Positive picture of the Early Childhood Education sector

High teacher morale, greater involvement by parents, and reduced costs to families are among the positive themes to emerge in a comprehensive new survey of the ECE sector in NZ.

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national survey was conducted in late 2007. It questioned parents, teachers, parent committees, and management, and provides a snapshot of the sector.

The survey’s author, Dr Linda Mitchell, says the data shows steady improvement in important aspects such as financial stability of centres, affordability for parents, assessment practices, and teacher professional development, compared to the first national survey conducted by NZCER in 2003.

“The ECE sector is in good heart. This is really good news for our children and families, and shows that investment in this important area of education pays dividends.”

However, she said the survey also highlighted challenges, such as the difficulty of catering for the differing needs of parents in local areas, and the shortage of qualified staff.

This is the first independent survey of the sector since the implementation of 20 hours Free ECE for three- and four-year-olds in July 2007. Almost all families surveyed reported reduced costs as a result of the policy, with half of those saving more than $40 a week.

Of the services offering Free ECE, 34 per cent asked parents to pay regular optional charges. In most cases (74 per cent), the extra charges were less than $20 per week.

“The comments from parents indicate the policy has meant some children are getting ECE who would otherwise have missed out,” Dr Mitchell said.

Overall, fees charged to parents for ECE ranged from nothing to $250 per week. Kindergartens and playcentres were the cheapest, and education and care centres and home-based care the most expensive.

A significant change in this survey compared to NZCER’s­ first early childhood national survey in 2003 was that parents have become much more involved in their child’s assessment – 80 per cent of parents compared with 53 per cent in 2003. This usually meant taking assessment portfolios home and contributing stories from home.

Despite that higher level of involvement, 32 per cent of parents said they would like more information about their child’s ECE.

“It may be that parents are now more aware of how they can contribute to their child’s learning and development, and they’re getting more of an idea of what they might expect from their ECE service,” Dr Mitchell said.

“That’s a positive development.”

Early childhood teachers are happy in their work, with more than 80 per cent describing their morale as good or very good. That is higher than in 2003 and higher than for primary or secondary teachers.

However, teacher turnover in the sector remains high. Of early childhood centres that employ paid staff, 29 per cent had a turnover of more than 30 per cent in the past year.

Most centre managers reported difficulties in recruiting and retaining suitable qualified staff – 30 per cent of all ECE managers said they had received no applications from qualified teachers.

The survey reveals changes in enrolment patterns, and in hours early childhood services were operating. Many centres – 39 per cent – had changed their opening hours in the last two years.

The main changes were increases in opening hours or session length; opening more days per week; and changing from sessional to all-day care.

Centres reported making changes to meet changing demands of parents, and in response to Free ECE.

There is still unmet demand for ECE, particularly for under-two-year-olds. Only about a third of those catering for older children had spare capacity. Almost a quarter of parents wanted more ECE hours than they were able to get.

The financial picture across the sector was brighter than at the 2003 survey. Fifty per cent said funding was not enough to meet their needs but only 16 per cent of services were in deficit in the last financial year, compared with 21 per cent in 2003.

Most (46 per cent) reported a better financial position, though some had cut costs to get there, and 23 per cent said it was about the same.