Cnr Fitzroy and Chute Streets, Normanby
View on mapNormanby Playcentre
Normanby Playcentre - 22/01/2020
1 Evaluation of Normanby Playcentre
How well placed is Normanby Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Normanby Playcentre is well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Background
Normanby Playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for 30 children two days a week, including 15 up to the age of two years. At the time of this review, there are 11 children enrolled and three are Māori.
The Playcentre Aotearoa philosophy, ‘whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, is to 'empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together'.
Since the August 2016 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Normanby Playcentre is part of the Lower North Island Region and is supported by a regional manager and support persons.
Whānau and families share responsibility for the curriculum. Day-to-day operation is undertaken by session support personnel and centre-elected office holders. A centre support worker and centre administrator regularly visit playcentres to provide professional support, strengthen practice and promote improvement.
The previous ERO report identified that Normanby Playcentre needed to strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation, te ao Māori and further develop internal evaluation. These areas continue to be progressed.
A focus for Normanby Playcentre has been developments to their outdoor environment that are ongoing.
This review was part of a cluster of 11 playcentres in the Lower North Island Region.
The Review Findings
Relationships between the children and adults are positive and reciprocal. Children enjoy the company of their peers and engage in sustained play. They have a sense of belonging in the space and confidently make decisions about their involvement and experiences in activities of interest. Tuakana teina relationships are evident and particularly benefit the service's youngest children.
Useful processes are in place to support adults in noticing, recognising and responding to children's interests. These include making children's interests visible, and ways that adults can extend these at the centre and home. Portfolio books provide a record of the child's participation in the programme. Centre leaders have identified that greater use of prompts and guidance for centre members is needed to strengthen the consistency of these assessment records.
Children have opportunities to experience tikanga Māori through established centre rituals and routines. Artefacts, resources and waiata are well integrated into curriculum experiences for children. Members are continuing to grow their knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori.
Transition into the playcentre is flexible, responsive and welcoming to meet each family's needs. There have been recent connections re-established with local schools. This should assist children and families as they move onto school.
Self-review processes are established with appropriate priorities identified for improvement to the curriculum. Review for improvement has led to enhanced resourcing and provisions for children's learning. Continuing to develop the evaluative aspect of review when looking at actions and practices, should assist members to better know about the impact of these on learner outcomes.
Strategic planning assists in providing useful direction towards achieving centre priorities, that are appropriately focused on what is significant for this service. Progress towards these goals is regularly monitored. Strengthening the focus on outcomes for learners should assist members to know the effectiveness of the actions taken.
The revised parent education programme is more accessible to centre members. Long-standing members have engaged in Playcentre parent education programmes and provide continuity and knowledge for the new members.
Appraisal processes for session support staff have recently been strengthened to better evaluate performance in relation to specific roles and responsibilities, identify professional learning and development needs and focus on achievement of goals.
The national restructuring process continues to require significant attention and support to implement an extensive range of systems and processes. Regular communication from Playcentre Aotearoa seeks to keep parents informed of progress, changes and upcoming requirements. National policies and procedures have recently been introduced and parents are in the process of aligning practices to these. Ongoing support is required to enable parents to understand and implement these procedures to meet licensing requirements.
Key Next Steps
At playcentre level, priorities are to continue to:
-
strengthen understanding and use of internal evaluation for improvement to more clearly show the impact of actions on outcomes for children
-
develop the consistency of assessment practices to support children's learning progress over time.
Playcentre Aotearoa should continue to build knowledge and understandings of policies and procedures, and support systematic monitoring of these, to ensure licensing requirements are upheld.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Normanby 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:
- curriculum
- premises and facilities
- health and safety practices
- governance, management and administration.
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.
To improve current practice the playcentre members need to ensure that:
-
the cupboard containing cleaning products is locked to prevent children's access
-
hazards to children in the garden are minimised such as the harakeke in the children's outdoor play space
-
procedures relating to supervision of children's eating are strengthened. [Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS12, HS2]
Since the onsite stage of this ERO evaluation the service has provided evidence to show that these matters have been addressed.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
22 January 2020
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
Location |
Normanby |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
50012 |
||
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 |
11 |
||
Gender composition |
Male 8, Female 3 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
3 8 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
||
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
November 2019 |
||
Date of this report |
22 January 2020 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2016 |
|
Education Review |
August 2014 |
||
Education Review |
November 2010 |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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.
