35 Bute Street, Ranfurly
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ranfurly Playcentre is one of 47 playcentres within the New Zealand Playcentre Federation's newly-formed South Island Southern Region (SISR). This review was part of a cluster of nine reviews in the SISR Playcentres. The playcentre is located in Ranfurly. It has been serving the Maniototo community for over 50 years. It is open one morning a week. Up to 25 children from birth-to-school age attend with their parents. There are 28 children enrolled, five of whom identify as Māori. Attendance numbers fluctuate due to the seasonal demands of farming and long distances some parents travel to attend.
The weekly session is led by a voluntary educator with early childhood qualifications and parents who have a range of playcentre qualifications. Many of the parents are continuing to increase their levels of training. The playcentre aims to be fully parent-led by the second half of 2018.
In 2017, the playcentre was supported by a centre advisor with occasional visits and frequent communications from the Playcentre association. In 2018, as a result of the Playcentre Federation restructuring of the association, the playcentre now has regular allocated times for visits and receives ongoing support from a centre support worker (CSW) and a paid administrator.
A recommendation of the November 2014 ERO report was for the parents to support the ongoing sustainability of the playcentre, by ensuring that all parents share the workload and delegations to avoid overload. ERO found that this still needs to be a major focus for sustainability.
Ranfurly Playcentre provides a welcoming environment for children and their families. The well-resourced facility provides interesting resources and activities to stimulate and engage infants, toddlers and young children. The area for infants is particularly safe and inviting. Infants benefit from the close attention of their parents and opportunities to socialise with other very young children.
The parents have created a positive culture that welcomes any child and their parent regardless of how often they attend. Children show a sense of belonging and confidence in their play. They choose their activities and are well supported by their own and other parents who work closely with them, extending their ideas and joining in their play.
Māori perspectives are visible in the resources and environment. The playcentre receives ongoing guidance for developing its bicultural curriculum from a rural community education coordinator. Māori children attend with their whānau and are well supported in the playcentre setting to know that their language, culture and identity are valued.
The parents are clear about the important curriculum priorities for the playcentre. These include for their children to relate well to others, develop skills, and be confident and happy. The next step is to link priorities to planning and Te Whāriki, and to later evaluate how well they have supported children to achieve these priorities.
The educator and parents have established a useful foundation for group and individual planning. The next steps are to:
Internal evaluation practices are appropriate for this service. The parents have focused on making improvements that are likely to enhance outcomes for children. As a group they are improvement focused. A small number of parents undertake most of the workload. It is important that all parents actively participate to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the playcentre.
At the time of this review the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA) was implementing the New Zealand Playcentre Federation 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 key next steps for parents with the support of the CSW are to:
Before the review, the staff and management of Ranfurly 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 Ranfurly Playcentre will be in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
13 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.
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Location |
Ranfurly |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
81033 |
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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 |
25 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
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Service roll |
28 |
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Gender composition |
Girls: 16 Boys: 12 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:1 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:4 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2018 |
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Date of this report |
13 June 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
November 2014 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2011 |
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Education Review |
March 2008 |
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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.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Ranfurly Playcentre is one of 35 playcentres within the Otago Playcentre Association (OPA) and is located in the rural township of Ranfurly. It provides one morning session a week for children from birth to school age.
In 2013 the centre underwent a challenging period and numbers of children attending were very low. However, there was a very strong desire for the playcentre to remain open in this community and a group of dedicated parents has worked hard to ensure that the centre remains viable. This includes:
While the parents are working through their training, the playcentre has been well supported by the centre advisor and qualified people within the community. The playcentre is now moving forward in a very positive way and has adjusted the license to accommodate the increasing numbers of infants and toddlers now attending.
This review was part of a cluster of 12 reviews in the Otago Playcentre Association.
Children’s learning and wellbeing are well supported at Ranfurly Playcentre. The indoor and outdoor areas are spacious and well resourced. They provide many opportunities for children to develop physical skills, to explore and be creative.
On arrival children settle quickly into their play. There is a wide range of resources and activities provided for them, including planned activities that promote early literacy and mathematics and cooperation.
There is an enthusiastic and motivated group of parents attending the centre. They and the educator work well together during the sessions to support children’s learning. The adults:
Infants and toddlers are well supported in this mixed-age setting. A safe and well-designed area with appropriate resources has been created for them. There is separate and useful planning for these children.
There is a strong commitment evident to developing the Māori dimension in the programme. Two parents have delegated responsibilities to support this and this is becoming evident in practice, for example, wall displays, waiata and karakia before kai.
As part of this review, ERO investigated how well the centre supports children’s early mathematical learning. ERO found that there had been some deliberate planning for mathematics in the group planning. For example, planning showed opportunities to develop mathematics concepts through baking. Some stories show mathematical learning. Some wall displays showed the mathematics learning that occurs through play. When the educator and parents plan for individual children they should document children’s progress in mathematics. There is scope to build parents’ knowledge of the wider range of mathematics learning
There are effective systems for the running of the centre. This includes:
A strength of this centre has been the way that the parents have collaborated. When redeveloping the centre philosophy, the parents considered what was important for them at the playcentre and involved the children in these discussions. The philosophy is now prominently displayed and described to show what it looks like at Ranfurly Playcentre.
The playcentre has been very well supported by the centre advisor.
A key next step for the parents is to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the centre. This includes continuing:
The parents and educators need to make more manageable and embed the system for planning. Later, if the centre increases the number of sessions provided, consideration will have to be given to involving the parents in individual planning for their children.
The Otago Playcentre Association is facing challenges and uncertainty as the Playcentre Federation and the training they provide undergoes a period of restructuring. During this time the association has made it a priority to focus on the daily operations of the playcentres. This includes:
ERO found that the association needs to:
Each playcentre has the ongoing support of a centre advisor. This includes:
Centre advisors should find ways to make best practice common practice across the association, for example effective self review and planning.
Before the review, the staff and management of Ranfurly 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 Ranfurly Playcentre will be in three years.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services
Southern Region
13 November 2014
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 |
Ranfurly, Maniototo |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
81033 |
||
|
Licence type |
Playcentre |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 8 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
18 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 11 Girls 7 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā |
8 10 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
Educators with playcentre qualifications |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
Parent attend with their own children |
|
|
Over 2 |
1:15 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
August 2014 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 November 2014 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2011 |
|
|
Education Review |
March 2008 |
||
|
Education Review |
February 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.