Office of Early Childhood Education

Scoop InfoPages

This InfoPage in unregistered, if this is your news page register Office of Early Childhood Education for InfoPages here.

Office of Early Childhood Education - Latest News [Page 1]

ECE Rules Reform Takes Effect, But Experts See Little Improvement

Monday, 20 April 2026, 6:45 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

“This reform hasn’t made ECE safer. It hasn’t improved quality,” Dr Sarah Alexander, chief advisor at the OECE said. “It’s a renumbering exercise, not a safety or quality upgrade.” More >>

FamilyBoost Changes A Boost For Higher Income Families – But They Fail To Even Out The Playing Field For All Whānau

Monday, 7 July 2025, 12:01 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

The changes to the scheme announced today fail to address some of the problems that have prevented uptake – such ECE service providers failing to provide parents with compliant invoices. More >>

More ECE Centres Join 'Pay Parity' Push, But Even Best Paid Teachers Face Up To 7% Wage Gap With Schools, Kindergartens

Friday, 4 July 2025, 12:33 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

Just-released ECE salary attestation data shows that 60% of care and education centres will pay their permanently-employed qualified, certificated teachers according to the full pay parity scale. More >>

Quality Will Go Out The Window With ECE Funding Review

Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 3:47 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

“Quality is going out the window,” she says. “The review’s terms of reference show that children’s best interest is not its priority. Instead, the review’s focus is on supporting labour market participation. Childcare should not be the sole ... More >>

Teachers Are Paying The Price For Lack Of ECE Funding In The Budget

Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 5:32 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

The OECE’s chief advisor Dr Sarah Alexander says the message this sends to educators and employers alike is clear: “ECE teachers and their families are the ones that must self-sacrifice to keep ECE service financial margins up”. More >>

Funding For ECE Going Backwards, As Budget Cost Adjustment Lags Miles Behind Inflation

Thursday, 22 May 2025, 3:37 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

The 0.5% cost adjustment for early childhood education funding lags far behind the level of inflation New Zealand has seen in the last year (2.5%), meaning funding has essentially been cut. More >>

Early Childhood Education Sector Confidence Survey Results 2025

Monday, 19 May 2025, 8:00 am | Office of Early Childhood Education

The results of the 2025 confidence survey, which the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) conducts annually in the last few weeks before the Budget is released, show that the sentiment in the sector is at an all-time low. More >>

The Office Of ECE’s Response To The Green Party’s ECE Policy Announcement

Wednesday, 14 May 2025, 1:40 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

“Although the Greens’ policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, it’s not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other ... More >>

Cuts To ECE Required Practices: Paving The Way For Baby Farming

Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 11:05 am | Office of Early Childhood Education

Chief advisor to the OECE, Dr Sarah Alexander said that a market approach does not work when goals are to improve outcomes for children because ECE is a public good like schools. More >>

Substantial Decline Early Childhood Education Services Downgraded Or Closed For Non-Compliance With Regulations

Friday, 28 February 2025, 10:53 am | Office of Early Childhood Education

The number reduced by more than 40% - from 320 services in 2023 on a downgraded licence or closed for non-compliance to just 185 services (note that the figure for 2024 is provisional data). More >>

There’s Much For The ECE Profession And Public To Be Worried About – Analysis Of The ECE Regulations Report

Wednesday, 18 December 2024, 5:04 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

Chief advisor to the OECE, Dr Sarah Alexander said that the terms of reference for the review meant that the advice provided by the Ministry for Regulation to Minister Seymour would be biased. More >>

Lack Of Strategy For Addressing Long-Standing Early Childhood Workforce Problems Hurts Children’s Education

Tuesday, 17 December 2024, 4:50 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

Nicola Willis’s office forwarded her copy of the briefing paper to Minister Seymour because to quote: “the issues raised fall within the portfolio responsibilities of Hon David Seymour, associate Minister of Education”. More >>

Minister Seymour’s ECE “Achievements” In His First Year

Friday, 6 December 2024, 9:28 am | Office of Early Childhood Education

Chief advisor to the OECE, Dr Sarah Alexander said that Minister Seymour had been effective in encouraging ECE operators and groups who don’t prioritise the well-being of children to come out of the woodwork. More >>

Extension Into ECE Centres Of The School Food Programme Raises Issues

Thursday, 24 October 2024, 5:40 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

Dr Sarah Alexander, chief advisor to the OECE, said there are concerns that some services in the most economically disadvantaged areas may have difficulty participating in the programme, for example if they don’t have enough refrigeration space. More >>

Increasing Whooping Cough Cases Puts Children In ECE At High Risk

Tuesday, 15 October 2024, 1:15 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

To address the country's low childhood immunisation rates, the Health Minister Dr Shane Reti this month announced a plan to train the Plunket workforce as vaccinators. More >>

Shortage Of Male Teachers In Early Education

Thursday, 26 September 2024, 2:07 pm | Office of Early Childhood Education

Chief advisor to the Office of ECE, Dr Sarah Alexander said that girls often aspire to be early childhood teachers but not boys. More >>

A Response To The ECC’s Call For Lower Education Standards

Wednesday, 18 September 2024, 9:04 am | Office of Early Childhood Education

The OECE has called for regulations and requirements to be strengthened including for ratios, improved support for ECE qualified teachers, and the introduction of regulations for group or class size to reduce overcrowding and improve educational, ... More >>

Scoop InfoPages