There are many ways in which the extended family can be involved in Playcentre. Each centre usually operates as a small community, and parents will often ‘visit’ outside session time, and these relationships quickly become the ‘fabric’ of our lives, especially for those who do not have their own extended family nearby.

Other ways the family gets involved are:

• Because Playcentre is a co-operative
  the parents have the responsibility for all the requirements of running the centre. Working bees to build new equipment or maintain the existing structure are common – this usually requires the skills of the whole family.


• ‘Fish and chip’ evenings
  especially on Friday nights, when the older school children love to return - brings in fathers and others.


• Grandparents’ days
  when grandparents are especially welcome


• Playcentres vary across the country.
  Some Playcentres hold an annual camp where all the families come together for a weekend. Others hold the occasional social evening.

There are both similarities and differences between Playcentre and Kindergarten. In some areas in the country, the difference is very little, but in others, it is quite large.

• The age range of children in the organisations is different.
  Playcentre caters for children from birth to school age, and we believe that mixed-age sessions offer excellent learning opportunities for all age groups.
  Kindergarten typically runs different session times for 3 – 4 year olds and 4 year olds and they believe children thrive when playing with peers of the same age.


• Playcentre has a special licensing agreement with the Ministry of Education
  which enables us to run sessions with more adults holding Playcentre-specific qualifications (because we are a co-operative).
  Kindergartens are run by teachers who must hold a Diploma of Teaching (ECE).


• Playcentre ratio is one adult to 5 children
  and in some places is one adult to 3 children.
  At Kindergartens the ratios are 1 teacher to 15 children, plus parent help (when they can get it). There is always a committee of parents supporting the teachers and the needs of the kindergarten.


• Playcentre offers free Parent Education (including an NZQA recognised programme) offered to all participating parents.

Each individual Playcentre sets their own fees/donations according to their community.

An average cost would be $00.00- $50.00 per 10 week term.

Playcentre prepares children for school by giving them a wealth of opportunities to learn the necessary skills.

At Playcentre children learn:

• the ability to play, to have fun, to be engaged in the world around them
  to be learners


• social and communication skills
  with other children and especially with adults


• self-help skills
  such as asking for directions, feeding themselves etc


• group skills
  working with other children (and adults)


• the ability to concentrate
  on something, and to be absorbed


• the ability to be fascinated
  in the world around them


• a sense of belonging
  in their families, in the local community


• the ability to express themselves creatively


• the ability to choose for themselves
  an activity, what they want to do.


• increasing independence
  at their own rate


• respect
  to respect others, and that they are respected in turn


• foundations to reading, mathematics, physical etc skills
  through play and opportunities offered to them

Parents are expected to attend at least one Playcentre session in a 10 week term in some areas and every session in other areas.

In families where both parents work, and a nanny is employed, the nanny may bring the child to Playcentre. It is still important that the parents have some involvement in the Playcentre – perhaps attending child evaluation meetings, where the strengths and interests of the children are shared and discussed so that the sessions are interesting for the children.

The Competent Children study [1996] ranked the quality of the early
childhood education programme provided within the Playcentres in the study
amongst the highest of all the services in the study.
Playcentres philosophy encourages the children to decide which challenges they wish to tackle and to decide when they wish to move on to other activities. This was felt to be an important aspect of the programme quality. At age 6, the ex-Playcentre children were ranked at the highest level for the attitude of perseverance. This is an important life skill for all of us if we are to learn to solve problems and master difficult tasks. Perseverance or persisting with difficulty is now one of the key learning habits/dispositions/behaviours that early childhood teachers are being encouraged to observe and foster in the children in their care.
The study concluded that the smaller group sizes and better adult child ratios common in Playcentres was a key factor in the very good quality achieved in our parent co-operative.

The more you put into something, the more you get out of it and this is certainly true of Playcentre involvement. There are the basic requirements of attending a local centre, and then there are the optional extras.


Basic requirements:

• Attending sessions:
  responsibility for this varies throughout the country. In some areas, parents are expected to attend all or most sessions with their children, whilst in other areas, parents might attend once or twice a term. During sessions, parents may be expected to play with their own children and those of others, perhaps to be involved in some administration (marking rolls etc).


• Attendance in Playcentre education.
  Parents are strongly encouraged to make use of the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge by attending combinations of workshops and courses which are provided free - how many and often is a personal choicecombinations of workshops and courses - how many and how often is personal choice.


• Attendance at business meetings and meetings to plan for children
  is essential for the running of the co-operative. This may require one or two meetings (frequently held in the evening) a term.


• To run a centre, there is a required list of office holders
  president or co-ordinator, secretary, treasurer, education officer, equipment officer, etc. The centre requires people to carry out the tasks of each office,training and support is offered for all tasks or roles a parent might take up in their centre or association.

• involvement at association level as an office holder.


• attendance at association-level events as a centre representative


• facilitating meetings – for your own centre, or other centres


• facilitating adult learning – running workshops, or courses


• involvement at national level

yes - everybody is offered the opportunity to do some of the parent education programme. Through training, you learn about how children develop, good ideas to use with children at Playcentre and at home, Playcentre philosophy, communication skills etc. Some knowledge of this is essential for the running of Playcentre sessions.

Free play is better described as ‘free choice play’. This means that the child is offered a very rich, interesting environment, and in Playcentre we describe a wide range of learning opportunities that must be offered at every session. The child is then free to choose how and where he or she wishes to play.

We believe that children learn best when they choose – when what they are doing is meaningful to them. The role of the adult is to support the child and offer suggestions.

At what age, and how often you may leave your children at Playcentre depends on the area in the country you live, on your local centre – and on how settled your children are at Playcentre. Playcentre is not a childcare that offers a drop-off service. It is a parent co-operative. Having said this, it is understood that parents need ‘time-out’ from their children, and most centres find a way to co-operate to do this.

All types of people join Playcentre, from many cultures and socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

Playcentre people typically are interested in the best education for their children. They join because they believe that parents are the first educators of their children – and they want to do it as well as possible by being involved themselves. Being a Playcentre parent is a social role.

It is not true that Playcentre kids run wild. We feel that it is important that Playcentre children experience an appropriate sense of personal power, for instance, children are expected to decide how and where they play during Playcentre sessions, and self expression, creativity and rewarding relationships are encouraged. However this is within a framework of respect for people and things.

The only three rules of Playcentre are:

• Respect other people
  (i.e. no hurting other people).


• Respect the work of other people
  (i.e. no interfering in the play of others).


• Respect property
  (i.e. no breaking things).