Finance Update
From Chief Financial Officer, Marina Cook Tēnā koutou katoa Valuing our volunteers Something someone said a few weeks ago about our biggest asset got me thinking. Was it property? Was...
Member News and Announcements
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa School-aged children Following the Communications Update last Friday, there were a number of comments on Facebook about the issue of school-aged children at Playcentre...
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Education Update
From Glenda Caradus | Kaiwhakahaere Pūtea Mātauranga | Tertiary Education Funding Manager Tēnā koutou katoa EDUCATION UPDATE Welcome back to a new term and a post-lockdown world where a...
Communications Update
From Communications Manager Gael Woods. Tēnā koutou katoa As Sean is on annual leave and has no update this week, I thought I would take his space to introduce myself. I would say I’m the...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa The Ministry of Education recently sent a reminder to ECEs that children who are enrolled at school are not allowed to attend early learning centres, including Playcentre....
Finance Update
Tēnā koutou katoa A new way for treasurers to get support As we get closer to the end of the year, we are getting some turnover of team members - both Centre treasurers and here in our...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa I hope everyone has enjoyed the break over the school holidays and Centres will be opening for the third term next week with a sense of renewed energy. At the national...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa I had an interesting meeting recently with folk at the Education Review Office. As you will be aware this year ERO have developed new indicators of quality for...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa I have spent some time this week reflecting on my recent meeting with Ministry of Education officials. As I told you this was only our first meeting with the ministry since...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa Yesterday I had a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education to discuss the details of the funding grant announced by the Government last week. This was only our...
Sheltering in Place
During the recent shooting of a police officer in West Auckland, Catherine & Jade (Facilitators for Massey Babies & Beyond) had to shelter in place at Massey Playcentre with 15 babies...
Finance Update
Tēnā koutou katoa As stated in my last update, I have receiving a lot of questions from Centres regarding funding. In order to communicate with you more regularly and in light of your...
General Manager’s Update
Tēnā koutou katoa It was wonderful to meet with the Associate Education Minister, Tracey Martin, this week and learn that the Government is to provide an urgent boost to our funding. It is...
General Manager’s update
Tēnā koutou katoa Over the past 12 weeks, I have provided daily updates so that Playcentre staff and whānau have been kept informed of all the many directives coming from the Ministry of...
Updates relating to COVID-19 and lockdown levels
To access the updates specifically related to COVID-19 and lockdown levels please click here. Playcentre Aotearoa takes the health and well-being of its children and members very seriously and...
COVID-19 update – 23 March 2020
Kia ora whānau As you will be aware, the Government has announced the country has moved to Alert Level 3 and will move to Alert Level 4 by midnight on Wednesday. Playcentres...
Scheduled Review of Playcentre Structure Decision Announcement
As we are all aware these are unprecedented times, but we are all in this together. We are unsure of how things will evolve over the coming weeks and perhaps months so I have made the decision to...
COVID-19 – Update 16 March 2020
As you will no doubt be aware, COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) has now been declared a pandemic. The Ministry of Health has reinforced that this doesn’t change anything for New Zealand and our...
Licensing announcement
As announced in the March Bulletin we have now had it gazetted that Course 3 will remain as a Person Responsible qualification after the end of 2020. The Ministry of Education has now approved...
Information for ex Associations regarding IRD Amalgamation
We have noted that several Associations have received notices from IRD for the tax year ending March 31 2020, please ignore these if received. We have completed our end of the IRD Amalgamation...
General Managers Update – March 2020
Tēnā koutou katoa Over the last few months we have worked with the Ministry of Education to adjust the qualifications that are able to be recognised as a Person Responsible in a Playcentre...
Information from the Trustee Board – March 2020
Tēnā koutou centre members, Thank you to the 67% of centres who have voted on the life membership nomination circulated prior to AGM in November 2019. For this process to be completed we...
Finance Update – March 2020
Support for Treasurers on our website With the new year it’s a good time to remind our treasurers of the resources available on our website under the finance section that will come in really...
Education Update – March 2020
A quick look back as we move well into 2020 Progress in the C-series There has been a great response to the beginning of the C-series modules. 178 C405 module workshops have taken place with...
