Early Learning Regional News – September 2016

• Tai Tokerau regional update
• Auckland regional update
• Waikato regional update
• Bay of Plenty – Waiariki regional update
• Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti regional update
• Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu regional update
• Wellington regional no update this month
• Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast update
• Canterbury regional update
• Otago regional update

Tai Tokerau regional news

Director’s message

Kia ora koutou

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou

Isn’t it great when the spring months appear and the days start to get longer?

Thank you to all who attended our Funding Review workshops across the region. Your input into the consultation process has been extremely valuable and we appreciate your time.

It is also great to see the numbers attending the Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL | KA) workshops for ECE across Tai Tokerau. We have 4 CoL | KAs officially signed off by the Minister of Education and these workshops ensure the ECE services that feed into the CoL | KAs are kept up to date with the opportunities they have to be part of these learning communities. The 4 CoL | KAs established to date are in the Far North, Kaikohe, Bay of Islands and Twin Coasts (South Kaipara). Professional development planning, supported by the Northland Kindergarten Association (NKA), is also being put in place at these hui so that ECE services can over time review the robustness of their practices in readiness for CoL | KA involvement.

Professional EC Leadership Network

Do you always know who to call when there are concerns about a child’s safety at home? This topic will be explored at the next EC Leadership Network meeting on 21 September at 3.30pm. Speakers from the Police and Women’s Refuge will be presenting. If you would like to join this group please email Megan Cochrane at meganblossom@xtra.co.nz.

Celebrating Northland’s Tamariki conference

The biannual Celebrating Northland’s Tamariki conference for early childhood educators is back this year and the organising committee are very proud to announce that Dr Alex Gunn from Otago University is the keynote speaker. The theme of this year’s conference is Te Whāriki twenty years on … How are we promoting Te Whāriki in our communities of learners? Dr Gunn’s presentation will focus on ‘(Re) connecting with Te Whāriki: Two decades of curriculum implementation in New Zealand early childhood education’.

The conference is also very privileged to have a high calibre of seminar and workshop presenters, who come from many fields within education and health, sharing their knowledge and expertise throughout the day. Natasha Kibble, a specialist with infants and toddlers from Nelson, will facilitate a seminar titled Inspired by Pikler: A respectful way of being. Barbara Watson and Bridgit Williams will facilitate a 2-hour seminar on Walking the Te Whariki talk.

The conference starts with a Mihi whakatau at 6.30pm on Friday evening (30 September) followed by an open floor political forum with local MPs and political party representatives. Each member will have the opportunity to highlight their party’s education plan for the up and coming elections, followed by questions from the floor. The conference kicks off in full on Saturday 1 October in the auditorium at Kamo High School. Registrations and further information can be made online at www.celebratingnorthlandstamariki.co.nz.

Tauwhirowhiro

Kia ora Ngā Puawai o Kaikohekohe for sharing this story.

"Today was a day for celebration and farewell, for joy and for sadness as one community gifts their treasure to another. As I watched Krystal's confidence as she sat on a chair next to Whaea Maari with the korowai draped around her shoulders it was very clear that Krystal was ready for this new learning challenge. Of course that foundation for her learning has been firmly laid by you both Aroha and Leonard and your whānau who are there to support you. It has also been lovingly shaped by the kaiako at Ngā Puawai who have a deeply connected relationship with you all.

I hadn't seen Ngā Puawai's ritual for Tauwhirowhiro before and I was very moved by the feeling of oneness as tamariki and kaiako laid their hands on top of Krystal's and said Karakia and sang the himine He Hōnore as they carried the blessing through for her pounamu. Krystal's pounamu as dipped in water and tenderly placed around her neck. Meanwhile baby Harper slept through the whole ritual, Santana was part of this process and Aroha and Leonard were there to witness this Tauwhirowhiro, with all their love and commitment to their daughter's learning going forward. Just as you have been her strongest advocate in the past this will go forward into her future learning at West School. The Kaiako here will be there too with aroha stretch into the future."

Tips of the month from our Special Education team

The following are tips for teaching/playing with deaf children in an early childhood setting
The degree of support and intervention will vary from one deaf child to another. However, the tips are very generalised and won’t cover in-depth all the strategies needed. The main area of support a deaf child would need is in communication and language regardless of what mode is being used (eg, spoken English/Māori, New Zealand Sign Language, Signed Supported English or a mixture of the above). Communication and language can be learnt but may take a little longer.