ERO’s Overall Judgement
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.
Review Coverage
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.
Normanby Playcentre - 19/08/2016
1 Evaluation of Normanby Playcentre
How well placed is Normanby Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Background
Normanby Playcentre is situated in a small rural town in South Taranaki and operates as a community based service. The centre is licensed for up to 30 children, including 15 children up to the age of two years. Ten children are enrolled. The centre opens for mixed-age sessions two mornings a week. The playcentre's philosophy gives significance to parents, whānau and caregivers as first teachers.
The January 2014 ERO report identified a number of areas of concern for improvement that included: sustainability as a playcentre; a shared understanding of members' roles and responsibilities; assessment, planning and evaluation practices; internal evaluation and bicultural practice.
The Taranaki Playcentre Association has been proactive in responding to ERO's findings. Strategic decisions and actions included professional development to improve identified areas and promote positive learning outcomes for children. Members have clearer understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Progress in developing assessment, planning and evaluation practices, internal evaluation and bicultural practice is evident.
Sustainability has been strengthened by an increase in the commitment of parents and families to gain Playcentre qualifications. Taranaki Playcentre Association has appointed a centre support person and a bicultural officer who have guided parents and whānau to increase their knowledge, understanding and implementation of centre leadership, te ao Māori, intentional planning and evaluative processes.
Normanby Playcentre is participating in an internal review titled 'Strengthening Taranaki Playcentres'. Led by the Association the internal evaluation seeks to 'build parent, family and community participation'.
The Review Findings
Children at the centre actively engage in Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. A sense of belonging is enhanced through positive relationships in which children, parents and whānau know each other well. Children are viewed as competent and curious, able to exercise choice and celebrate learning as fun. The input of community is valued and affirmed.
Children's creativity is fostered through art, science and activities responsive to children's interests and strengths. The curriculum is grounded in literacy and mathematics. Excursions provide children with rich local learning opportunities. Social competencies are nurtured through tuakana teina, younger children supported by others. Children communicate with confidence in lasting conversations.
The use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori has been progressed. Karakia and waiata are woven through centre routines and aspects of play. The environment includes signposts of kupu Māori, natural resources and visual representation of te ao Māori centre and marae experiences. The next step is to continue to build and strengthen capability in te ao Māori.
There is a clear process for assessment, planning and evaluation. Ongoing observations of children in everyday activities, build a picture of what children know, understand, feel and do. Planning is prompted through adults noticing, recognising and responding and informed by children's prior learning. A consistent approach to adding complexity, progress over time and articulating outcomes for children should strengthen centre practices.
Profile entries highlight children's voice, artwork and interests over time. Individual narratives include some learning outcomes based on Te Whāriki. Parent aspirations are sought, contribute to planning and provide important links from home to the centre. Children's culture, language and identity are celebrated. The next steps are: to continue to share expectations for assessment, planning and evaluation with all parents and whānau; and embed systems the parent cooperative is developing to strengthen those processes.
A well-considered transition process with local schools, is in place.
The use of self review for improvement is evident. Members are aware of the need to further develop their understanding and implementation of effective self review. The association should provide further guidance and support so that members continue to develop their internal evaluation capability.
Through cooperation and coherency of approach, members have put in place practices that are sustainable. There is increased capacity to move forward positively.
Key Next Steps
Priorities are to:
- strengthen assessment, planning and evaluation
- build te ao Māori capability and implementation
- further develop understanding of internal evaluation to inform decision making.
Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the staff and management of Normanby 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:
- curriculum
- premises and facilities
- health and safety practices
- governance, management and administration.
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.
Next ERO Review
When is ERO likely to review the service again?
The next ERO review of Normanby Playcentre will be in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
19 August 2016
The Purpose of ERO Reports
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.
2 Information about the Early Childhood Service
Location |
Normanby |
||
Ministry of Education profile number |
50012 |
||
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 |
10 |
||
Gender composition |
Boys 8, Girls 2 |
||
Ethnic composition |
Māori |
2 |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
||
Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
Over 2 |
1:3 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
June 2016 |
||
Date of this report |
19 August 2016 |
||
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2014 |
|
Education Review |
November 2010 |
||
Education Review |
May 2007 |
3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews
ERO’s Evaluation Framework
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.
ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review
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.
Review Coverage
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.