Understanding the Group financial Statements
Understanding the Group financial Statements With the new structure proposal circulating I felt it would be a good time to give the full update of our financial position, how its broken down and...
Discover Update – March 2020
Online Enrolment forms are now active! New members can enrol online – either at the centre or from home. The forms can be found on your centres page, on the Playcentre website. This does mean...
Licensing Announcement regarding Course 3
We have now had it gazetted that Course 3 will remain as a Person Responsible qualification after the end of 2020. We are still working with the Ministry to finalise what combination of...
General Managers Update – February 2020
Tēnā koutou katoa Welcome back to the start of the 2020 Playcentre year. Already I have seen the excitement via social media of many Centres announcing the start of their sessions for this...
Minimum Wage
As from 1st April, 2020, the minimum wage in New Zealand will rise from $17.70 per hour, to $18.90 per hour. If you have any centre-paid employees who are currently being paid at the minimum...
Website refresh
It is a year since our new website went live. Since then we have had over 800,000 page views. A 91% increase on the previous year. We are currently refreshing the website to include; a new...
Policies and Procedures Update – February 2020
As discussed last year we have made changes to the Policies and Procedures, based on feedback from centre members, employees and external stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education and ERO. We...
Discover Update – February 2020
All centres should be using tablets to sign in on session by the end of February at the latest. The update to enable parents to sign in at the same time as their child/ren has been rolled out....
Education Update – February 2020
The Online Experience The first group of online learners have come to the end of their C405. Jodie Moore from Otumoetai who was in this group said, “I found the content was interesting. I...
Finance Update – February 2020
Group Accounts are Available on our Website I am so pleased to announce that our Group accounts were done, audited and dusted before Christmas! This is a record achievement for Playcentre...
Annual Report 2019
Playcentre Aotearoa's 2019 Annual Report is now available to be viewed. This annual report covers the performance of Playcentre for the period 31 August 2018 to 31 August 2019. It includes our...
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information
Last updated – 5 March 2020 Kia ora Playcentre whānau, Unfortunately, we need to begin the year with advice regarding the rapidly evolving situation concerning the coronavirus. This is a...
General Manager’s Update – December 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa As we count down towards the end of the year I again want to acknowledge those who have contributed feedback to the work we are undertaking with the Ministry of Education and...
Education Update – December 2019
Congratulations Congratulations to Rachel Sadler from the Waikato and to Toni Mitchell from Tamaki on the completion of the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education. Finishing...
Finance Update – December 2019
Thank you to our Treasurers! I want to start with an enormous thank you to our Treasurers for the year just gone, not only have you all given your time and supported your centres but its official...
Christmas Payroll Processing
Thank you to those of you who responded to our request for information to inform the team’s planning for Christmas Payroll processing. The salary/wages payments for the 9-22 December pay period...
Clarification on Public Holiday Entitlements during a Closedown
There has been some confusion over whether employees who are not working over the Christmas period are entitled to be paid for the statutory holidays. If you are an employee, who is subject to...
General Manager’s Update – November 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa As we begin the final term of the year Playcentre Aotearoa is as busy as ever and I especially want to acknowledge those who have contributed feedback to the work we are...
Education Update – November 2019
Our warmest congratulations to Rosemary Goodger from Waikato who has just completed the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education (Course 6). Rose becomes the 3rd person to...
Finance Update – November 2019
Year end 2019 - When will Audited Accounts be available? I have been getting quite a few questions asking when the consolidated accounts will be available. Creating these accounts is a huge job...
Policies and Procedures Update – November 2019
Thank you for all the feedback, queries and suggestions regarding the Policies and Procedures. We will do some initial updates and reviews over the Christmas break, and will release these in...
New webinar for treasurer’s – how to balance your GST accounts to the Balance Sheet at year end
We have had some Treasurers requesting information on how to balance their GST accounts to the Balance Sheet at year end so we have worked with Xero to produce a webinar on best practise for...
Proposed changes to food related choking risks in ECE centres
The Ministry of Education are proposing to amend the licensing and certification criteria to minimise the risk of young children choking on food. Have your say: take the short survey about...
Discover Update – November 2019
Centres should be starting to use the tablets over this term and getting used to signing in and out on these. The tablets must connect to the internet each morning to update the enrolments list,...