• Always make sure eye contact is established and maintained before any communication occurs – it also signals interest and acceptance
• More use of facial expression and natural gestures – tone of voice may not be picked up, hence the need to show these visually
• Speak/sign clearly using simple everyday meaningful language
• Communicate with them at the same eye level as them
• Use as many visual representation/objects to support the topic/conversation
• Pre-teach vocabulary and concepts
• Repeat words in various contexts – expand and extend where and when appropriate/needed. Model language – don’t correct
• Ensure light is in your face and not the deaf child’s
• Encourage the deaf child to sit up at the front, ie, mat time
• Be aware of background noise, especially if the deaf child has hearing aids. When communicating with them, try and do so in a ‘quieter’ area
• Keep parents informed of pre-school happenings/activities and the need to share stories between preschool and home
• Encourage peer interactions and model these.

A deaf child has to concentrate and ‘work’ harder to understand what is going on around them, so they can become more easily tired or may ‘misbehave’. Look for signs of tiredness/misbehaviour and make sure this is separate from ‘normal misbehaviour’. Give them opportunities to have a break/rest. Adults can sometimes misunderstand/misinterpret signs of tiredness or misbehaviour as part of being ‘naughty’. Having said this, deaf children still need to be treated in the same way as other children in terms of what is socially acceptable behaviour and expectations (these just need to be reinforced and modelled often).

Ngā mihi

Hira Gage
Director of Education Tai Tokerau
Phone: (09) 436 8914
Email: hira.gage@education.govt.nz

Auckland regional news

Tēnā koutou

National Excellence in Teaching Awards

On 13 September I was privileged to attend the ASG NEiTA (National Excellence in Teaching Awards – Australia Scholarships Group) which were held at Parliament Buildings. These awards honour exemplary teaching throughout Australia and New Zealand.

6 awards were presented to the recipients by Minister Parata – 2 early childhood awards, 2 primary school awards and 2 secondary school awards.

It was wonderful to see 2 Auckland recipients amongst the group. Nick Johnston of Marshall Laing Primary School received an award for Innovation and Diane McKissock-Davis of St Cuthbert’s College an award for Leadership and Innovation.

Auckland Area Office structure

From Monday 15 August, the Schooling and Early Childhood Education functions in the Auckland region have been integrated into teams covering 0-18 years to support an end-to-end education pathway approach. 

Individual team members will retain a primary focus on schooling and early childhood within their particular areas of expertise. The integrated team approach is expected to provide more opportunities to work collaboratively across the learner pathway.

Contracts and licensing have been drawn together and sit under the management of Business Support. No change has been made to the Network Team.

An additional Education Manager position has been added to the establishment, as well as a Deputy Director of Education. Appointments have been made to both of these roles. The appointment of the additional Education Manager, along with the integration into teams covering 0-18 years, does mean a level of change across geographical areas.

A structure chart of the Auckland office is attached with a more detailed breakdown of the 6 areas and teams.

This structure has been put into place to more effectively support education providers and Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako (COL | KA). The new team design facilitates a whole-of-system, end-to-end user pathway approach with improved coordination across Ministry teams.

Early childhood centres can expect a letter from the Education Manager within the next week advising their details and that of the ECE Education Advisors for your centre. 

Funding Review update

Over a 2-week period, 14 sessions were held in Auckland with a total of 876 attending and with very good participation. The feedback and questions raised at these sessions were invaluable.

Manager profiles

Over the coming weeks I will be profiling the Auckland Executive Education Team outlining the areas and responsibilities assigned to them. The structure for the Ministry from 15 August provides the Auckland Education schooling area with 6 Education Managers, a Manager Network and a Manager Business Support.

Paula Knapp – Deputy Director Auckland

I am delighted to welcome Paula Knaap to the position of Deputy Director Auckland.

Paula is an experienced manager, having worked in a diverse variety of roles in government. In her previous role as Manager Capability Planning and Relationship Management she led the analytics and advisory function (facilitating an ‘intelligence led’ approach). She also had responsibility for stakeholder and relationship management.

Paula has previously practised as a Solicitor and Senior Associate in both the private and public sectors. She has recently completed her Masters studies and has been awarded an MBA with distinction from Henley Business School in the UK.

