334 Omokoroa Road, Omokoroa
View on mapNot well placed | Requires further development | Well placed | Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Omokoroa Playcentre is located in the Western Bay of Plenty. It is a parent-led education and care service licensed to cater for 30 children including 15 up to the age of two years. The centre provides three mixed-age, morning sessions each week. The centre has a current roll of 28 children.
During 2018 playcentres are transitioning from operating as The New Zealand Playcentre Federation (NZPF) with 32 regional associations to a national organisation with six offices. In the central North Island eight associations have merged into a regional hub renamed Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island. This region includes 95 playcentres spread over a large geographic area. During the transition there is some overlap between association systems and new national approaches. At the time of this ERO review there was some uncertainty as new processes are established.
The governance management structure consists of a regional manager and a centre support coordinator who provide guidance and management for the playcentres. Responsibility for centre leadership is shared across centre members. A national professional learning and development team is in the early stages of planning for additional learning support to build members’ capability as first teachers of their children. A high proportion of members are in training, and a number hold higher levels of playcentre qualifications.
The centre aims to promote a service where adults and children can learn with and alongside each other in a family-whānau setting. Members value Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa and provide opportunities for sharing tikanga and te reo Māori together. Members see playcentre as an extension of home and maintain the paramount place of parents and whānau in making decisions about their children’s education and care.
The playcentre has a positive ERO reporting history. Good progress has been made in the areas for development identified in the 2015 ERO report related to strengthening assessment and bicultural practices.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentres in the Western Bay of Plenty under the governance of Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island.
Strong leadership supports positive outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing. Good use is made of the collective strengths members bring to their roles. Experienced members model good practice and mentor new families. Leadership provided through the Māori Roopu representative is supporting parents to implement te reo and tikanga Māori within the programme.
Members provide children with rich curriculum experiences. They prepare an environment that provides children with choice and supports them to lead their own learning. Te ao Māori perspectives, literacy and mathematics are naturally interwoven throughout sessions. Children engage in sustained and meaningful play.
Assessment and planning practices build on each child's identity as a successful learner, and includes children who need additional support. Children and their families enjoy looking through individual portfolios and revisiting their progress and achievements. Members meet after each session to plan further activities that extend and add complexity to children's learning. They share their aspirations for children's education, set strategic goals and monitor centre developments. Children are central to all decision making and internal evaluation practices focus on improving outcomes for children.
Trusting, reciprocal and respectful relationships promote a sense of belonging for children and their families. Members involve themselves in children's play and engage in rich learning conversations that build oral language and thinking skills. Children have many opportunities to develop their social competencies with other adults and their peers. Infants are well catered for. Members foster the wellbeing of children and support them to develop as capable and confident learners.
Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island is in the early stages of providing support for centres during a time of transition. Existing polices and systems are supporting centre operations until new systems developed by Playcentre Aotearoa are implemented. The strategic and annual plans are yet to consistently guide regional and centre direction. A particular strength is the Te Whare Tikanga Māori initiative, which promotes self-determination for Māori members through regular hui and targeted funding, and enacts the partnership aspect of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
ERO has identified the need for Playcentre Aotearoa Central North Island management to develop:
Playcentre members' next steps for ongoing development are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Omokoroa 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.
ERO identified an area of non-compliance related to appraisal.
The current appraisal process does not meet Ministry of Education regulatory requirements. Governance needs to ensure suitable human resource management practices are developed, documented and implemented. [Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7.]
The next ERO review of Omokoroa Playcentre will be in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
28 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.
| Location | Western Bay of Plenty | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 40008 | |
| 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 | 28 | |
| Gender composition | Boys 15 Girls 13 | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Other | 1 23 4 |
| Review team on site | May 2018 | |
| Date of this report | 28 June 2018 | |
Most recent ERO report(s)
| Education Review | February 2015 |
| Education Review | September 2011 | |
| Education Review | September 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:
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.
Omokoroa Playcentre is a parent-led cooperative education and care service located in a rural area in the Western Bay of Plenty. It is licensed to cater for 30 children from birth to school age, including 15 aged under-two years. Most families live in the local community and most children attend the local primary school when they reach school age.
