Kia ora koutou katoa
Me mihi ka tika ki a tātau katoa. Ehara i te tau nei kua hipa he tau ngawari mō te ao whānui engari kei kōnei tātou ki te wāhanga o te raumati me aro atu ki ngā whainga nui mō te tau e heke mai ana. Ka nui te mihi ki a tātau katoa e whai kaha nei ahakoa te mōreareatanga kia peehi kinohia te katoa o te motu. Heoi anō nā tēna ka tuku he mihi aroha ki a tātau katoa hei whai oranga nei.
Our trustees met in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on the weekend and I was fortunate to be present for part of the hui. A number of topics and issues concerning Playcentre were covered and I am pleased that we had were able to explore parts of our strategic priorities and future developments that will help inform these. I look forward to the trustees being able to report further on this work as it evolves in the coming months. We are continuing our work on Phase 2 implementation and at present the Regional Managers are appointing their respective regional teams under the new structure. As this work continues Playcentre management are working with the Regional Managers to support the interview process. Human Resources Lead adviser Kate Woods has been busy with employment support and assistance to the regional teams as they conduct the interviews for their respective regional teams. Principal Advisor Susan Bailey has been working on the induction process alongside Kara Daley and Keri Milich for the benefit of developing a robust Playcentre induction process for all kaimahi.
Staffing Developments & Movements
The advertisement for the new Chief Executive closes this Friday 6 March and we should know in a few weeks the appointment of this position. The new National Support Manager and Pedagogical Manager short list interviews begin this week and these appointments will also be known in the next two weeks.
External Relationships
The Ministry of Education are currently consulting with us concerning aspects of operational and regulatory policy changes. These changes will better enable Playcentres to run more effectively and at the same time continue to recognise our special ‘Parent lead’ philosophy in the licensing and funding of our services. There will be more to come on these discussions and we hope to keep you updated on progress. To support Playcentre the Ministry are keen to learn more about our long-term viability and funding needs built off an educational delivery model of what Playcentre are aiming to achieve. This long-term model for Playcentre needs to be defined by Playcentre and the Ministry are happy to provide input into this.
Technology
We are about to embark on an overdue upgrade of our Information Technology (IT) systems and data processes. This will be a significant change to our IT capability and better efficiency across the motu. We will partner with Code Blue IT Support after approval was gained from the Playcentre Trustee Board hui on the weekend. This is very exciting for Playcentre watch this space for future development of this initiative.
Ngā mihi me ngā manaakitanga
Thomas Tawhiri
Acting General Manager