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 sessions. I know this is of some concern for some Centres, particularly those who have home-schooling families as members. Unfortunately, as an ECE, albeit with a diffence, Playcentre is bound by regulations put in place by the Ministry of Education. This is an issue we have discussed with Ministry officials and had sought the clarification. They confirmed the Ministry’s stance. I know this is upsetting for some of our whānau, but at the moment we are obliged to operate under Government rules.
I would say though that this could be revisited as we work through, with the Ministry, how recognising Playcentre should fit into the overall ECE landscape, within the proposed ECE Strategic Action Plan.
Management Team meeting
We had a very productive meeting in Wellington this week – great to see everyone in person after many months over Zoom – and had some useful discussions about Phase 2 of the Playcentre re-organisation. This has been disrupted this year by COVID-19, but we are moving closer to a final confirmation.
Education and Finance
If you haven’t done so, please check out the latest Playcentre Education Update from Tertiary Education Funding Manager Glenda Caradus and also the Finance Update from CFO Marina Cook, who has some fascinating numbers about the true worth of Playcentre’s volunteers.
Ka kite anō au i a koutou.