The centre operates under the playcentre philosophy of children and adults learning together within a supportive, safe and nurturing environment. Mixed-age sessions are run daily between 9.00am and 12.00pm. Sessions are planned as a team with all parents working with and alongside their own and other children to develop each child’s skills and build confidence. Parents have responded positively to the areas for improvement identified in the last ERO review of the centre in 2011.
Parents benefit from the support and guidance from the Western Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association (WBOPPA) umbrella organisation. The association supports the centre through providing a knowledgeable centre liaison officer and an administration officer. WBOPPA also assists the centre with training workshops and useful documentation and frameworks to guide centre operations. These guidelines are underpinned by the association’s philosophy, which is highly evident in members’ practice.
This review was part of a cluster of six playcentre reviews in the Western Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association.
Parents with support from a qualified supervisor, plan a programme of education and care that is highly responsive to the interests and strengths of infants, toddlers and young children. The qualified supervisor works with children throughout the centre and provides other parents with a role model for effective practice in promoting children’s learning and wellbeing. Parents are hard working and dedicated to providing the best possible outcomes for all children in the centre. They bring high levels of subject content knowledge, work and life experiences to their roles which enhance the quality of the playcentre experience for all children.
Children of all ages mix well together and there are many instances where older children are able to support their younger peers in exploration and play. The mixed-age setting also allows children of all ages to practise and develop their oral language, communication and social skills while being supported by parents. Children experience leadership roles as they assist parents to set up the environment and are fully involved in routines throughout the day. The involvement of parents working alongside their children provides a continuity of learning between the centre and home.
The playcentre is set up to ensure that children are able to choose from an extensive range of high- quality equipment throughout each session. High-quality learning environments are available for children to explore. The centre layout is open and organised to provide learning areas that are attractive and inviting for children to explore and learn. Displays in the centre reflect children’s play and learning and the inclusion of photographs helps to make children’s learning visible in the environment.
Parents work as a highly effective and collaborative team. The programme provides children with access to all 16 playcentre areas of play. Early literacy and mathematical experiences and learning are integrated throughout the programme each day. An extensive range of books and stories is easily accessible and prominently displayed in the centre. Children are using books to read stories with adults, share poems and songs, and as a source of information when exploring their ideas.
While meaningful mathematical learning is occurring across many learning areas the centre would benefit from a review of this learning area. Such a review is likely to strengthen the way parents plan to include mathematical learning and recognise it in children’s portfolios. There are many opportunities for children to express themselves creatively though music, art, dramatic and imaginative play. A particular feature of the centre is the outstanding natural environment, which provides many opportunities for children to learn about science, nature and the living world.
Leadership of centre activities is shared among members. The immediate past centre president is providing valuable support to the new president following a recent change in centre roles. Emergent leadership is also fostered through parent involvement with playcentre course training and regular workshops.
Parents have a good understanding of the purpose of ongoing self review. Focused review of aspects of the centre, including some areas of learning, have contributed to high quality facilities, a well-presented centre environment and a commitment to continuous improvement. The area for children under-two years has been remodelled and provides an attractive, comfortable and well- monitored place for babies to explore. This area is highly visible to parents, well resourced with age-appropriate equipment and enables babies to feel included and observe the programme in action.
Assessment: Parents maintain individual child portfolios that show children’s participation in aspects of the programme. These learning story assessments reflect the training levels of individual members. Parents acknowledge the importance of strengthening their understandings about noticing and documenting children’s learning, planning next learning steps and showing individual progress over time.
Bicultural practice: A recently appointed bicultural officer is providing sensitive leadership, direction and integrity to the process of incorporating local Māori knowledge and history into the culture of the centre. Parents acknowledge the importance of strengthening their knowledge of bicultural practice.
Use of Ministry of Education guidelines: A useful next step for the centre would be to make use of some of the Ministry of Education guidelines and resources to support self review, assessment and a broad range of centre operations.
Before the review, the staff and management of Omokoroa 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 Omokoroa Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer-Northern Northern Region
27 February 2015
|
Location |
Omokoroa |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
40008 |
|
|
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 |
43 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 26 Girls 17 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other European Other Asian |
3 33 4 2 1 |
|
Review team on site |
December 2014 |
|
|
Date of this report |
27 February 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
September 2011 |
|
Education Review |
September 2008 |
|
|
Education Review |
June 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:
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.