Julien Le Sueur – Education Manager Central

Julien commenced with the Ministry of Education in 2015 on secondment from his Principal role to lead the demographics analysis project across Auckland. At the beginning of 2016 Julien became permanent in his new role as Manager Education, Central Auckland, leading a team of 10.

Prior to joining the Ministry Julien held teaching positions in Mangere and the North Shore area and then progressed to holding Principal positions at Peninsula Primary and Pinehill School.

Julien states he was privileged to have served as President of Auckland Primary Principals Association (APPA) and is fully committed to building productive partnerships between schools and the Ministry to improve learning outcomes for all our tamariki.

In Julien’s leisure time he likes to play a little golf and enjoys sailing on the Hauraki Gulf.

Julien is looking forward to working with the sector in the role of Education Manager and continuing to strengthen our collaborative practice.

Tongan Language Week

Malo e Lelei

Tongan Language Week ran from Sunday 4 September to Saturday 10 September. This year’s theme was Fakakoloa Aotearoa ‘aki e Loto’iTonga” (Enriching New Zealand with the spirit of Tonga).

Uike ‘o e Lea Tonga celebrates the culture and language of the more than 60,000 people of Tongan heritage who live in New Zealand and 3 initiatives were:

• Tongan language at the Ministry of Education, Mt Eden where staff were invited to participate in the celebrations by: having a go at the online games; taking a look at the display of Tongan artefacts in the foyers of Level 3 and 4; using Tongan salutations in emails, correspondence or when on the phone or in meetings; and adding Tongan words to talanoa when speaking with colleagues.
• ‘Learn better through play?’ Check out these great Tongan Digital Dialects Games around phrases, numbers, colours, fruit and vegetables, animals and vocab too.
• ‘Learn better through listening?’ Randwick Park School in Auckland has created a great series of YouTube clips for Tongan Language Week in 2013. Listen and learn:
  • Greetings and key words
  • Counting
  • Colours
  • Days and months.

We ended the week with a staff shared lunch, including traditional Tongan delicacies for tasting.

Malo ‘aupito

Isabel Evans
Director of Education Auckland
Phone: (09) 632 9333
Email: isabel.evans@education.govt.nz

Waikato regional news

Kia ora everyone!

Release of Public Achievement Information data 2015

We released the Public Achievement Information (PAI) for 2015 recently on Education Counts. Take the time to check out our regional picture. Some of the highlights for me include:

• Overall, Waikato (at 97.1% in the year ending March 2016) exceeded the New Zealand average (of 96.6% in the same period) for prior participation in early childhood education (ECE).
• We have the highest rate of prior participation by Pasifika children, and this has seen an impressive increase of 7.3% in this group since the year ending March 2012.
• More Māori students than ever in Waikato are leaving school qualified with NCEA Level 2 or above. In 2015, 69.9% of Māori 18-year-olds in Waikato achieved NCEA Level 2 or higher. This is almost a 14 percentage point increase since 2011 and means that almost 300 more young Māori achieved NCEA Level 2 or higher in 2015 than in 2011.
• In 2015, 71.7% of Pasifika 18-year-old students achieved NCEA Level 2 or above, up from 56.3% in 2011. In March 2016, 97% of local Pasifika children had been in early learning before entering school compared to 89.7% in 2012.
• In total, 81.9% of Waikato 18-year-olds achieved NCEA Level 2 or higher in 2015. This is up 9.3 percentage points since 2011.

We do need to do more in some areas. For example, the percentage of our region’s children at or above national standards for reading, writing and mathematics has gone up by between 0.6 and 2.7 percentage points since 2012, but these results remain below national averages.

Overall, we are seeing real education gains for more and more of our children and young people. In particular, the increasing number of our young people gaining NCEA Level 2 is great news for the future of our region and its economy. Well done everyone – this has been a real team effort.

Hamilton Children’s Team

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Deanne McManus-Emery who joins the Hamilton Children’s Team as the new Director. Deanne will take up the challenge of leading this really important work across Hamilton city helping to support children and young people. The latest Children’s Action Plan (see Newsletter for August 2016) has recently been published. In this month’s edition you can find out more about:

• Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki announcement and Vulnerable Children's Hub first birthday celebration
• The new Children's Commissioner on being child-centred
• How to refer a child to a Children's Team or the Vulnerable Children's Hub
• Story from a Children's Team – “I'm not turning back now!”
• Update from the National Children's Director.