Branded Merchandise – about our preferred suppliers
We have three wonderful preferred suppliers of Playcentre Aotearoa branded merchandise. Find out more about them here. Fundraising Idairz When fundraising Idairz is working for you we find...
Officer Holder Zooms
As centres have completed AGM's over the last couple of months there will be a lot of people in new officeholder roles. It is exciting taking on a new role, but also a little scary and you may be...
General Manager’s Update – October 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa I would like to thank those individuals who have taken the opportunity to let me know their views on the broader issues that they think should be considered in our discussions...
Finance Update – October 2019
Finance pack update Thank you for the huge co-operation of so many of our wonderful Treasurers who have completed our finance pack this year. I would also like to acknowledge what a huge...
Policies and Procedures Update – October 2019
Thank you for the further feedback that has been coming through. We will not be making any changes to policies until Term 1 next year, but in the November Bulletin we will provide you with a...
Information Sharing Guidance
New guidance has been developed to support early childhood services such as Playcentre in applying the information sharing provisions of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 in an education...
Education Update – October 2019
10 members from West Melton Playcentre and two from Darfield Playcentre started the PIA (Playcentre Introductory Award) in late July. When they reached the end of the first module (Let’s Play)...
Notice of Annual General Meeting 2019
The 2019 Annual Conference will begin with both the Tangata Tiriti hui and Hui ā-Tau Māori on Friday 22nd November 2019 at 1.45pm, the meeting will conclude at 1:00pm Sunday. As previously...
General Manager’s Update – September 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa I started my update last month noting that winter appears to have finally arrived and now one month later it is officially Spring. Always a busy time and very much so for Te...
Measles Outbreak – update as at 5 September 2019
As you will no doubt be aware the current outbreak of measles in New Zealand has spread significantly, particularly in the Auckland area. Click here for a document from the Auckland...
Policies and Procedures Update – September 2019
Policies and Procedure folders should now have arrived at every Playcentre. Please take some time to go through them and become familiar with them. Unless a form notes that you may use it, then...
Discover Update – September 2019
The tablets for using Discover should be with Centre Admins by the 13th September. Centre Admins will bring the tablets out to Playcentres when they visit and support members with starting to use...
Financial Update – September 2019
Yearend pack reminder By the time centres read this we will have crossed year end. In order to ensure we get our accounts done in a timely manner so our centres can use these for their Grant...
Education Update – September 2019
Moving along in the NZ Certificate in ECE and Care L4 programme You are strongly urged to do your assessments around the time you complete the workshops in a module. The learning material is best...
Space in Otago
Southern South Island Region welcomed Space back to our Otago centres, with the new Mosgiel programme beginning this term. The session opened with a karakia, mihi and waiata from our regions Te...
General Manager’s Update – August 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa Winter appears to have finally arrived so I hope all those in the path of the snow storms have managed to stay safe and warm. Since our last bulletin there has been a lot...
Financial Update – August 2019
Budgeting tool This year we have put together a budgeting tool to help centre prepare for their AGMs. We have created both GST non GST versions so please select the one that best relates to your...
Education Update – August 2019
Congratulations to Liza Macartney from Rotorua who has completed the Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education (Course 6). Finishing this qualification is a very significant...
Finance Pack 2018/19 is now available
This year we are using an online pack, there are a few things you will need to do before you can fill it in so here is a breakdown of the questions and some FAQs to review before you start. We...
Discover SMS update
The rollout of the Discover SMS for tamariki enrolments and attendance is well underway with the July centres now officially on Discover, and the August centres about to changeover. It is...
Policies and Procedures Folder
Policies and Procedures for the amalgamated Playcentre Aotearoa are in the final stages of printing and preparation. A Policies and Procedures hard copy folder will be sent directly to each...
Billing of centre paid staff
Review of centre paid on charge for consideration Over the past 12 months we have been working hard to refine our processes around the on billing of centre paid staff. We have found that the 8%...
Employment
Employment If your centre has, or is thinking about having, a Centre-paid employee here are a few key points that you need to be aware of: If you are thinking of making any changes to the...
