OVERHAUL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SO IT SUPPORTS CHILD WELLBEING
System barriers make it difficult – sometimes impossible – for low-income families to access optimal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
This vital sector is far too important to be ‘left to the market’. The state needs to completely overhaul the funding system in order to prioritise and incentivise the availability, quality and diversity of not-for-profit community-based centres, while reducing government subsidies that are flowing directly into corporate profits or private family organisations.
In addition, a large funding boost is required to provide enough accessible, high-quality, culturally responsive ECCE, which will require funding incentives for teacher education qualifications, particularly for Māori and Pacific language speaking teachers. It is time to again see ECCE as a “public good” and to fund it as per the compulsory education sector.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Prioritise working with iwi, hapū and urban Māori authorities to identify gaps in provision (including in the event of potential closures), and to fund new provision of community-based not-for-profit centres, such as Kōhanga Reo and other Māori-language settings, in areas of need.
Prioritise working with Pacific communities to identify gaps in provision (including in the event of potential closures) and to fund new provision of community-based not-for-profit centres such as Pacific language nests.
This involves the Ministry taking a more active role in overseeing ECCE sector provision planning to prioritise these services.
Recommendations 1 and 2 are actions already identified by the Ministry of Education (as per Objective 5 of their 2019 Action Plan) which have yet to be fully implemented.
Provide fees-free ECCE to all children attending community-based services, via fully funding non-profit ECCE services in a way that aligns with our public schools and kura kaupapa.
This includes kindergartens, Kōhanga Reo, other Māori medium services, Pacific language nests, not-for-profit community care and education settings, and Playcentre; and would mean paying teacher salaries according to current collective agreements directly via the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Furthermore, the MOE should provide pathways for services currently operating for-profit and privately, including as ‘charities’ to become genuinely non-profit and community-based.
This will require lifting current funding levels to provide high-quality, culturally-responsive provision delivered by fully qualified teachers, improved teacher: child ratios, and smaller group sizes.
Close regulatory loopholes so that charitable status in the ECCE sector cannot be used primarily for the benefit of people who are not children, families or teaching staff at ECCE providers.
The purpose of all ECCE service structures must be to serve children and their families and communities, not primarily to reduce vital tax paid to the government.
Remodel ECCE regulation and funding mechanisms, and teacher recruitment and retention, to foster and grow diversity in ECCE provision.
Reforms should reflect the unique contributions of community based non-profit models of early learning such as Kindergarten, Kōhanga Reo, Pacific language nests and Playcentre, and also centres which serve other cultural and language communities in Aotearoa NZ. The Ministry should provide additional funding support for reo Māori speakers and Pacific language speakers to enable them to complete early childhood teaching qualifications.
Require that qualified teachers in all services – both for-profit and not-for-profit – be paid at the same rate as the kindergarten teachers’ NZEI collective agreement.
This recognises the importance of fair pay rates in retaining quality staff (important for continuity of relationships with children). Governments have previously agreed in principle with the notion of pay parity but have been slow to implement this, and the current and proposed funding models are problematic. Furthermore, oversight is required to ensure the funding is used for its stated purpose.
Urgently progress the Ministry’s other Early Learning Action Plan items which are currently progressing more slowly than planned, including wrap-around health and social services attached to community hub early childhood services; teacher supply strategy; equity index funding;42 planned professional learning and development; reducing group sizes and improving teacher:child ratios; and improving funding transparency.
Require the MOE to review and revise its habitual policy development processes and practices to ensure consultation is genuine, and early enough to effectively inform policy.
IMPACTS AND INDICATORS
If implemented, these actions would be steps towards moving Aotearoa to be a nation where all children and families flourish free from poverty.
Affordability: Every child can access high-quality culturally responsive ECCE regardless of their family’s income. Indicator: Equity in attendance.
Quality: The proportion of ECCE services fully compliant with regulatory standards, and focusing on culturally and linguistically responsive learning and teaching through improved ratios with qualified teachers in small group sizes, increases substantially. Indicators: 100% compliance. Teacher retention increases considerably.
Availability: Every child can access high-quality culturally responsive ECCE. Indicator: Equity in attendance across ethnicities. Overhauling early childhood education so it supports child wellbeing is relevant to the Crown meeting its obligations under te Tiriti o Waitangi, and New Zealand meeting:
Its targets for UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
Obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, such as Article 29 which directs education to child development, social preparation and respect for human rights, for cultural identity, and for the natural environment.
Obligations under the UN Declaration of Rights for Indigenous People including Article 14 “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”
The national vision “that New Zealand be the best place in the world for children and young people.”
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