Integrated Safety Response for Family Violence

I wanted to let you know that we will be involved in a special pilot in Waikato called the Integrated Safety Response for Family Violence. This is a multi-agency work programmedesigned specifically to tackle the issue of family violence and abuse in New Zealand. A first pilot began earlier this year in Christchurch and, as you will see from the press release, Waikato has been chosen because of the work we have already been running with the Family Safety Network.

Already in Christchurch we know that through agencies working together and sharing information in real time a life has been saved. In Hamilton through the Family Safety Network we know that children and young people who have witnessed family violence have been able to get the necessary support within a short period of time from professionals and at times within the context of their school – sometimes the only safe space for them. You can view the parliamentary press release about the Integrated Safety Response for Family Violence.

Like the Hamilton Children’s Team this is really important work and I think it’s important that you know about it. We will have a greater impact for children and young people with their families and whānau if we are working really effectively together, both within the education sector and with other agencies.

Cook Island’s Language Week Celebrations in Tokoroa

The Tokoroa Punanga Reo Taokotai cluster of (4) punanga’s (early childhood centres), celebrated Cook Islands Language Week from 31 July to 7 August 2016 and they share this report. 

Services in the cluster include Lou Lou’s Te Manava Roa Early Explorers Centre, Ra Itu Koanga Reo, St Luke’s Mokopuna and Te Ara Metua Punanga Reo.

The festival was lively, vibrant and energetic with a colourful display of cultural performances from the punanga. Teachers and children practise throughout the year and the children select their items of kapa rima, ura pa’u, ute and imene, which are performed on the day. The beautiful pareu clothing worn by everyone was lovingly sewn by their teachers.

It is a unique time where all cultures of tamariki come together to showcase the spirit of the Cook Islands and celebrate their unique culture with the community of Tokoroa. The festival began 4 years ago when the government endorsed Te Reo Kuki Airani and we haven’t looked back.

To all our tamariki, teachers, families, grandparents, friends and distinguished guests, Reverend Timote Turu of St Luke’s PIPC, the Mayor of South Waikato Papa Neil Sinclair, Jenny Shattock from the District Council, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Te Hiringa, Kohanga Reo, and our Ministry of Education advisors Pixie Macalister and Ulu Nawagavanua – kia orana e kia manuia.

From the Waikato District Health Board – Public Health Unit

Public health information for ECE settings: The Public Health Unit of the Waikato DHB puts together a newsletter for ECE settings and Issue 3 was published in July. The Keeping families and communities well newsletters have links to helpful websites and information to help support your work. The link above will take you to the newsletters on the Waikato DHB’s website – scroll to the bottom of the page and the newsletters are under Publications.

Measles update: Public Health have notified us that a measles outbreak has been declared over in Waikato, but the need for continued vigilance and immunisation remains. Read more on the Waikato DHB website (Measles update).

Rheumatic fever: There is updated information about rheumatic fever prevention, especially sore throats, in the poster below.

Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou

Paula Rawiri
Director of Education Waikato
Phone: (07) 850 8924
Email: paula.rawiri@education.govt.nz

Bay of Plenty – Waiariki regional news

Director’s message

Kia ora and talofa lava

Another really busy month, but great that the weather is warming up and spring is here! I’m loving the Paralympics and my kids and I have been inspired by our athletes. Every one of them has an amazing story of overcoming the odds and adversity, something we should take inspiration from in our work and lives.

Congratulations to Natalie Bell from Maungaarangi Kindergarten and Family Centre in Tauranga who was one of 6 recipients of the ASG National Excellence and Teaching Awards in Wellington on Tuesday 13 September. I had the pleasure of attending the awards at Parliament, and while I didn’t get to talk to Natalie directly I felt extremely proud that one of our own was given this prestigious award. You can find out more about ASG and Natalie on the ASG website.

There is certainly a lot happening in the education world at present. I hope that you are managing to keep informed about what’s going on. It’s all about raising achievement for all through a series of coherent system improvements. If you’d like to talk about any of the changes don’t hesitate to email me and I’ll forward it to the most appropriate person in the office. We are also able to attend any meetings where these improvements might be discussed.

