6964 State Highway 1, RD 2, Pamapuria, Kaitaia
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pamapuria Playcentre operates as a parent cooperative and is licensed for 28 children, including 15 under the age of two years.
Programmes for children are underpinned by the Playcentre philosophy of parents and children playing and learning together. The vision of Pamapuria Playcentre members is to provide a language rich environment, support for children's developing social competence, and a programme that is responsive to children's interests.
The centre is part of the newly established Northern North Island Playcentre Region. Regional systems support centre members to manage their centres and to provide educational programmes for their children. Playcentre personnel also provide training programmes for parents and whānau to achieve Playcentre qualifications.
ERO's 2015 report identified a number of areas for development including strategic and annual planning, internal evaluation, supporting newer members to engage in Playcentre education, and continuity between sessions. There has been good progress in these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of 12 reviews in the Northern North Island Playcentre region.
Children of all ages are relaxed and settled in the centre environment. They have good access to a wide range of learning resources and play together cooperatively and imaginatively. Children are confident approaching adults, knowing they will respond to their ideas and needs.
Parents work well to build trusting, supportive relationships with children and each other. They become partners in children's play. They are good role models for children's developing oral language and use effective strategies to guide the development of children's social competence.
The environment is spacious and well resourced. Parents maintain clearly defined play spaces that engage children and help them to sustain their play. The outdoor environment provides a good range of physical challenges for children. Parents could now consider ways they might provide more opportunities for children to develop their upper body strength in the playground.
Te reo Māori is very visible in the centre environment. Some centre members are skilled in using te reo in their interactions with children. Members recognise this as a continued area for development, alongside including tikanga Māori in activities and areas of play.
Children's portfolios are good records of their learning. They foreground learning dispositions, identify learning that is happening and show good links to Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. In order to get a more holistic picture of children's learning, centre members could summarise information in learning stories over a period of time to identify future learning goals.
Throughout each session, parents record children's interests and learning. Connections can be seen between learning stories in children's portfolios and these daily recordings. Parents could now use this documentation to reflect on how they might bring more complexity to children's play and learning.
Good levels of participation in Playcentre training are building parent knowledge of effective ways to support children's learning through play. Improvement focused strategic and annual plans have been developed to support a united approach to the centre's future direction. Parents are choosing relevant topics for internal evaluation.
A distributed leadership model is evident in action. The philosophy of the Playcentre movement and of this centre are well enacted. A core group of parents are working together well to lead this centre forward.
The regional structure is replacing individual Playcentre Associations. Newly appointed regional personnel are making good progress building on existing systems and establishing effective regional management structures for supporting centres. Centre support workers are guided by regional centre support coordinators. Systems are being developed for monitoring the quality of programmes for children, adult education levels and health and safety requirements.
Centre leaders agree that key next steps for centre improvement include:
strengthening internal evaluation to ensure it is guided by evaluative questions and supported by research
strengthening programme planning by looking back through portfolios to plan how adults could bring more complexity to children's learning
continuing to strengthen adults' knowledge and use of te reo Māori and deepen their knowledge of te ao Māori.
The regional manager (acting) and support personnel agree that key next steps include:
implementing and embedding the revised playcentre training programme
establishing a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of centre support systems, roles and processes.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pamapuria 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 Pamapuria Playcentre will be in three years.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
18 January 2019
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 |
Pamapuria, Kaitaia |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
17027 |
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Licence type |
Playcentre |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
28 children, including up to 15 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
16 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 9 Boys 7 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
10 |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
November 2018 |
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Date of this report |
18 January 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
June 2014 |
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Education Review |
October 2009 |
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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.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pamapuria Playcentre, next to Pamapuria School, operates as a parent cooperative and serves a rural community close to Kaitaia. It is one of six centres under the guidance of the Far North Playcentre Association, which provides a governance and management framework and ongoing support. The centre is licensed to provide early education for up to 28 children and can include 15 under two years of age. It currently caters for a small group of local families who have recently opened a second morning session each week. Half of the children attending have Māori heritage.
