Somerfield Community Playcentre

Education institution number:
70120
Service type:
Playcentre
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
53
Telephone:
Address:

47 Studholme Street, Somerfield, Christchurch

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Somerfield Community 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

Somerfield Community 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. It provides five morning mixed-age sessions and two afternoon sessions specifically for babies.   

Summary of Review Findings

The playcentre philosophy expresses the service’s beliefs and values about the provision of early childhood education and care. Children have access to a range of physical, creative, and oral language experiences to enhance their learning and development. Adults providing education and care engage in meaningful, positive interactions to promote children’s learning and nurture their communication and social relationships. Te reo Māori is integrated in daily routines.

The playcentre is suitably governed and managed. Reasonable steps are taken to promote the good health and safety of children enrolled in the service.  A national policy, procedure and process framework guides the operation of each playcentre.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • continuing to build parents’ confidence in using te reo Māori with their children and integrating tikanga Māori into the daily programme  

  • continuing to build understanding of the cultural narrative of the local area   

  • embedding new assessment, planning and evaluation processes to support and extend learning in ways that are meaningful for each child, and manageable for the parent group.   

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

Somerfield Community Playcentre

Profile Number

70120

Location

Christchurch

Service type

Playcentre

Number licensed for

24 children, including up to 15 aged under 2

20 children under 2 for ‘Babies can Play’ session

Percentage of qualified adults

0-49%

Service roll

93

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.

Somerfield Community Playcentre - 02/03/2017

1 Evaluation of Somerfield Community Playcentre

How well placed is Somerfield Community 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

Somerfield Community Playcentre operates under the guidance of the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is a parent cooperative with parents encouraged to be involved in all aspects of playcentre programme and management.

Somerfield Community Playcentre has five morning sessions a week for children from birth to school age. It has a full roll and a waiting list.

The playcentre has close links with the community and is located across the road from the local school. Parents are working on establishing a stronger connection with this school.

The community has become increasingly culturally diverse due to changes in employment.

The playcentre has met the recommendations from the 2012 ERO review. Assessment practices, planning and internal evaluation have contributed to ongoing improved outcomes for children.

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

The Review Findings

Children of all ages are well supported by adults to follow their interests and make choices in their play. Children's ideas are valued and adults include them in making decisions about the programme, use of resources, and environment.

Children are well engaged in a wide range of learning experiences. Adults support and extend children's learning by the way they present activities, the environment and use of a range of suitable resources. The outdoor area is spacious and has a range of equipment that extends children's physical skills. Playcentre activities often reflect adults' knowledge, interests and skills.

Leaders use effective ways to support parents' involvement in all aspects of the operation and children's learning. This includes useful guidelines for assessing and planning for children's learning.

Infants and toddlers are provided for well and confidently play in mixed age groups.

Children and families are positively supported in a friendly and welcoming culture. The wellbeing of children and their families is sustained by a caring and collaborative team of parents.

The adults are reflective and have good processes to evaluate the programme, operation and resources. Reviews such as assessment and planning, and supporting older children's learning have contributed to improved outcomes for children.

Parents make good use of the association guidelines and support systems to ensure the effective management of the playcentre and implementation of the programme.

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 key steps for the playcentre include:

  • promoting parents' participation in the association's parent education programme

  • developing a stronger commitment to bicultural aspects of the programme to ensure Māori children experience success as Māori

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

  • developing and implementing a useful and well understood strategic plan.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu

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

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

70120

Licence type

Playcentre

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

24 children, including up to 10 aged under two

Service roll

94

Gender composition

Girls 40; Boys 54

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Asian

Other European

Other ethnicities

11

65

5

11

3

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

November 2016

Date of this report

2 March 2017

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

May 2012

Education Review

June 2008

Education Review

June 2004

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.

Somerfield Community Playcentre - 24/05/2012

1 The Education Review Office (ERO) Evaluation

Somerfield Playcentre is one of 49 operating playcentres that are administrated by the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is open for five sessions each week.

The playcentre operates as a parent cooperative. All parents take responsibility and share leadership for the day-to-day operation of the playcentre. The association offers opportunities for parents to train in playcentre’s early childhood education training programme.

Coordinators and parents provide a warm, welcoming and caring environment for adults and children. The adults know the children well. The centre maintains useful links with local schools that help children and their families to move on to school successfully.

Children have a strong sense of belonging and are confident to make their own choices in the programme.

Children’s learning benefits from the spacious outdoor area that provides many opportunities for them to be involved in physical play and making discoveries. Coordinators and adults actively involve themselves in the children’s play.

The centre has made good progress with the recommendations of the 2008 ERO review. It has received support from the association and maintains good relationships with them.

This review occurred during the time of the Canterbury earthquakes. The association and coordinators have provided a good level of support to families during this time.

The coordinators have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next areas for development are to refine children’s assessment and programme planning; and strengthen the ways they review the centre’s programme and operation.

Future Action

ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

2 Review Priorities

The Focus of the Review

Before the review, the management of Somerfield Community Playcentre was invited to consider its priorities for review using guidelines and resources provided by ERO. ERO also used documentation provided by the centre to contribute to the scope of the review.

The detailed priorities for review were then determined following a discussion between the ERO review team and the management and staff. This discussion focused on existing information held by the centre (including self-review information) and the extent to which potential issues for review contributed to positive outcomes for children atSomerfield Community Playcentre.

All ERO education reviews in early childhood focus on the quality of education. For ERO this includes the quality of:

  • the programme provided for children
  • the learning environment
  • the interactions between children and adults.

ERO’s findings in these areas are set out below.