This month sees the retirement of Jan Ballantyne, the CEO for Central Kids Kindergartens. She has been the CEO for 20 years. I have had the pleasure of meeting with Jan on a number of occasions and have admired her passion for education. My youngest currently attends one of the Central Kids Kindergartens and we are most impressed with both the kindergarten and the organisation as a whole. All the very best to you Jan in your future endeavours. Jon Dimock and Michelle Grant-Broughton, ECE Advisors and Jeanette van der Wal, a Special Education Service Manager, were able to attend the farewell function but unfortunately I had another commitment that evening. In November the association is welcoming Phil Grady to be its new CEO.

At this year’s ECE Symposium the workshop from Child Matters referred to photographs of children. I hope that you all have policies and procedures that ensure the proper security of photographs and/or recordings of children and that these are maintained. For instance, do staff use their personal phones to take and store photographs and how do you ensure the photos on these phones are secure at all times? How long do you keep photographs for? If you take photographs for planning and assessment purposes and have parental authority to do this, can you use these photos for promotional purposes? These are just a few questions that I believe should be considered when developing your policies and procedures around this matter.

I was really pleased that over 90 participants from the early childhood sector attended 1 of 2 sessions held in both Rotorua and Tauranga provided by Autism NZ. Reports back to me have all been very favourable, with participants saying they found the information and tools practical and useful, not only for children with autism but for all children with behavioural difficulties.

On another note, the eastern part of our region recently experienced a number of earthquakes. We made contact with you to ensure that everything was okay and to ascertain if you needed any support. This also enabled us to provide accurate information to both the media and central government about what was going on. Our thoughts were with you as you dealt with your own anxieties as well as those of the families and children that you work with.

Ia Manuia

Ezra Schuster
Director of Education Bay of Plenty – Waiariki
Phone: (07) 349 8309
Email: ezra.schuster@education.govt.nz

Hawke’s Bay – Tairāwhiti regional news

Director’s message

Tēnā koe

Spring is here, which means longer days and warmer temperatures, especially in our wonderful Hawke’s Bay – Tairāwhiti region. It has been great getting out and about visiting a number of our local schools, services and sector leaders over the last 2 weeks. So many positive initiatives and people out there! There is a lot going on in the education space at the moment and we really appreciate the sector’s willingness to actively engage with us and give feedback.

Tsunami alert

Last week we had a real life practice of our tsunami response on the East Coast. By a ‘strange coincidence’ our Ministry Office held a simulated Civil Defence and Emergency Management Exercise (Tangaroa) 2 days before based on a very similar scenario! In a regionally located tsunami we will get anything from a few minutes to 2-3 hours’ warning. Thankfully, the Friday alert was scaled back very quickly. However, it is an important reminder to all early childhood services about the need to constantly review and refine your own evacuation, communication and response systems. If we had a 1 hour warning of a tsunami during the day what plans do you have?

I also wish to remind services to get in touch with your Education Advisor or Ministry contact to advise us of your response in an emergency situation and to keep us updated as circumstances change. Give us a call, send an email or drop us a text – as long as you get in touch.

Centrally-funded PLD coming to a place near us

We are very keen to hear from anyone who believes they have the experience, knowledge, skills, expertise, time and/or interest in becoming a member of our Regional PLD Allocation Panels (in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti). The panels are responsible for assessing PLD proposals from the sector and recommending the allocation of centrally-funded PLD.

If you would like more information about how to submit an expression of interest, please contact Viv Mulligan at vivienne.mulligan@education.govt.nz.

Books for Babies programme

I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Storytime Foundation’s ‘Books for Babies’ programme with Te Taiwhenua O Heretaunga. This initiative sees a focus on exposing babies to books in their first 1,000 days, with participating families receiving books and information to support them. We look forward to seeing this programme in action.

Roy Sye
Director of Education Hawke’s Bay – Tairāwhiti
Phone: (06) 833 6898
Email: roy.sye@education.govt.nz

Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu regional news

Kia ora

Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa

Welcome to Deb Rewi – Education Advisor ECE

Deb has over 20 years’ experience in the education sector as an early childhood teacher and manager. She is passionate about working with teachers, whānau and communities to understand and implement high-quality teaching practices. Through these practices, the focus is on supporting children to develop positive attitudes about their own culture and the culture of others alongside independence, social understandings and critical thinking “can do” attitudes.

