All services are licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. The legal requirements for early childhood services also include the Licensing Criteria for Education and Care Services 2008.
Services must meet the standards in the regulations and the requirements of the licensing criteria to gain and maintain a licence to operate.
having its first ERO review – including if it is part of a governing organisation
previously identified as ‘not well placed’ or ‘requiring further development’
that has moved from a provisional to a full licence
that have been re-licenced due to a change of ownership
where an Akanuku | Assurance Review process is determined to be appropriate.
All early childhood services are required to promote children’s health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. Before the review, the staff and management of a service 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:
curriculum
premises and facilities
health and safety practices
governance, management and administration.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulatory standards are being met. In particular, ERO looks at a 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; safety checking; teacher certification; ratios)
relevant evacuation procedures and practices.
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
discussions with those involved in the service
consideration of relevant documentation, including the implementation of health and safety systems
observations of the environment/premises, curriculum implementation and teaching practice.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Mornington Playcentre is one of 47 playcentres within the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's newly-formed South Island Southern Region (SISR). It is open five mornings a week. Up to 25 children from birth to school age attend with their parents. The playcentre is located next to the local school. The families are from diverse cultural backgrounds. There is a core group of families who have been part of the playcentre for many years.
The sessions are led by two qualified educators and parents who have a range of playcentre qualifications. Many of the parents are continuing to increase their levels of training.
In 2017, the playcentre was supported by a centre advisor, with occasional visits and frequent communications from the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA). In 2018, as a result of the Playcentre Federation restructuring of the association, the playcentre now has regular allocated times for visits and receives ongoing support from a centre support worker (CSW) and a paid administrator.
The playcentre has made very good progress in addressing the recommendations of the 2013 ERO report.
This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in the SISR Playcentres.
Mornington Playcentre has a strong group of committed parents and educators. They provide stability and continuity of knowledge and practice that contribute to the smooth operation of the playcentre. Many of the families choose to have their children stay at playcentre until they start school.
Children enjoy the stimulating and interesting learning environments and benefit from the close attention of their parents and educators. Adults join in children's play and have meaningful conversations with them. They allow children to take the lead in their learning.
The educators and parents are exploring what learning is valued in the playcentre. They view children as being highly capable and competent. They provide a wide range of activities and experiences that provide choice and challenge. This includes, an "explorers" session where children and their families explore local bush and parks.
Māori children attend with their whānau. They are well supported by their own and other parents to know that their language and culture are valued and naturally presented in the programme. The parents identified that continuing to grow bicultural practice is an area for ongoing development.
Infants and toddlers are very well provided for. There are many interesting opportunities for learning and developing friendships, as seen in the thoughtful planning and resourcing for these age groups and tuakana- teina relationships with older children.
There are robust processes for assessment, planning and evaluation. The termly and daily programmes are based on the adults' careful observations of children's interests and learning. The adults plan meaningful strategies and experiences to extend their learning. Children's profile books show continuity of learning over time.
Internal-evaluation practices are used very well to make ongoing improvements to the programme and practices in the playcentre. The parents choose topics for internal evaluation that are likely to make the most difference to outcomes for children. They take collective responsibility for ensuring that internal-evaluation practices are manageable and sustainable.
The parents work very effectively together as a team to run the playcentre. They share the roles and responsibilities, providing many opportunities for emergent leadership. They have a useful strategic plan to guide the centre's direction.
At the time of this review, the Otago Playcentre Association was implementing the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's new operating model, and was amalgamating with Southland and South Canterbury Playcentre Associations to become the South Island Southern Region. While the changes resulted in some disruption to the services provided to individual playcentres in 2017, the OPA is effectively managing the restructure with the resources available to it. Each playcentre now receives regular support from a paid administrator and a centre support worker. There are robust systems in the association for monitoring the progress and performance of individual playcentres, and targeted support is given when needed.
The educators and parents have identified and ERO agrees, that the key next steps are to continue to:
explore what learning is valued in the playcentre and include these in the philosophy
strengthen aspects of bicultural practices, including the use and integration of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
Before the review, the staff and management of Mornington 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 Mornington Playcentre will be in four years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
13 June 2018
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 |
Dunedin |
||
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Ministry of Education profile number |
81023 |
||
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Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
34 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 18 Boys: 16 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
4 |
|
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
13 June 2018 |
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|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
February 2013 |
|
|
Education Review |
July 2009 |
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|
Education Review |
March 2005 |
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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.