ECE changes roll back decades of progress for kids

The Government is rolling back decades of progress for tamariki by approving widely-opposed early childhood education (ECE) recommendations, says the union for early educators, NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Megan White, an early childhood teacher and NZEI Te Riu Roa National Executive representative, says the changes Regulation Minister David Seymour announced today will hurt children and teachers.
“ECE centres' profit margins are the winners here. Tamariki and teachers are the losers."

The changes will reduce the quality of education provided, she says.

“This is a backwards step. We don’t want to see qualified teacher requirements watered down, safety criteria withdrawn, or quality teaching standards removed from centres’ licensing requirements.”

White says the announcement flies in the face of commitments Education Minister Erica Stanford made at the recent International Summit on the Teaching Profession in Iceland.

“Minister Stanford publicly committed to ensuring children acquired socio-emotional skills, self-regulation and oral language in early education. Yet, these changes move us in the opposite direction".

Today's announcement comes after the Ministry for Regulation’s ECE Regulatory Review proposed scrapping, amending or undermining regulations that ensure quality ECE, including requirements for qualified teachers, children’s safety, and a nationally consistent curriculum that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and requires quality teaching practices to be upheld.

The recommendations, first announced in December, drew opposition from early childhood and kindergarten kaiako, academics, children’s NGOs and opposition parties.

In April, members, supporters, and tamariki presented a petition to opposition parties at Parliament with more than 10,000 signatures opposing the proposed changes.

Zane McCarthy, another ECE kaiako and NZEI Te Riu Roa national representative, says the big issues in early education are the chronic teacher shortage and the quality of education.

"The Government needs to focus on the real issues and start listening to what teachers working in the sector are saying.”
Two NZEI Te Riu Roa surveys of the early childhood workforce, in 2023 and 2024, showed the issues teachers were most concerned about were poor working conditions, namely low teacher-to-child ratios, and the lack of learning support, which was leading to increased workloads and teacher burnout.

"What would make a real difference to early childhood education is a 100% qualified teaching workforce, timely access to learning support for kids who need it, quality teacher-to-child ratios and pay parity with primary colleagues for ECE teachers."