Season’s Greetings from the Trustee Board
Tena koutou katoa / Kia ora koutou e te whānau, This has been a year for the history books in many ways and not just for Playcentre! We know it has been hard for many, and your Trustees want...
23 December 2020 From Acting General Manager Thomas Tawhiri Kia ora anō tātou katoa e te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa Me mihi ka tika kia tātau katoa ka tae ki te mutunga o tēnei tau....
Tena koutou katoa / Kia ora koutou e te whānau, This has been a year for the history books in many ways and not just for Playcentre! We know it has been hard for many, and your Trustees want...
This year our Lotteries Grant application was successful and as a Group we received a total of $160,000. This was an increase from the $150,000 we received in 2019 but still substantially less...
Acting General Manager Pānui update Kia ora anō tātou katoa e te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa Ka nui te mihi i tēnei wā o te wāhanga o te raumati me ngā mihi katoa o Kerimete. We...
Finance CFO Update We have finally completed our preliminary year end results for the Group – thank you to all our Treasurers for doing your bit in this process. We are still following up a few...
From CFO Marina Cook Year end results At I write, we are in audit and have some preliminary results for the Playcentre Aotearoa national organisation. The pre-audit figures show a loss of...
From Tertiary Education Funding Manager, Glenda Caradus Education Update Education Chromebooks We secured funding from TEC to purchase Chromebooks to assist students who do not have a suitable...
From Acting General Manager Thomas Tawhiri Kia ora koutou katoa Ka nui te mihi i runga I ngā tini āhuatanga o te wā. Welcome back everyone to Term 4 – the last term of a year that by any...
From our CFO, Marina Cook Tēnā koutou katoa Finance We have at the time of writing had almost 85 per cent of all finance packs submitted – great work! But as our audit date gets closer a...
From Acting General Manager Thomas Tawhiri Kia ora tātou katoa e te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa ahakoa nō hea, nō tēhea takiwā o te motu. He mihi...
From Acting General Manager Thomas Tawhiri Tēnā koutou katoa Phase Two Today our staff have been told that due to a range of circumstances, including the need for our General Manager, Sean,...
From our CFO, Marina Cook Finance We have now crossed our year-end so it’s time to get your finance packs done. So far, at the time of writing, we have already received moe than a quarter...
Tēnā koutou katoa September is a special time of the year when we celebrate the Māori language. This year is the 45th anniversary of Te Wiki. Enthusiasm for Māori Language Week...
From CFO Marina Cook Property Update With the departure of John Manning, our Property Manager, I am covering the role for a period and my first observation is that Centres don’t find it easy...
Tēnā koutou katoa COVID-19 information Clarification on funding in Level 2. As Centres in Auckland prepare to re-open on Monday, we’ve had some questions around funding implications. It...
Tenā koutou katoa With the Government due to review the latest COVID-19 restrictions today, we may have more of an idea about how long the current Alert Levels will remain in place. In the...
Tēnā koutou katoa Year End 2020 It’s almost my favourite time of the year again – year end! And, that’s no joke. As a numbers geek I get a real thrill from pulling over 400 sets of...
Tēna koutou katoa Thinking today of all our Auckland whānau whose Playcentres are closed for the next two weeks under Alert Level 3. Please remember that our Virtual Village remains on the...
Tēnā koutou katoa COVID-19 The Government has announced that the Alert Levels imposed on the country this week will continue for another 12 days. That means Auckland remains on Level 3 and the...
From Accounts Manager, Karen Flattery Kia ora koutou Regarding Playcentre's move to Spark as our preferred telecommunications provider, I want to thank you all for your feedback, which has been...
Tēnā koutou katoa I’m sure we all share the same disappointment about the re-emergence of the COVID-19 transmission in Auckland and the move to Alert Levels 2 and 3. This development...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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)...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 – 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 Primary school teachers plan to strike on Wednesday 29th May 2019. This will impact on Playcentre in 2 ways: - parents with primary school...
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...
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...
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...
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 As many of you are aware the criteria for COGS funding has changed and information about this was sent out in February...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...