49 Grey Street, Shannon
View on mapERO’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.
Regulatory standards |
ERO’s judgement |
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Curriculum |
Meeting |
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Premises and facilities |
Meeting |
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Health and safety |
Meeting |
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Governance, management and administration |
Not meeting |
At the time of the review, ERO identified non-compliance with regulatory standards that must be addressed.
Shannon & Districts Playcentre, part of the Lower North Island regional hub, is administered by Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. The centre employs a facilitator to support practice. An administrator and support worker provide guidance in meeting legislative requirements. A previous non-compliance with regulatory standards is now addressed.
The programme for children reflects the Playcentre philosophy of parent-led education, learning through play and Te Whāriki. The service curriculum is responsive to children as confident, competent learners. Children are provided with opportunities to extend and enhance their learning and to develop knowledge of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions with children.
Centre strategic and annual plans guide daily operation. Policies and procedures are reviewed regularly by parents.
During a recent restructure period Playcentre Aotearoa regional centre-facing staff have not been appraised.
ERO found areas of non-compliance in the service relating to:
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, GMA7]
During the onsite visit the service provided ERO with evidence that shows it addressed the following non-compliances:
The next ERO review is likely to be an Akarangi | Quality Evaluation.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
16 June 2021
| Early Childhood Service Name | Shannon & Districts Playcentre |
| Profile Number | 52020 |
| Location | Shannon |
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Service type |
Playcentre |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 15 aged under 2. |
|
Percentage of qualified teachers |
0-49% |
|
Service roll |
11 |
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā 11. |
|
Review team on site |
April 2021 |
|
Date of this report |
16 June 2021 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review, January 2020; Education Review, July 2016. |
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.
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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO assesses whether the regulated 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:
As part of an Akanuku | Assurance Review ERO also gathers and records evidence through:
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Shannon & Districts Playcentre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
Shannon and Districts Playcentre requires further development so that Playcentre Aotearoa, leaders and parents ensure compliance with all health and safety licensing requirements, as outlined in the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services 2008.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Shannon and Districts Playcentre is licensed to provide mixed-age sessional education and care for 25 children two days a week. This includes 15 children up to the age of two. At the time of this review, there are 11 children enrolled.
The Playcentre Aotearoa philosophy, ‘whānau tupu ngātahi – families growing together’, is to empower parents and children to learn, play and grow together. Alongside this, the centre philosophy promotes children's self-directed learning and parents as first teachers.
Since the July 2016 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Shannon and Districts Playcentre is part of the Lower North Island Region and is supported by a regional manager and support persons.
Whānau and families share responsibility for the curriculum. Day-to-day operation is undertaken by session support personnel and centre-elected office holders. A centre support worker and centre administrator regularly visit playcentres to provide professional support, strengthen practice and promote improvement.
The previous ERO report identified priorities for improvement in relation to: internal evaluation; strengthening policy review; and improving assessment, planning and evaluation of children's learning. Members have made progress in strengthening these areas.
This review was part of a cluster of 11 playcentre reviews in the Lower North Island Region.
Building all members' understanding of self review for accountability to ensure all legislative requirements are met is a key next step. Members should be supported by Playcentre Aotearoa to build knowledge and understandings of policies and procedures and support systematic monitoring of these to ensure licensing requirements are upheld.
The service philosophy is highly evident in practice. Parents and children learn together in a family environment that is integral to playcentre ethos. Adults actively listen to children providing time and space for them to create and tell their stories. Te ao Māori is successfully promoted.
The physical environment offers challenges and interest that invite children to explore and become fully engaged in a wide range of activities. Routines are consistently implemented giving children a sense of security in being able to predict what will happen next.
Ongoing observation of children in everyday activities builds a picture of what they are interested in and can do. Their culture, language and identity are reflected in their assessment records. Curriculum planning is responsive to children's interests and to community events and occasions.
The revised parent education programme is becoming more accessible to centre members. At this playcentre, there is a strategic approach to ongoing learning to promote the future viability of the service. Parents have actively engaged with the Playcentre Aotearoa education programme and a range of qualifications have been achieved. Good practice is shared. Parents support each other to grow their teaching skills.
Adults engage in systematic, ongoing evaluation that is responsive to playcentre priorities. This has led to improvements in centre programmes and teaching practice. Maintaining a focus on promoting positive outcomes for children will further strengthen internal evaluation.
Appraisal processes for session support staff have recently been strengthened to better evaluate performance in relation to specific roles and responsibilities, identify professional learning and development needs and focus on achievement of goals.
The national restructuring process continues to require significant attention and support to implement an extensive range of systems and processes. Regular communication from Playcentre Aotearoa seeks to keep parents informed of progress, changes and upcoming requirements.
National policies and procedures have recently been introduced and parents are in the process of aligning practices to these. Ongoing support is required to enable parents to understand and implement these procedures to meet licensing requirements.
Members and ERO agree that adults should strengthen review for accountability and internal evaluation, with a focus on learning outcomes for children.
Playcentre Aotearoa should continue to build knowledge and understandings of policies and procedures and support systematic monitoring of these to ensure licensing requirements are upheld.
Before the review, the staff and management of Shannon & Districts 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.
ERO identified areas of non-compliance relating to health and safety. To meet requirements the service needs to ensure the procedure for monitoring children's sleep records show that checks occur, for children's warmth, breathing and general well-being, at least every 5 - 10 minutes.
[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS9]
Since the on-site phase of the review, members have provided ERO with evidence of steps taken to address this action for compliance.
ERO recommends that the service, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, develops a plan to address the key next steps and actions outlined in this report.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
15 January 2020
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 |
Shannon |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
52020 |
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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 15 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
11 |
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Gender composition |
Female 7, Male 4 |
||
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā |
11 |
|
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+ Based on funding rates |
0-49% |
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Reported ratios of adults to children |
Under 2 |
1:2 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
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Review team on site |
October 2019 |
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Date of this report |
15 January 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
July 2016 |
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|
Education Review |
July 2013 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2010 |
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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:
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.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
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.