Gifts and Koha
Throughout the year and particularly as we come up to AGM, centres may wish to recognise their volunteers with small gifts or koha. Centres need to take care to ensure that these items are small...
For Playcentre Aotearoa staff: timesheet reminders
Timesheet reminders I would like to start by saying a huge THANK YOU to all our staff who have responded so well to our roll out of TimeFiler and the most recent conversations over how to submit...
General Manager’s Update – July 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa A quick update as you head into the term break. As you will see from this update there is a lot of work going on at the national and regional level as we start to bring...
Preparation for centre AGM and amalgamation message from your Trustee Board
Preparation for centre AGM The amalgamation is here and we would like to remind everyone that the Playcentre Aotearoa constitution is now active. Please ensure that you are familiar with...
Financial Update – July 2019
Funding update During the month of May we saw the Wellbeing budget released providing for more money for our school teachers rather than the early childhood sector. We were not completely...
Education Update – July 2019
Winding down the old programme Congratulations to students working in the old programme – more than half of those who at the beginning of the year were still to complete have now done so. Of...
Discover – more information about the new Student Management System
Discover – there was a recent announcement on 1 July about changing the way we collect and record information. We are moving to a new electronic system that records enrolment and attendance...
Special Announcement – Discover
Playcentre Aotearoa is changing the way we collect and record information. We are moving to a new electronic system that records enrolment and attendance information. The programme is called...
General Manager’s Update – June 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa TE WHĀNAU TUPU NGĀTAHI O AOTEAROA – PLAYCENTRE AOTEAROA. A new name, a new constitution – we have turned the corner but where to next? Amalgamation means many things...
Easy ways Centres can improve their Revenue without a Sausage Sizzle
From our Chief Financial Officer. Over the past few months I have been increasingly asked how centres can improve their revenue without doing more fundraisers. So I thought I would touch on a...
Group Reporting – What is it? Why do we do it? Should we join the Group?
As we are getting closer to year end I have had several questions about Group Reporting so I thought I’d just give another run down of what this means and why I personally recommend all centres...
Education Update – June 2019
C-series modules Once you have finished the Playcentre Educator Award you can apply to enter the C-series. C405 “Theory guides practice” is the largest module and must be done first. It is...
Introducing Nancy Green – Northern North Island Regional Manager
Kia ora tēna koutou katoa My name is Nancy Green and I am delighted to be joining the Playcentre team. I have a degree in Organisational Communication and bring 20 years of corporate training...
Amalgamation Update for Playcentre
Tēnā koutou katoa On 4th June 2019, Playcentre will be legally amalgamated by the High Court. Playcentre Aotearoa will now be a single consolidated charitable trust. This could not have...
Planned Teachers’ Strike – Wednesday 29th May 2019
Planned Teachers' Strike - Wednesday 29th May 2019 Primary school teachers plan to strike on Wednesday 29th May 2019. This will impact on Playcentre in 2 ways: - parents with primary school...
General Manager Update – May 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa Welcome back to Term Two. I hope you all enjoyed the break. I am excited to provide an update from the recent NZPF Trustee Board meeting. The NZPF Trustee Board...
Financial Update – May 2019
Xero Training for Treasurers Exciting news for our Treasurers, Xero have kindly offered to host our very own bespoke Playcentre Treasurer Webinar! This will be set up to answer your questions and...
Education Update – May 2019
A huge congratulations to Annie Zhang from North Shore who recently completed the requirements for Course 6. This is only the 6th Playcentre Diploma in Early Childhood and Adult Education to be...
Updated Programme for Associations Financial Amalgamation
Please note the important correction to the advice given in the email titled “Amalgamation update for Associations” sent on 27 March. GST Contrary to earlier advice, Associations should not...
Community Organisation Grants Scheme (COGS) Funding Update
Community Organisation Grants Scheme (COGS) Funding Update As many of you are aware the criteria for COGS funding has changed and information about this was sent out in February...
General Manager Update – April 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa This past month has been a busy one for all of us and I expect you will be looking forward to the term break. The brevity of this update owes more to the fact that things have...
Tāngata Tiriti hui – Registrations
Registrations for Tāngata Tiriti hui will close 9am Friday 19 April 2019. Registration link: tangatatiritihui2019.lilregie.com A reminder that Tāngata Tiriti hui is limited to 40 delegates. We...
