Waiau Playcentre

Education institution number:
70136
Service type:
Playcentre
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
20
Telephone:
Address:

18 Clarence Street, Waiau

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Waiau 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

Waiau Playcentre is a whānau-led early childhood education service administered by Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa – Playcentre Aotearoa. It offers two morning sessions per week for children aged birth to school. A small number of Māori children attend the service. Since the previous March 2017 ERO report there has been significant restructuring and change at the national Playcentre level.

Summary of Review Findings

The playcentre philosophy expresses the service's beliefs, values, and attitudes of a whānau-led early childhood education and care service. Children experience a bicultural and inclusive curriculum that is underpinned by Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum.

The design and layout of the purpose-built playcentre provides different types of indoor and outdoor learning experiences for children. There are suitable spaces for infants and toddlers to lie, roll, creep, pull themselves up and learn to walk. Learning activities are available for more active children. The premises are kept hygienic and maintained in good condition.

Key Next Steps

Next steps include:

  • extending members meaningful use of te reo Māori and integrate the local cultural narrative in the curriculum

  • developing a shared understanding of the new assessment, planning and evaluation documentation including the use of the learning outcomes in Te Whāriki, and how they can be used to show children’s learning and progress over time.

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

14 November 2022 

Information About the Service

Early Childhood Service Name

Waiau Playcentre

Profile Number

70136

Location

Waiau, North Canterbury

Service type

Playcentre

Number licensed for

29 children, including up to 10 aged under 2

Percentage of qualified adults

0-49%

Service roll

32

Review team on site

September 2022

Date of this report

14 November 2022

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, March 2017; Education Review, March 2013

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.

Waiau Playcentre - 29/03/2017

1 Evaluation of Waiau Playcentre

How well placed is Waiau 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

Waiau 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 the playcentre programme and management.

Waiau Playcentre has been part of the community for over 30 years and is the only early childhood centre available within 20 kilometres. It has two morning sessions a week for children from birth to school age.

The community has become increasingly transient and culturally diverse due to changes in the agricultural industry.

Since the 2013 ERO review, the centre has made good progress integrating te reo and tikanga Māori into the environment, resources and programme. Parents are working on ways to evaluate the best teaching practices that promote children's learning.

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

The Review Findings

Children's sense of belonging and wellbeing is well supported in an inclusive and friendly environment. Parents work well together and support each other's children. Children play well in the mixed age groups.

Children are provided with a wide range of interesting learning activities and experiences. Adults support children's play by regularly changing the presentation of the environment and by adding more activities to meet different groups of children's changing interests and needs. The outdoor area is spacious and has resources that reflect the farming context children and their families come from.

The playcentre has a close relationship with the local school. Children regularly visit and have school buddies that become their friends. The adults have developed a well-planned process that helps children to transition easily into the school system.

Infants and toddlers are valued and well provided for. The adults have set up a suitable play area that has appropriate resources for babies and young children.

Parents have been proactively reviewing bicultural perspectives in the play centre's environment, resources and programme. The result of this review has resulted in more use of te reo Māori, waiata and activities. Māori culture is visible in the centre with visual prompts that support parents' use of te reo and understanding of te ao Māori.

Adults are strongly encouraged by the parent committee and coordinator to be actively involved in the operation of the playcentre, and to take part in the association's parent training programme.

The playcentre' strategic plan is closely linked to the association's strategic goals.

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 improvement include:

  • strengthening assessment and planning by focusing more on learning outcomes for children and the ways that adults support this learning

  • extending internal evaluation to focus more on outcomes for children and on all areas of centre operations

  • increasing te ao Māori in the programme and links with the local Māori community to ensure Māori children experience success as Māori.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu

29 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

Waiau, North Canterbury

Ministry of Education profile number

70136

Licence type

Playcentre

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

25 children, including up to 10 aged under two

Service roll

19

Gender composition

Girls 16; Boys 3

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

9

10

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

October 2016

Date of this report

29 March 2017

Most recent ERO reports These are available at www.ero.govt.nz

Education Review

August 2013

Education Review

April 2009

Education Review

February 2006

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.