Park Road, Grafton, Auckland
View on map|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Starship Play Service Ward 25AB is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
The Ward 25AB licence is one of seven services at Starship Hospital. The services operate as part of the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB), the Starship Children's Health Directorate, and Starship Allied Health. A highly qualified clinical team leader has responsibility for the daily operation of the service and leads a team of 31 hospital play specialists (HPS), assisted by an early childhood education curriculum leader.
Ward 25AB provides for patients and whānau of General Paediatrics, Infectious Diseases and Rehabilitation from across New Zealand and the Pacific. The ward is licensed for 25 children. The service is staffed by three Hospital Play Specialists, including two registered teachers.
The HPS implement Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and strategies for dealing with hospitalisation through play and support in playrooms and at children's bedsides. The philosophy for this service references the ADHB Child Health aims of Welcome - Haere Mai, Respect - Manaaki, Together - Tūhono, and Aim High - Angamua.
The vision, strategic direction and values are clearly articulated. The Children’s Health Directorate promotes the value of play, and provides support and resources to the hospital play services. The service is a contributing, vital component of multidisciplinary teams. The Starship Foundation provides significant additional resourcing.
This review was part of a cluster of seven Starship Play Service reviews. The 2016 cluster review identified a variety of good practices. It noted areas for improvement that have been addressed.
Children and their whānau are warmly welcomed. They have opportunities to engage in meaningful, self-chosen play, guided by experienced, highly skilled and dedicated HPS practitioners. Respectful, inclusive and caring approaches quickly build close relationships between HPS and children and whānau. The HPS work with children is sensitive and designed to engage whānau in play as a way to help children to build trust and reduce anxiety. Children respond positively to the attention and care they receive from HPS who work in highly collaborative ways.
The service fosters children's resilience and wellbeing. It supports the hospital's community through evidence-based, culturally responsive, holistic play-based learning. All HPS advocate for and empower whānau and children as the experts about their own wellbeing. Children's 'taonga books', about their individual journeys through their time in hospital, are usually a shared endeavour by children, whānau and HPS. Whānau and children in 25AB treasure these books.
HPS provide a calm and peaceful setting. Warm interactions and conversations facilitate sustained engagement in play and foster children's vocabulary. HPS work collaboratively, skilfully facilitating purposeful learning experiences. Their innovative ideas support play and learning. Literacy and mathematics are seamlessly woven into play. Children's languages, cultures and identities are affirmed. Great sensitivity and a multidisciplinary approach is used around children's transitions through and out of the hospital.
Programmes in the playroom are child-led and interest-based when possible. Planning is highly responsive and often related to children's immediate needs. HPS' evaluation of their work is reflective and often shared to gain insights into effective practices, at regular team meetings and in medical notes. The recently developed clinical coaching team provides expertise, mentoring and support for learning modules towards HPS qualifications.
Environments are purposefully designed, inviting and thoughtfully presented. The playroom is print rich and reflects children’s many cultures. The variety of high quality resources ensures that teachers are able to cater for various age groups. A wide range of open ended resources and activities are skilfully adapted to meet children's individual interests. Healthcare play equipment assists children to engage in medical play. HPS expertise assists children to prepare for procedures and treatments.
Service leaders are committed to embedding te ao Māori in programmes. Te reo and tikanga Māori are reflected in the programmes and environments. HPS have built their capability and confidence in bicultural practice through targeted professional development and shared evaluation. Feedback from whānau is highly positive. HPS are making a concerted effort to develop their understanding of, and support for, children and families from the Pacific and further afield.
Relationships underpin all aspects of HPS and management practices. A high trust model and strong professional relationships with other staff are evident. HPS are well supported through regular opportunities for professional learning within and outside the hospital, and at overseas conferences. Appraisal processes are thorough. Strategic and annual planning have been developed to align with Starship Child Health Directorate strategic goals and more specific HPS goals. A consistently high level of good practice is evident across the service.
Next steps for HPS and the management team include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Starship Play Service Ward 25AB completed an ERO Hospital-based Education and Care 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.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services Northern
Northern Region
11 July 2019
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 |
Grafton, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
45183 |
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Licence type |
Hospital Based Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
25 children, including up to 25 aged under 2 |
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Number of hospital play specialists in the service |
2 |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
2:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
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Over 2 |
1:5 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
May 2019 |
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Date of this report |
11 July 2019 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
January 2016 |
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ERO’s overarching question for a hospital-based service education review is ‘How well placed is this service to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing?’