Contact Deb by email (deborah.rewi@education.govt.nz) or phone (06) 757 6426 or 027 441 8836.

TWM Professional Learning Forums

It was fantastic to see many of you at the Early Learning Forums held across our region this month. The forums focused on Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL | KAs) and building collaborative relations, something that is essential to working within a CoL | KA. I appreciated the opportunity to share information about the formation of CoL | KAs, where the approved CoL | KAs are in our region and where future CoL | KAs are being formed. Most importantly I discussed how ECE services might become involved in a CoL | KA and the value of your involvement. I strongly urge you all to talk to your local schools to find out what they are doing and how you might become engaged with them. Further information on CoL | KA can be found on our website.

Congratulations to the 4 early learning services that have been approved to join the Inglewood CoL | KA. They are Inglewood Community Childcare, Inglewood Playcentre, Inglewood Kindergarten and TopKids Inglewood. These are the first early learning services to be officially approved to be part of a CoL | KA in our region.

Chrissy Lepper, LEAP Education, facilitated a workshop on educationally powerful and collaborative relationships. Her workshop was developed using the ERO 2015 report, Educationally Powerful Connections with Parents and Whānau. The report indicated that this was vital for positive academic and social outcomes for students. Participants at the forum had time to explore what educationally powerful connections might look like, what they were doing well and to share good practice.

Chrissy challenged the groups to consider early learning in the context of the wider education system and encouraged services to link with schools in meaningful ways. Examples were shared of where this is working well, including one where a school and ECE service had developed an assessment/reporting tool that incorporated both Te Whāriki and the New Zealand Curriculum.

We have found both series of forums to be a great way to connect with you all. We look forward to holding further forums in the next year.

Taranaki Playgroup supporting children with hearing loss

Anne Fearn, Advisor on Deaf Children, works with the Child and Adolescent Community Centre and the Parents of Deaf Children Taranaki Inc at a monthly Playgroup to support families/whānau of children with hearing loss.

Anne working with children and families at the monthly Taranaki Playgroup.

This group just celebrated its 10-year anniversary! The Playgroup enables families/whānau to share their stories and support one another in a relaxed setting. It also allows parents to see other children with hearing aids and cochlear implants. It is a wonderful forum to model and exchange language strategies and to teach rhymes, songs and storytelling.

Do feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss any issues or ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ngā mihi

Jann Marshall
Director of Education Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu
Phone: (06) 349 6352
Mobile: 021 229 7685
Email: jann.marshall@education.govt.nz

Wellington regional news

No update this month

Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast regional news

Inclusion and support for Pasifika learners in Marlborough

The public achievement target for early childhood is for 98% of children to attend early childhood prior to starting school. We are regularly monitoring and supporting this goal and pleased to see that in this region we have reached the overall 98% target across the Nelson/Tasman/West Coast area. However, this is not equitable for all groups in our communities. In ensuring every child has the same opportunity to participate in early childhood, we are now focusing on isolated communities and culturally specific needs within communities. Marlborough, with an increasing Pasifika population and a number of families new to New Zealand, is one of the focus areas. We have supported the area with provision of professional development for Pasifika Playgroups and licensed ECE services in Marlborough.

The Marlborough Kindergarten Association has been engaged to work directly with 2 local Samoan and a Tongan Playgroup to extend play opportunities and levels of engagement between parents, children and educators. Glenis Duffield, Head Teacher of Redwoodtown Kindergarten, has been providing this support.

With a number of regular visits the response to this investment has been marvellous and feedback from families really positive: “We are working together and share the children’s learning”, “Very helpful for the kids when Glenis is here, they really like playing with her”, “All the mothers appreciate what Glenis does” and “We always love the time Glenis spends with us. The kids are happy to see her and we like how she shows the kids the right way of playing with toys”. REAP Marlborough and Plunket are providing a Playgroup venue for the Pasifika Playgroups and having their own location will add to a sense of belonging and place in this community.

We also provided a workshop for the early childhood services in the area facilitated by Mark Tulia, Pasifika, the Ministry’s Education Advisor. He provided an overview of the demographics for Pasifika families in Marlborough and then worked with them to support services to develop strategies for engaging with these families. The 40 participants were very positive at the end and keen to meet again in 6 months to review progress. Comments included:

“Teachers found this workshop informative and insightful around culture and the current Pasifika population in Blenheim. We had not realised how most Pasifika have come from the Islands with no understanding of early childhood and the importance we place on it in New Zealand. This made teachers reflect on their approach and how to build a trusting relationship”.

