Swindon Street, Ophir
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 |
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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.
Omakau and Districts Playcentre is a parent-led early childhood education service administered by Te Whānau Tapu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. Since the previous 2018 ERO report there has been significant restructuring and change at the national playcentre level. Omakau and Districts Playcentre is open two mornings a week. Regular support is provided by a Centre Advisor.
The playcentre curriculum is consistent with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to support children’s learning and nurture reciprocal relationships. Children are given the opportunity to be confident in their own culture and are encouraged to understand and respect each other. Positive steps are taken to respect aspirations held by whānau.
The purpose-built design and layout of the premises supports the provision of different types of indoor and outdoor experiences. Reasonable steps are taken to promote the good health and safety of children enrolled. A national policy, procedure and process framework guides the operation of each playcentre.
Next steps include:
continue to develop an understanding of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki amongst the whānau group and use these to show children’s learning progress in assessment documentation
make te reo Māori and tikanga Māori more visible within teaching practice and learning documentation.
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
18 November 2022
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Early Childhood Service Name |
Omakau and Districts Playcentre |
|
Profile Number |
81026 |
|
Location |
Ophir, Central Otago |
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Service type |
Playcentre |
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Number licensed for |
23 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
|
Percentage of qualified adults |
0-49% |
|
Service roll |
16 |
|
Review team on site |
October 2022 |
|
Date of this report |
18 November 2022 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, May 2018; Education Review, November 2014 |
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.
Omakau & Districts Playcentre is one of 47 playcentres within the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's newly-formed South Island Southern Region (SISR). It is a rural playcentre that provides education and care for children from birth-to-school age, three mornings a week.
There has been significant roll growth since the 2014 ERO visit. In response to this, plans are underway to open for four days a week, which has resulted in plans to incorporate an additional session. The playcentre has planned building extensions underway, which will provide much needed office and administrative space for parents.
An educator works closely with parents to plan a curriculum that supports, enriches and nurtures learning for children. There is an enthusiastic and largely new parent community. Parents have clear ideas about their curriculum priorities and what learning matters within their playcentre.
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 fortnightly visits and receives ongoing support from a centre support worker (CSW) and a paid administrator.
This review was part of a cluster of nine playcentre reviews in the South Island Southern Region (SISR).
Children are engaged in sustained and meaningful play experiences. There are many opportunities for individual and collaborative learning experiences. The curriculum supports children to lead their learning, with scaffolded support from their parents and other adults. Adults actively engage in meaningful and authentic interactions with children. This is supported through purposeful play opportunities for children.
The centre environment is well resourced and provides a broad-based range of curriculum experiences for children. The paid educator has integrated purposeful teaching strategies that support and encourage early literacy for children. Children's learning is further extended through the continuation of learning experiences from prior sessions.
There is a strong multicultural parent community who are committed to the provision of quality early childhood education. Parents use a range of opportunities to collaborate within the curriculum and role-model respectful relationships for children. Children and their families experience a strong sense of belonging. The playcentre has many links and connections to the local community. These links have contributed to the development of a strongly connected and embedded localised curriculum.
Some assessment of children's learning is documented and presented aesthetically within children's profile books. The planning for individuals and groups of children is evident and displayed. This has proven to be positive for parents to see. Aspects of self review/internal evaluation are developing and will be further improved with continued support from the centre support worker (CSW).
Bicultural practices have strengthened with the ongoing support from the REAP Māori Coordinator. Parents make genuine and authentic attempts to use te reo Māori across the curriculum. Parents have identified that this is an area that they wish to continue to strengthen.
At the time of this review the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA) 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 are effectively managing the restructure with the resources available to them.
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 given when needed.
The centre has identified, and ERO agrees, that the key next steps for continued growth and development, with the support of the CSW are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Omakau & Districts 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 Omakau & Districts Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
14 May 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 |
Ophir |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
81026 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
23 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
27 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 14 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
24 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
||
|
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 |
||
|
Date of this report |
14 May 2018 |
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|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
|
|
Education Review |
February 2011 |
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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.