Oxford Playcentre

Education institution number:
70094
Service type:
Playcentre
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
13
Telephone:
Address:

Main Road, Oxford

View on map

Oxford Playcentre

ERO’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.

ERO’s Judgement

Regulatory standards

ERO’s judgement

Curriculum

Meeting

Premises and facilities

Meeting

Health and safety

Meeting

Governance, management and administration

Meeting

At the time of the review, ERO found the service was taking reasonable steps to meet regulatory standards.

Background

Oxford Playcentre is a whānau-led early childhood education service administered by Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. Since the previous March 2017 ERO report there has been significant restructuring and change at the national playcentre level. This playcentre offers three morning sessions for children aged birth-to-school age.  

Summary of Review Findings

The curriculum is inclusive, and responsive to children as confident and competent learners. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to enhance children’s learning. They nurture reciprocal relationships and provide a language-rich environment. A safe and comfortable space is provided for infants and non-mobile children to be involved in a range of learning experiences. 

The playcentre is suitably governed and managed by the parent and whānau group who contribute to the development and review of the service’s curriculum and operation. They take reasonable steps to promote the good health and safety of children.  

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • extending the parents and whānau knowledge and use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in the curriculum, in ways that are meaningful for children

  • making the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, more evident in assessment, planning and evaluation documentation.  

Next ERO Review

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

21 November 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Oxford Playcentre

Profile Number

70094

Location

Oxford

Service type

Playcentre

Number licensed for

25 children, including up to 15 children aged under two years old

Service roll

27

Review team on site

September 2022  

Date of this report

21 November 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review March 2017; Education Review May 2012.

General Information about Assurance Reviews

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.

ERO undertakes an Akanuku | Assurance Review process in any centre-based service:

  • 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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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.

Oxford Playcentre - 02/03/2017

1 Evaluation of Oxford Playcentre

How well placed is Oxford 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

Oxford Playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative. Parents are encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the playcentre's programme and management.

The centre has three morning sessions a week for children from birth to school age. It has an increasing roll.

The community has become increasingly transient and culturally diverse due to changes in employment and the agricultural industry.

Since the 2013 ERO review, the centre has made very good progress integrating te reo and tikanga Māori into the environment, resources and programme. Parents are working on ways to evaluate the best teaching practices that promote children's learning.

This review was part of a cluster of nine playcentres in the Canterbury Playcentre Association.

The Review Findings

Children and families are well supported in a friendly, welcoming and inclusive culture. Their wellbeing is sustained by a caring and collaborative team of parents.

Children confidently play well in mixed age groups. They enjoy responsibility, have leadership opportunities, and their ideas are valued and regularly used in the programme

Children are provided with a wide range of interesting learning activities and experiences. Adults effectively support and extend children's learning by the way they present activities, the environment and use of a range of resources. The outdoor area is spacious and has a good range of equipment that extends children's physical skills and encourages active exploration.

Infants and toddlers are valued and well provided for. The adults have set up a suitable play area that has a good range of appropriate resources for babies and young children.

New Zealand's bicultural heritage is well integrated into the environment, programme and resources. Te reo and tikanga Māori are effectively used in a range of contexts including story reading, group time, music and activities. It is highly visible in the centre with visual prompts to support parents' use of te reo Māori and understanding of Māori culture. Knowledgeable parents support other parents' learning about te ao Māori.

The adults are reflective, and have good processes to evaluate the programme, operations and resources. Reviews such as a bicultural review, the under-two year old environment and resources, and a focus on extending children's learning have improved outcomes for children. The parents are currently working with their local community learning cluster to improve transitions for children and families into and out of the playcentre.

The playcentre leaders confidently model effective practices for new parents that engage children in learning. Most parents are involved in the association's parent education training programme. Parents make good use of the association's guidelines and systems to ensure the operation of the centre and learning outcomes for children meet their high expectations.

Parents regularly monitor the playcentre's strategic plan, which is closely linked to the association's strategic goals.

The Canterbury Playcentre Association has made significant progress since the 2014 ERO cluster review. They have implemented a strategic plan that effectively identifies goals, plans and progress. The centre support and education teams have been structured to provide more efficient and timely support and guidance for the centres. The parent education programme has become more accessible to parents. Noticeably more parents are participating in all levels of the training and are making good use of this new knowledge in the centres. The centre support team is successfully facilitating the sharing of useful knowledge and practices across centres.

The association has high expectations for every child to experience high quality education and all parents to be actively involved in parent education and the management of the centres. They have established some very useful systems and practices to ensure the sustainability and improvement of the organisation and the centres. This includes effective evaluation and monitoring of the quality of education for parents and improved outcomes for children.

The key next steps for the association are to:

  • review how well the individual playcentre philosophies are meeting the changing contexts of centres
  • implement appraisals for the members of the centre support team to align more closely with centre needs and association expectations.

Key Next Steps

The association, parents, and ERO agree that the next steps for the playcentre include:

  • better identification of children's learning and next teaching steps in learning stories

  • considering ways that different family cultures can be included in the programme and resources

  • strengthening systems to support transient families to transition quickly into the playcentre's programme and operation.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Oxford 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.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to appraisal. To meet requirements the association needs to improve its performance in the following areas:

  • implement a system of regular appraisal for members of the Education Support Team.

[Regulation 47 (GMA7) Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008]

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Oxford Playcentre will be in three years.

Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

2 March 2017

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

Oxford, North Canterbury

Ministry of Education profile number

70094

Licence type

Playcentre

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

25 children, including up to 10 aged under two

Service roll

28

Gender composition

Boys 14; Boys 14

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

4

21

Reported ratios of staff to children

Under 2

1:1

Better than minimum requirements

Over 2

1:5

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

October 2016

Date of this report

2 March 2017

Most recent ERO reports 

Education Review

May 2012

Supplementary Review

June 2008

Education Review

June 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.