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 contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Pou Ārahi– how leadership is enacted to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Mātauranga– whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Tikanga whakaako– how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity, contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness ofarotake– self review and ofwhanaungatanga– 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 have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service responds to children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to two years of age.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to the methodology for ERO reviews in Hospital-based Education and Care Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes 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 contribute to children’s learning and wellbeing and are useful to the service.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Starship Childrens Health - Play & Recreation - WD 25A/B is one of eight licensed early childhood services located in Auckland City Hospital and governed by Allied Health Auckland. Two playrooms provide a service for long and short term patients in the two general medical wards. They are open for patients as required, particularly in the winter months. The playrooms provide a six-hour programme for 10 children up to six years of age. The 25A Playroom was not open at the time of this review and ERO was only able to observe staff practices in the 25B Playroom.
When open, the playrooms are staffed by two qualified teachers up to three personnel with hospital play specialist (HPS) qualifications. They work with children in the playrooms and hospital wards to implement Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, and provide planned and responsive learning experiences. The HPS' mission is to support children, siblings and whānau with coping strategies to minimise the impact of hospitalisation and illness.
A team leader from Allied Health and a practice supervisor, who is a qualified early childhood teacher and a qualified play specialist, have responsibility for the daily management of the service. HPS are also part of a multidisciplinary team which is made up of a range of healthcare professionals.
In the past three years, HPS have been involved in ongoing professional learning and development. Internal evaluation processes have been established to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of service operations and teaching programmes for children.
The two playrooms are well-resourced to cater for diverse ages, interests and needs of infants, toddlers, young children and teenagers. Healthcare play equipment assists children to engage in medical play.
The HPS provide responsive and sensitive support. They respect and value the languages and cultures of children and families. HPS plan to continue improving how well programmes, resources and practices reflect cultural diversity. They are strong advocates for the rights of children, their whānau and siblings and are dedicated to reducing stress during their time within the hospital environment.
The HPS are reviewing how well programmes and practices reflect the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand. Their emphasis has been on improving resources and equipment. Increasing their use of te reo Māori in spontaneous play situations and in written learning assessments could help HPS to improve their bicultural practice. Developing a long-term goal to reflect this service-wide focus could support planned, deliberate improvements over time.
The HPS team continues to develop shared understandings about effective practice. They regularly participate in team meetings and engage in professional discussions focused on fostering positive outcomes for children and their whānau. Individual skills contribute to team development and professional learning opportunities have added to HPS knowledge.
The team leader works collaboratively with the practice supervisor to promote improvement. Performance appraisals provide opportunities for HPS to reflect on and develop their practices. Leaders plan to strengthen appraisal by making clearer links to new Education Council requirements.
Good systems have been established for internal evaluation. HPS seek the views of families to inform improvements. The team leader and practice supervisor have identified ways to build on the significant progress that has been made in this area of practice since the 2012 ERO report.
The team leader and practice supervisor agree that key next steps include:
Before the review, the staff and management of Starship Childrens Health - Play & Recreation - WD 25A/B completed an ERO Hospital-based Education and Care 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.
In order to improve current practices, the employer and team leader should ensure that:
The next ERO review of Starship Childrens Health - Play & Recreation - WD 25A/B will be in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
22 January 2016
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 |
Grafton, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
45183 |
||
|
Licence type |
Hospital Based Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
10 children, including up to 10 aged under 2 |
||
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Service roll |
Roll numbers change daily |
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Number of hospital play specialists in the service |
2 |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Under 2 |
1:5 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
Over 2 |
1:10 |
Meets minimum requirements |
|
|
Review team on site |
October 2015 |
||
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Date of this report |
22 January 2016 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
No previous ERO reports |
||
ERO’s overarching question for a hospital-based service education review is ‘How well placed is this service to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing?’ 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 contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Pou Ārahi– how leadership is enacted to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Mātauranga– whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Tikanga whakaako– how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity, contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness ofarotake– self review and ofwhanaungatanga– 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 have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service responds to 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 the methodology for ERO reviews in Hospital-based Education and Care Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to contribute to children’s learning and promote their wellbeing. 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 contribute to children’s learning and wellbeing and are useful to the service.