Budget 2026 has delivered another setback for children’s learning, with below-inflation adjustments to early childhood education (ECE) subsidies and school operational grants for the sixth year in a row.
New NZEI Te Riu Roa analysis shows that government funding for early childhood education (ECE) has fallen behind inflation by up to 13.5% since 2020, forcing centres to raise fees and locking families out of affordable education and care.
Budget 2026 delivers a mere 1.5% increase in early childhood subsidies from July. Meanwhile, school operational grants will increase by only 2 percent next year.
“Curriculum changes will only work if students are supported to learn. This Budget fails to address the critical shortage of funding for teacher aides, leaving our most vulnerable primary students without the in-class support they need,” Mrs Lessels says.
“While the Government highlights its $131 million investment in literacy and numeracy initiatives, the reality is that adjustments to operational grants have not kept up with inflation and many primary schools are struggling to cover day-to-day costs of running their schools. Other learning support funding in today’s Budget simply meets cost and volume pressures but does not expand support for learners.
“Primary school operational funding has effectively shrunk in real terms. When funding adjustments fall short of inflation, school boards are forced to dip into community-raised funds to cover day-to-day running costs. School boards will again be forced to choose between funding teacher aides to support children’s learning and steeply rising power, water, property and maintenance costs,” Mrs Lessels says.
“If the Government wants to lift achievement, it must invest in our teachers, teacher aides, and other support staff who make that achievement possible,” Mrs Lessels says.