22nd Mar 2006
Education the Playcentre Way
For more than 55 years Playcentre has been nurturing young New Zealanders, supporting thousands of children aged 0 6
years as they play and grow the Playcentre way.
Playcentre is celebrating its unique contribution to New Zealand early childhood education with a national Awareness
Week Awareness Week. From March 19 25, Playcentres are promoting the importance of pre-literacy through a
collaboration with public libraries throughout the country. Wristbands will be sold and a portion of the proceeds will
be donated to public libraries, while displays and promotions will highlight the many ways in which pre-literacy (the
skills needed before reading can be taught) can be developed.
At the heart of Playcentre is the philosophy of child-initiated play or free play. Simply put, Playcentre children are
free to choose from a variety of activities, deciding what they want to do, when and for how long. Adults are on hand to
provide a safe environment, support the child and offer suggestions to extend their play and their learning.
Playcentre holds that a long-term result of this approach to early childhood education is that these children grow to
become confident decision-makers who take responsibility for their actions and choices.
The Competent Children studies, which have been ongoing 1996, have ranked the quality of Playcentre¹s early childhood
education programme as amongst the highest of all the early childhood services in the study. It also found that
ex-Playcentre children scored significantly higher than others in maths, even years after leaving Playcentre, and that
they were particularly strong on perseverance.
The activities at New Zealand¹s 519 Playcentres offer children more than enjoyment activities are designed as
educational opportunities through which children can discover more about themselves, their peers and the world around
them.
As a parent co-operative, Playcentre can offer significantly lower adult-to-child ratios than other early childhood
organisations. The maximum ratio of 1:5 (and as low as 1:3 in some areas) is considerably less than kindergarten¹s
average 1:15 ratio and provides more one-on-one interaction and learning opportunities. Children¹s ability to develop
reciprocal and responsive relationships with adults is considered one of the most important factors in measuring the
quality of early childhood education, and in this area Playcentre is particularly strong
The Competent Children studies found that smaller group sizes coupled with these more favourable adult-child ratios
resulted in a very high quality experience at Playcentre.
Playcentre offers a safe, fun learning environment for all New Zealand children. Mixed-age sessions offer early social
integration and teach children valuable communication skills. The organisation observes Te Whariki (the national early
childhood curriculum) which views and treats all children as individuals.
Playcentre embraces and reflects the culture diversity of New Zealand/Aotearoa and teaches children to celebrate and
respect the uniqueness of all New Zealanders. Playcentre has a strong commitment to biculturalism, acknowledging Te
Tiriti O Waitangi and incorporating the principals of partnership in its policies and practices. Playcentre also
observes the Universal Bill of Human Rights, particularly in relation to the rights of children.
ENDS