"Our kindergarten will reflect resources specific to the Pacific Islands and their culture. Any future families will feel a connection and a sense that their culture has been recognised".

“Mark provided some great strategies and ideas for creating an environment and programme that is welcoming and inclusive”.

 "I was surprised how small things can make a difference”.

"It was good to go away feeling that this could be easily implemented”.

“Teachers left this workshop feeling confident with skills and strategies to implement the Pasifika Education plan”.

Erika Ross
Director of Education Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast
Phone: 03 539 1533
Email: erika.ross@education.govt.nz

Canterbury regional news

Director’s message

Kia ora

On 4 September we marked 6 years since the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. I would like to acknowledge your strength and the resilience of your communities as we continue to support our children, whānau and staff to manage the changes in response to the earthquakes.

The Ministry has been working with sector partners to strengthen inclusion and modernise how Learning Support (previously called Special Education) is delivered across the education sector. The Learning Support Update is a unique opportunity for us to strengthen the system to help more children and young people than ever before – in a comprehensive and sustainable way. You can read more about the Learning Support Update on our website.

The Ministry of Education support families and early childhood educators who ask for support when they are concerned about the learning, development or behaviour of young children.

This service and support is available to children from birth until they start school. Our main focus is to provide timely, high-quality specialist support. Support can be requested by completing the request for support form [PDF; 168KB], by contacting the service manager for your area, or by talking to one of our staff who may already be working in your centre. To contact the service manager for your area please phone our Christchurch office on (03) 378 7300.

Our support services are available across Canterbury and you can find more information about Behaviour Services and Support on our website. Also see:

• Special Education Early Intervention
• Much More than Words – information on children’s communication development can be found on the Te Kete Ipurangi website
• The Incredible Years – Early childhood/school/parent programmes
• PB4l – Positive Behaviour for Learning and The Incredible Years website.

Professional Learning and Development Allocation Panel

Professional learning and development is being made available to Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL | KA) to help meet achievement challenges. A regional allocation panel is being established in Canterbury to review and approve applications and you should have received an email about this. The panel will reflect regional diversity and priorities and include ECE representation. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or Karyn Wilson (karyn.wilson@education.govt.nz) if you are interested in knowing more.

Congratulations to the following services who received a Category 4 report from the Education Review Office (ERO) earlier this year:

• Edukids Wairakei
• Huntsbury Preschool Inc
• Forfar Nursery &
• Preschool.

Well done to all of you.

Two reports

Finally, below you will find a report from Fun Times Playgroup about some of their activities over the last few months and a report from the August Futures Network hui. I will be attending the November hui and look forward to talking about the things that matter to you. If you have any specific questions or topics that you would like me to cover please email these to barbara.madden@education.govt.nz.

Fun Times Playgroup (FTPG) gets out and about

Submitted by Lucy Wallis

Fun Time Play Group’s (Riccarton) theme last term was transport. We really loved finding out about cars, trains, trucks and planes too. As a special event we organised a trip to the Air Force Museum. They have a special pre-school programme that we booked. To make it easy for everyone to get there, and to make it an extra special trip, we booked a double decker bus from Christchurch Coach Charters to take us there. It was so exciting just to see it! Of course we just had to sing ‘the wheels on the bus’ as we drove along. We could see so much from the top deck. The programme leader at the Air Force Museum was excellent. The content was perfect for our little ones. We got to go in a private hanger and see some rare airplanes. We even got to climb into one and had a pretend flight. At the end of the flight we got to take it in turns to jump out the side of the plane onto a crash mat and pretend to be parachuting! At the end of the trip there was a little treasure hunt in the main museum. I love the Air Force Museum and now all our Playgroup families know they can go on an adventure here any time and it’s free! The museum staff were fantastic and we will definitely be planning another trip there.