The Quality of Education

Background

The playcentre’s mission and vision strongly focus on empowering children and families through supportive and caring relationships. Parents are recognised as children’s first educators. The curriculum document, Te Whāriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum is the basis for the programme.

Areas of strength
Relationships

Children benefit from positive, supportive and caring relationships with adults that enhance their sense of belonging. ERO observed children and adults enjoying each other’s company and having fun together. The playcentre is building good relationships with local schools that help to support children and their families to successfully transition to school

Holistic development

Adults make good use of conversations to support children’s language development. Many adults effectively use questioning to extend on children thinking. Adults are very responsive to children’s learning interests and provide opportunities for children to extend on their ideas. Adults encourage children’s independence. Children generally play well together, share ideas and develop friendships. On the day of the review, many children were well engaged in their interests for sustained periods of time.

Informative visual displays provide parents with useful ways they can support children’s experiences at playcentre and make links to home. Systems that help to support the ongoing sustainability of the playcentre have been collaboratively developed.

Families and communities

ERO observed adults working well together and communicating effectively. Families are made to feel warmly welcome. Many parents/whānau are comfortable to spend time at the playcentre and stay for periods of time. They contribute to the effective operation of the playcentre. ERO observed te reo and tikanga Māori being integrated in ways that are meaningful to children and families. There is a wide range of choices and activities for children to be involved in. Experiences in the wider community support and build on children’s interests.

Empowerment

Children are confident to make their own choices in the child-led programme. Children’s individual profile books are well presented and provide a good record of their interests and learning. Adults make good use of children’s assessment to inform what happens for them in the programme. Parents regularly share information to support children’s well-being and learning. Literacy is well integrated in the environment. ERO observed children sharing and enjoying books, and using them as reference tools. Adults provide consistent expectations and positive guidance to support children’s social skills.

Areas for development and review

The coordinators have identified and ERO agrees, that the next steps are to refine and consolidate children’s assessment and programme planning and strengthen aspects of self review.

In assessment:

  • more consistently showing the next steps adults will use to build on children’s learning
  • more clearly showing children’s progress over time.

In planning:

  • more clearly showing the impact of the planned programme on outcomes for children.

Self review

  • extending spontaneous self-review practices to include the impact of these on learning outcomes for children and on the role of the adult.

3 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff of Somerfield Community Playcentre completed an ERO CentreAssurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

  • administration
  • health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial and property management.

During the review, ERO looked at the service’s documentation, including policies, procedures and records of recent use of procedures. ERO also checked elements of the following areas that have a potentially high impact on outcomes for children:

  • emotional safety (including behaviour management, prevention of bullying and abuse)
  • physical safety (including behaviour management, sleeping and supervision practices; accidents and medication; hygiene and routines; travel and excursion policies and procedures)
  • staff qualifications and organisation
  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

In order to improve current practice, playcentre coordinators and the centre support team should:

3.1 review the appraisal processes so that they support the ongoing improvement of teaching practices.

4 Future Action

ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

About the Centre

Type

Sessional, Playcentre

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

24 children, including up to 5 aged under two

Roll number

45

Gender composition

Girls 20;

Boys 25

Ethnic composition

New Zealand Pākehā/European 39;

Māori 6;

Review team on site

March 2012

Date of this report

24 May 2012

Previous three ERO reports

Education Review June 2008

Education Review June 2004

Accountability Review May 1999

24 May 2012

To the Parents and Community of Somerfield Community Playcentre

These are the findings of the Education Review Office’s latest report on Somerfield Community Playcentre.

Somerfield Playcentre is one of 49 operating playcentres that are administrated by the Canterbury Playcentre Association. The playcentre is open for five sessions each week.

The playcentre operates as a parent cooperative. All parents take responsibility and share leadership for the day-to-day operation of the playcentre. The association offers opportunities for parents to train in playcentre’s early childhood education training programme.

Coordinators and parents provide a warm, welcoming and caring environment for adults and children. The adults know the children well. The centre maintains useful links with local schools that help children and their families to move on to school successfully.

Children have a strong sense of belonging and are confident to make their own choices in the programme.

Children’s learning benefits from the spacious outdoor area that provides many opportunities for them to be involved in physical play and making discoveries. Coordinators and adults actively involve themselves in the children’s play.

The centre has made good progress with the recommendations of the 2008 ERO review. It has received support from the association and maintains good relationships with them.

This review occurred during the time of the Canterbury earthquakes. The association and coordinators have provided a good level of support to families during this time.

The coordinators have identified, and ERO agrees, that the next areas for development are to refine children’s assessment and programme planning; and strengthen the ways they review the centre’s programme and operation.

Future Action

ERO is likely to review the service again in three years.

When ERO has reviewed an early childhood centre we encourage management to inform their community of any follow up action they plan to take. You should talk to the management or contact person if you have any questions about this evaluation, the full ERO report or their future intentions.

If you would like a copy of the full report, please contact the centre or see the ERO website, http://www.ero.govt.nz.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services

Southern Region

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT REVIEWS

About ERO

ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.

About ERO Reviews

ERO follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:

  • improve quality of education for children in early childhood centres; and
  • provide information to parents, communities and the Government.

Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.

Review Focus

ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands.

  • Quality of Education – including the quality of the programme provided for children, the quality of the learning environment and the quality of the interactions between staff and children and how these impact on outcomes for children.
  • Additional Review Priorities – other aspects of the operation of a centre, may be included in the review. ERO will not include this strand in all reviews.
  • Compliance with Legal Requirements – assurance that this centre has taken all reasonable steps to meet legal requirements.

Review Coverage

ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this centre.

Review Recommendations

Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.