Fees up, quality down according to new ECE survey

A new survey report on 199 early childhood services, ‘Looking ahead - ECE changes in 2011’, shows parent fees will rise and quality will decrease under next year’s early childhood funding regime, says NZCA Chief Executive, Nancy Bell.

 

Conducted by NZ Childcare Association (NZCA) over the last months, members of the Association were surveyed on the expected outcomes of the funding changes. “The survey paints a troubling picture of confidence in the early childhood sector’”, says Bell.

 

“Centres are expecting a large shortfall from the reduction of funding with over 70 per cent of respondents forced to pass some of the shortfall onto parents. Services are looking at fee increases of between $10 and $50 per week, a significant amount for parents with children in full-time care.”

 

“The amount of lost funding varies up to $100,000 per year. One of our concerns is the impact on quality with ratios, professional development and the amount of qualified teachers on the line. 

 

“Our members remain committed to 100 per cent qualified teachers, but don’t know how they will retain them under the new funding model. The centres that have worked hard to achieve 100 per cent are now disadvantaged. Qualified teachers are a key component of quality early childhood and every child should have access to them.” 

 

The survey suggests the funding changes will affect patterns of enrolment. “Over 60 per cent of respondents to the survey are expecting participation to decrease; we expect the number of child hours will drop, with many families accessing 20 hours ECE only. Only 1.7 per cent of respondents expected participation to increase after next years funding reduction. Given that parent fees are increasing, this is hardly surprising.”

 

“We hope the government and the recently announced taskforce will have a long look at our survey results and recommend a sustainable funding model, which supports the delivery of high quality early childhood education.”

 

The report ‘Looking ahead - ECE changes in 2011’ can be downloaded from www.nzca.ac.nz/news.