Financial Update – April 2019
As we have now completed our year end process across the entire Group without having to all dig into the details of our accounts I thought I’d draw your attention to some of the highlights. As a...
Education Update – April 2019
Old Courses - our advice - don’t wait, finish now! Old Courses must be completed by 1 Dec 2019 - absolutely NO EXTENSION to this deadline is possible. You are strongly advised to complete them...
Measles Outbreak Advice
Kia ora koutou, As you will no doubt be aware there has been an outbreak of measles in New Zealand, which appears to be spreading. Click here for a document from the Ministry of Health which...
Big news for treasurers!
We have some great news that we’re excited to share with you! Xero is being upgraded to business edition for every centre at no extra charge. Using Xero helps to streamline tasks and increase...
General Manager Update – March 2019
Tēnā koutou katoa As I write this Playcentre Awareness Week is in full swing. This has been an opportunity to showcase the uniqueness of each and every Centre. The willingness to share...
Hui ā-Tau Māori 2019 – Papers and Programme
Registrations will close 9am Monday 22 April 2019 Registration link: https://hui-a-tau-maori-2019.lilregie.com/ ‘2 spaces’ have been set aside for each Rōpū Māori. Budget and...
Tāngata Tiriti Hui 2019 Registrations and Timeline
As mentioned in the February Playcentre Bulletin, registrations for Tāngata Tiriti Hui are now open. Cluster delegates register by clicking here tangatatiritihui2019.lilregie.com. Registrations...
Hei ā mua: Mahere Rautaki 2020 | A Future: Strategic Plan 2020
Tēnā koutou katoa, This year we are reviewing our Strategic Plan and we need your help to develop a new plan moving forward over the next five years and beyond. We held a Strategic Review...
Playcentre Awareness Week – Review
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm about Playcentre Awareness Week. We have seen you take up the promotional material we provided and spread it around your communities and throughout social...
Financial Update – March 2019
Upgrade to Xero Business Edition for ALL centres! Over the last few months we have been working with Xero to come up with a great package to allow all our centres to upgrade from Cashbooks and...
Education Update – March 2019
Can I do the PIA and PEA modules in any order? The PIA (Playcentre Introductory Award) has two modules B401 and B402. It is OK to do either of these two modules first and the other as your second...
The Draft Early Learning Strategic Plan
He taonga te tamaiti, the draft strategic plan for early learning, is now open for consultation until 15 March 2019. The consultation process involves a survey that is available for all...
Playcentre Awareness Week – Update
It is good to see so many people getting behind Playcentre Awareness Week so enthusiastically! This year, as you know, the focus is about encouraging potential members to visit their local centre...
Promotional Material – new editable files
It is great to see so many centres already utilising the new promotional material. As these are so popular we are adding more and providing you with options on editing some of the flyers...
Amalgamation Update
We are currently finalising the amalgamation process and tidying up the loose ends. All but two associations have completed the documentation to support the amalgamation and we are supporting...
COGS Information
Changes to the application criteria for the Community Organisation Grant Scheme (COGS) have been released by the Department of Internal Affairs. Centres who were past applicants to the...
Tāngata Tiriti Hui 2019
Kia ora Playcentre whānau We look forward to spending quality time with representatives at 2019 Tāngata Tiriti Hui at Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Wellington, 14- 16 June, 2019. Budget: Our budget...
Hui ā-Tau Māori 2019
Registrations are LIVE! He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! Te Whare Tikanga Māori is a group for whānau Māori within Playcentre. Te Whare Tikanga Māori, is a...
Additional Qualifications for Person Responsible
On Monday 28th January, the Ministry of Education gazetted some additional qualifications that can be used to meet the Person Responsible requirement in a Playcentre. This notice can be found...
Financial Update – February 2019
The NZPF Parent Financial Statements for the 2017-18 year have been signed, these are available for view here The Group Financial Statements for Playcentre Aotearoa are currently in Audit and...
Education Update – February 2019
New programme B403 Positive Relationships and B404 Te Kakano - Te reo Māori me nga tikanga are now available. There was very positive feedback from the first of these workshop sets run in...