Springvale Playcentre

1 Evaluation of Springvale Playcentre

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

Springvale Playcentre requires further development to promote positive learning outcomes for children.

Springvale 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.

Background

Springvale Playcentre is licensed to provide weekly, mixed-age sessional education and care for 25 children. This includes 15 children up to the age of two. At the time of this review, there are 94 children enrolled and eight identify as Māori. A parenting support programme for new parents and babies operates four days a week.

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 Springvale Playcentre philosophy promotes parents as first teachers; ako - reciprocal learning and inclusive practices.

Since the February 2017 ERO report, the New Zealand Playcentre Federation has restructured by amalgamating all associations to form Playcentre Aotearoa. Springvale 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; planning for children's learning; appraisal; children's transitions to school; Te Tiriti o Waitangi practices; and practices that support sustainability of operation. Members have made progress in strengthening these areas.

This review was part of a cluster of 11 playcentres in the Lower North Island Region.

The Review Findings

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 playcentre philosophy is highly evident in practice. Children lead their own learning in a play-based environment that successfully supports their growing independence. Members are welcoming and inclusive. Whakawhanaungatanga is apparent as members build relationships within their playcentre community.

Parents observe children in everyday activities and build a picture of what they are interested in and can do. This assessment is highly responsive to children's language, culture and identity. Information from group and individual assessment is used appropriately to plan the curriculum.

Children under two years of age benefit from access to quiet areas where they can learn at a calm and slow pace. Secure family relationships are evident as infants and toddlers learn from their older siblings and friends. Tuakana teina relationships are successfully promoted.

The revised parent education programme is becoming more accessible to centre members. At this playcentre, members have a strong commitment to teaching and learning that contributes to positive learning outcomes for children. Parents have actively engaged with the Playcentre Aotearoa education programme and a range of qualifications have been achieved. This approach has increased the number of families on the roll, supporting sustainability of playcentre operation in this location.

Members engage in systematic, ongoing internal 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.

Within the context of a playcentre environment, children and whānau are well-supported for their move to school. Older children benefit from an increased emphasis on developing skills and dispositions that will aid their smooth transitions.

Members have worked collaboratively to strengthen their practice in relation to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Kupu Māori are used spontaneously during the session and rich examples of te reo Māori feature in children's learning stories. Te Whāriki principles of whānau tangata; whakamana and kotahitanga are woven throughout playcentre practice.

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.

Key Next Steps

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.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Springvale 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 health and safety and premises and facilities. To meet requirements the service needs to improve its performance in the following areas to ensure:

• the written emergency plan is reviewed at least on an annual basis and includes emergency procedures in the event of lockdowns
• heavy furniture, fixtures, and equipment that could fall or topple and cause serious injury are secured
• windows or other areas of glass accessible to children are made of safety glass, covered by adhesive film or guarded by barriers
• the design and layout of the premises support effective adult supervision
• the outdoor activity space is safe, well-drained and suitably surfaced
• at least one of the toilets for use by children is designed to provide them with some sense of privacy.

[Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008, HS7; HS6; PF7; PF2; PF13; PF22]

Since the on-site phase of the review, members have provided ERO with evidence of steps being taken to address these areas.

Development Plan Recommendation

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

14 January 2020

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

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.

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.