Helping others: The team of volunteers who run FTPG care deeply for the families who attend our sessions. We want to serve our community by providing a great playgroup – a place for the kids to have a great time and for the adults to make friends, have someone to talk to, have a laugh or two and support one another. Sometimes when we are busy, tired parents we can feel a bit trapped in our own situation or stage of life and it can seem like we are not much help to others. As a team we wanted to do more for our community and wondered if we could somehow help older people in our area. We had all read about the benefits of preschoolers and the elderly interacting. With some clever thinking, we contacted Age Concern and they liked the idea of bringing some local residents to visit our playgroup. We had 9 local elderly people come along. The children loved having new people to talk to, hand toys to and chatter to. On the craft table they made cards to give to them, parents helped to write messages inside. The cards were given and received with love and a smile. The visitors joined us for our mat time story and songs – they even gave us a round of applause! Then we put on a special morning tea for them. It was a great occasion and we plan to make this a regular occurrence. I think it really gives you a lift when you are able to help someone else. It broadens our perspective, lifts our eyes from our own troubles, and helps us to see all we are blessed with. We hope some friendships will be formed with our visitors and our local Playgroup families.

Futures Network – Greater Christchurch Early Childhood Community

Submitted by Viv Shearsby and Sandy Radford

The Futures Network meets quarterly to discuss topics of interest and current developments and initiatives in the early childhood community, providing a place to come together and network. In August we began with a community discussion of the information regarding the Education Funding Review. We then heard from Vanessa Goodwin (Lead Adviser from the Ministry of Education) who is the contact person for the Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL | KA) model being implemented across New Zealand. Vanessa outlined the overall purpose and benefits of CoL | KA, including enhancing collaboration and sharing expertise between sectors to address ‘achievement challenges’. She was able to share some insights into the experiences of the 15 CoL | KA across the Canterbury region, including 6 with current early childhood involvement. This was a very informative session, and Vanessa encouraged early childhood services to engage and become part of this significant development in the structure of education and professional learning and development.

The Futures Network is an important and valuable early childhood education meeting place and one that supports the sharing of current information and the opportunity to keep abreast of wider contextual information and issues. Join us at our November meeting when we will host Coralanne Child (Director of Education, Canterbury) and further discuss recent developments in education, including the Education Funding Review. Please note the later start to this hui.

If you are interested in being added to the Futures Network database please email barbara.madden@education.govt.nz and join us for our next meeting.

Futures Network Meeting
Tuesday 8 November 2016
10.30am – 12.30pm
Helen Kitson Function Centre
Rangi Ruru Girls School
Rhodes Street
Merivale
Christchurch 8041

Mā te wā

Coralanne Child
Director of Education Canterbury
Phone: (03) 378 7345
Email: coralanne.child@education.govt.nz

Otago-Southland regional news

Unique Playgroup in Iona Rest Home and Hospital

Kia ora koutou and warm Pasifika greetings

The connection between the old and the young has always been valued and is probably an under-utilised resource in terms of what our elderly have to offer. An Oamaru Playgroup has been aware of the importance of interacting across age groups and has been working in this way for over 20 years.

The Iona Playgroup believes they are the only playgroup in New Zealand associated with a rest home. Mothers and children have been coming to Iona Playgroup for 22 years to socialise with each other and with Iona Home and Hospital residents.

The certificated playgroup meets in a lounge at Iona Rest Home and Hospital in Oamaru every Thursday from 9.30 to 11:30am, with residents coming along to watch and interact with the children. Indoor and outdoor play activities are on offer, morning tea with the tamariki, including a music and movement session at the end.

Past President Natasha Gutsell, who has belonged to the group for about 5 years, said they get on average 10 to 20 mothers come along with their children aged between 0 and 5 every Thursday.

Iona Home and Hospital Senior Activity Coordinator Diane McCone said having the older residents mix with the mothers and children provided intergenerational stimulation for each age group. “It’s nice for [the children] to see older people”, she said.

Co-founder Lauris Polson said she had the idea after working at the rest home and realising there was a need for more people in the community to mix with the residents.

Iona Home and Hospital residents sharing valuable time together with the children of the Iona Playgroup.

So I encourage you to think about the connections your early learning centre can make with different age groups, be it the elderly or teenagers, who can add a new dimension to the learning of the children in your care.

Please contact me if you wish to discuss any issues or ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ngā mihi mahana

Julie Anderson
Director of Education Otago, Southland
Phone: (03) 471 5217
Mobile: 027 836 4846
Email: julie.anderson@education.govt.nz