Child kneeling at the top of a slide.

ECE Voice

Early childhood teachers do an incredibly important job.

But their pay lags behind kindergarten and primary teachers with the same skills, qualifications and responsibilities. That's not OK.

If we want Aotearoa to be the best place in the world to raise a child, valuing all of the teachers that work with them is a great place to start. We're asking the government to act now and fix the gap.

The Government has signalled reforms for ECE which would take us backwards, so take action now!

Get Involved

We're working towards better pay and conditions across the board in the early childhood education (ECE) sector.  You can:

We demand improved ratios and staffing for ECE

The number one issue raised by kaiako and kaimahi working in ECE is the inadequate levels of ratios and staffing. We are calling on all political parties to support urgent implementation of better ratios in ECE.

If we improve ECE ratios we will be well on the way to solving the issues of funding, workload, learning support for ākonga and the wellbeing of kaiako and kaimahi.

ECE teachers deserve more

Right now, there’s a crisis in ECE. Low pay and underfunding mean thousands of teachers are leaving the profession every year. There’s a critical shortage of qualified ECE teachers. We’ve got more of our children in ECE than ever before, but there are fewer people training to be ECE teachers than 10 years ago. We aren’t keeping and attracting great teachers.

ECE teachers are asking the Government to urgently invest in our youngest children. We urgently need to fix the pay gap and fund services to provide quality care and education.

Investing in ECE means investing in our future

Every child, no matter where they live or how much their parents earn should have access to quality ECE services that suit their needs and community. Every teacher, no matter what age children they work with, is a teacher.

Parents need access to affordable quality care. Investing in ECE is the best investment we can make to ensure the future success of Aotearoa. Our children are the future.

SIGN ON TO SUPPORT FIXING RATIOS IN AOTEAROA