ERO’s 2013 report identified several areas of concern about the quality of learning experiences for children, the implementation of the Playcentre philosophy and systems for centre management. ERO’s report also recognised the challenges of increasing membership to sustainable levels.
Since ERO’s 2013 review, the centre has received support from the Playcentre Federation through a Ministry of Education contract, to improve programme management and self review. Support from a centre operations support (COS) through the Association will continue for at least two further terms. The centre has also benefited from the ongoing support of an experienced Playcentre person who has longstanding links with this centre and is currently acting as supervisor of the second session. Association support has focused particularly on increasing membership, building strong relationships amongst families, and improving the quality of programmes for children
This review was part of a cluster of four centres in the Far North Playcentre Association.
The national Playcentre organisation is currently in the process of a comprehensive restructure. While this will mean significant changes at the local level, it is expected that support for individual centres will be maintained or strengthened.
Children and new families enrolling at the centre benefit from the leadership and modelling of the Association support worker (COS) and their longstanding mentor. Children and their families are supported well to feel a sense of ownership and belonging in the centre and to make meaningful contributions. Centre members support each other in their parenting and educator roles.
Children are settled and confident in the centre environment. They play cooperatively and are developing good social skills. Older children include younger children in their play and have a leadership role in how the day’s programme develops. Caring, tuakana/teina relationships are a special feature amongst this small group of children.
Infants and toddlers play alongside older children and are included in activities throughout the centre. There is appropriate indoor space and play equipment for infants. Centre members are considering ways to improve this area and also to improve provision for infants and toddlers in the outdoors.
Children confidently initiate play and adults respond to their ideas. The COS is skilled at extending children’s thinking and building on their emerging interests. She includes literacy and mathematical learning and builds their language and communication abilities as she engages children in conversation. Newer centre members are beginning to use similar strategies as they work with all the children to support their learning. Music and paint are well used aspects of the centre’s resources and there are good opportunities for physical play in the spacious outdoor area.
A system of recording significant aspects of each session in a Day Book is helping parents/whānau to recognise what children are learning as they play, and to identify next steps to support further learning. This record is supported well by stories that are written about individual children’s learning. While the quality of these records is not consistent, some good examples provide a valuable foundation for improving links between assessment and planning and for regularly evaluating how well the centre is supporting children’s learning.
Centre members are now meeting regularly to make decisions about centre management and are carefully including new members in these decisions. Some newer members are taking a leadership role in promoting the centre in the community and encouraging new families. Most are beginning to participate in playcentre’s parent education programme.
Centre members and the COS continually talk about ways to strengthen membership and centre practices. Regular reports about progress in each centre and good informal communication networks help Association decision making about the support and parent education programmes needed. The new group of members has not yet established formal self review and management planning.
The Association’s strategic plan provides a guide for governance and is regularly monitored by officeholders. Management and governance processes are well established and are continually refined. The Association continues to consider ways to streamline planning and monitor its centre support. Association office holders have high levels of commitment to the playcentre philosophy and to maintaining playcentre as a valuable early childhood education option in the Far North.
Centre members and Association personnel agree that key next steps to help sustain recently established good practices and continue developing the centre, include:
It is important that transition to the new Playcentre structure is carefully managed to ensure there is no interruption in parent support and education programmes in centres.
ERO recommends, and centre members agree, that Association personnel should continue to provide close support for the centre as the roll grows and centre members become more self sufficient in the running of the centre.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pamapuria 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.
To improve current practice, centre members must establish processes to monitor their practices and to ensure that all legal requirements are met.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to centre management. To meet requirements the Association and centre members need to:
establish, implement and regularly review the privacy policy and procedures, and appoint a privacy officer, to ensure that children’s, families’ and employees’ privacy is protected. Privacy Act 1993, s23.
The next ERO review of Pamapuria Playcentre will be in three years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
30 April 2015
|
Location |
Pamapuria, Kaitaia |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
17027 |
|
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
|
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
|
|
Service roll |
10 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Boys 6 Girls 4 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 5 Pākehā 5 |
|
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1;1 |
|
Over 2 |
1:2 |
|
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
30 April 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review June 2014 |
|
|
Education Review October 2009 |
||
|
Education Review November 2006 |
||
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.