Paroa Playcentre

1 Evaluation of Paroa Playcentre

How well placed is Paroa Playcentre to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below. 

Background

Paroa Playcentre operates from new, purpose-built facilities next to the local school. Since moving into these facilities three years ago, the playcentre families have carried out substantial fundraising to cover the cost of the new building. The playcentre is led by a strong parent cooperative. Parents are actively involved in the running of the centre and the programmes provided for children.

The playcentre provides two morning sessions each week for up to 29 children from birth to school age. It also provides a morning SPACE (Supporting Parents Alongside Children's Education) session for first-time parents with babies in their first year. All sessions are run by playcentre parents who have gained the necessary playcentre qualifications by being involved in adult-education training provided by the association. New parents to the centre are actively engaged in the education programmes.

Paroa is one of nine playcentres within the Buller/Westland Playcentre Association. Three of these playcentres operate as certified playgroups. The Association consists of a core group of dedicated paid and elected members. It provides a framework for centre management and operations, as well as parent-education programmes and personnel to support centre members.

The Buller/Westland Playcentre Association is experiencing a time of change as all playcentre associations throughout New Zealand merge with the New Zealand Playcentre Federation to reduce duplication and make cost savings. This restructure will mean significant changes at the local association level.

The playcentre has made very good progress towards addressing the key next steps of the 2013 ERO report. These include:

• making improvements to planning and assessment
• focusing on building Māori perspectives
• developing an annual action plan
• implementing self review
• having a strong commitment to training and involving parents in the leadership of the playcentre.

This review was part of a cluster of five playcentre reviews in the Buller/Westland playcentre.

The Review Findings

Paroa Playcentre is enriched by a core group of experienced centre members who welcome and support new families. The strong parent group works well together. The strengths and abilities of each member are used for the benefit of their children and the ongoing sustainability of the centre.

The programme that the team leader and centre members provide for children is underpinned by the overarching philosophy of whānau and children learning together in an enjoyable and nurturing learning environment. The parent group has recently reviewed its playcentre philosophy. The next step is for them to ensure that it reflects their commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and the desired outcomes for children's learning.

All children are well supported at Paroa Playcentre. This is evident in the way that adults:

• have developed shared understandings of how to respond to individual children
• follow children's interests
• help build on play ideas over time
• have genuine conversations to extend children's thinking and to build children's understandings.

The children have strong friendships with one another and competently make choices and lead their play. They play in a well-resourced indoor area. Children participate enthusiastically in a wide range of planned and spontaneous activities. They experience literacy in authentic ways. Parents are establishing links with the local school and regularly take their children to use the facilities.

Children benefit from a programme that acknowledges New Zealand's bicultural heritage. This includes resources, games, wall displays and Matariki celebrations. Adults foster tuakana/teina relationships by the way they include older and younger children in the sessions. Young babies are included and well supported in the programme.

Recent professional learning and development has supported the parents to further develop planning, assessment and evaluation. Parents now have a useful framework to help them plan responsive programmes to meet the interests, strengths and needs of children. This will be further enhanced by placing a greater focus on what they want children to learn through the activities they provide.

The playcentre parents are improvement focused and have an annual action plan to help guide their work. A next step is to further develop understanding and use of self review to better monitor the plan and the effectiveness of programmes and practices. Self review should be guided by an evaluative question and indicators of best practice. 

The Buller/Westland Playcentre Association has a strategic plan to help guide the association work. This, along with each playcentre's annual action plan, should be more formally monitored. Currently the association provides a policy framework for all the playcentres. This will change as the playcentres merge under Playcentre Aotearoa next year. Some policies and procedures within the association need immediate development to give better guidance to playcentres. These include:

• developing robust guidelines and procedures for internal evaluation (self review)
• embedding the learning from recent Playcentre Federation professional  learning
• developing clearer guidelines for assessment, planning and evaluation
• ensuring each playcentre's philosophy includes its community's shared values, beliefs and desired outcomes for its children.

Key Next Steps

The New Zealand Playcentre Federation, the current Buller/Westland Playcentre Association, and the playcentre cooperative need to continue to:

• further develop the Paroa playcentre philosophy
• improve and embed assessment and evaluation practices
• further develop self review
• find ways to monitor progress against the strategic and annual plans to show how well these are supporting and contributing to the Association's and the Playcentre Federation's vision and goals.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Paroa 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 Paroa Playcentre will be in three years. 

Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

18 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 

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.