NZEI Te Riu Roa has been asked to provide more detail about how children’s interests can be safeguarded, following its submission on proposed law changes to early childhood licensing standards.

NZEI says the government is giving on one hand and taking away with the other when it comes to early childhood education (ECE).
It has just announced a $4.6 million funding boost to build or extend five ECE centres, which will benefit 280 children. The money from the Early Childhood Discretionary Grants Scheme will target greater participation of Maori and Pasifika children and children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

While many community groups and organisations struggle to muster support, Kidsfirst Kindergartens – the South Island’s largest early childhood provider – has kicked off a fresh era in early childhood education (ECE).
It is the country’s first provider to offer parents and staff wide ranging input into strategic decisions that will shape the future of the Kidsfirst’s network’s 63 kindergartens, through the establishment of two new advisory groups.

Six Kiwi kids aged five or under were injured in structure fires over a 12 month period* according to the latest NZ Fire Service figures and Plunket wants to help keep that number down.
With winter well and truly here, Plunket has some advice for families on how to keep their children safe during these cold months.

It’s official – Kidsfirst Kindergartens Northcote Christchurch are getting their children off to the healthiest start in life – as the first early childhood centre in NZ to gain a prestigious Heart Foundation Award.

Water Safety NZ (WSNZ) and Plunket are launching an exciting new water safety initiative aimed at creating better water safety awareness and ultimately reducing the drowning rate of young children in NZ.

Spending on ECE should be seen as an investment not a means of balancing the government’s books, according to the education sector union NZEI.

New Zealand’s largest provider of in-home child care PORSE says government funding for 20 hours ECE is having a positive impact, refuting claims that the funding is inadequate, as reported in the media last month.

Men make up just 1.6 per cent of NZ’s early childhood workforce, one of the worst male participation rates in the western world – but the South Island’s largest kindergarten provider is taking a strong stance in addressing this statistic, and enriching the ECE environment with a greater gender balance.

An early childhood sector forum has expressed concern about the government’s National Standards policy in primary schools, and has identified potential risks to ECE.

A kindergarten at Mount Maunganui is leading the way nationally in giving lessons to young children about the value of water and the importance of its conservation.

Deborah Wansbrough has been awarded the 2009 Margaret May Blackwell travel fellowship to look at leadership in the ECE sector.

Early childhood education leader Jenny Yule, has been named as finalist for one of the world’s most prestigious business awards – the Veuve Clicquot NZ Business Woman of the Year.

A government move to take away licensing requirements for gym crèche is a backward step which could put children at risk, according to the union representing EC teachers, NZEI.

A new report into ECE calls for every child to have access to ECE as of right, and for the government to take responsibility for planning a national network of services.

Children from Kidsfirst South Brighton are on the right track for a lifetime of healthy eating – scooping a top South Island prize in the process.

The National Foundation for the Deaf’s (NFD) latest survey reveals that preschool children are potentially being exposed to excessive noise levels while at play.

A Canterbury kindergarten is celebrating after becoming the first ECE provider in NZ to be awarded Enviroschools’ prestigious Green-Gold status.

Rural families may be eligible to enrol with The Correspondence School’s free ECE service.

New Zealand’s ECE sector would benefit from a cohesive leadership strategy, says NZ Teachers Council director, Dr Peter Lind.

NZEI says government’s Budget cuts to professional development programmes for early childhood teachers will undo years of work and undermine quality education for our youngest children.

The government’s decision to lift employment restrictions on nannies under 20 years of age is a step forward for job seekers around NZ.

First it was Hamilton and it won’t be long before we see ‘Little Schools’ in other regions.

The government is still preventing nannies under the age of 20 from working through a chartered service despite a call from parents for more in-home child care.

An early childhood teacher supply summit delivered a strong message that there must be no watering down of targets for moving towards a fully qualified workforce, despite the added pressures they place on teacher supply.

Music with preschoolers can be scary if singing’s not your forte, but a new book aims to encourage educators and parents to “give it a go”.

The newest transition to the school programme was launched in Hamilton recently. The programme, dubbed ‘Little School’, provides parents with a new alternative for the education of three and four-year-olds before they start primary school.

The country’s kindergarten teachers have won continued pay parity through the successful negotiation of their collective employment agreement.
 

Early Childhood Education Services (ECEs) around the country are being challenged by the Heart Foundation to create healthier environments for children.

An Education Review Office (ERO) report critical of the quality of some education for infants and toddlers in EC centres adds ammunition to the call for 100 per cent qualified teachers for very young children, says NZEI.

A Waikato University lecturer has won a 10-year research contract to track and assess the benefits of educating Maori children in an iwi-based learning environment or puna.

Politics in the Playground by Helen May is a lively account of ECE and care in postwar NZ, following on from the author’s study Discovery of Early Childhood (1997), which traced the origins of institutional care for young children in Europe and NZ.

Registrations are now open for the ECC Annual Conference 2009. A wonderful conference is planned, with national and international keynote speakers, special events, a huge trade fair and a fantastic range of workshops.
 

Education minister Anne Tolley announced last month funding to assist 14 childhood education groups across the country. The grants will make more than 500 new early childhood places available.
 

For early education teachers, caring for the under twos isn’t as simple or as easy as outsiders might think.

Waikato children celebrating their fourth birthday can now look forward to five exciting and very important activities to complete before starting school, as part of Waikato Primary Health’s free B4 School Health Check.

With all the focus on the headline-grabbing actions of “boy racers” and other rebellious teenagers, an educationalist who was recently in NZ, says that the most important years in the formation of a young adult are their first six – “educationalists and commentators overlook this crucially sensitive period in the development of the child at their peril.”

Sixteen local early education centres and schools have received a financial boost to create healthier student environments.

Did you know one in two NZ children under the age of five has at least one cavity? according to the Oral Health Strategy Document, 2006 – Ministry of Health.

The union for early childhood and kindergarten teachers says the government is sending mixed messages over its commitment to improving the quality of ECE.

Paul Baigent is leaving after a decade as chief executive with the Royal NZ Plunket Society.
 

NZEI is seeking to ensure kindergarten teachers do not face a 90 day trial period when they start a new job.
 

Nickelodeon NZ will bring Ni Hao, Kai-lan to Kiwi kids in February 2009 – giving them the opportunity to learn Mandarin for the first time via a preschool television series.

NZEI says ABC childcare centres in NZ must be sold as a going concern, and should not be sold off individually.

New Zealand has received six out of 10 in a UNICEF report card on ECE and care in 25 wealthy countries.

Two Tauranga-based educators have been jointly awarded the Margaret M Blackwell Travel fellowship to visit forest kindergartens in Europe.

SYDNEY – Approximately 55 childcare centres are expected to close by the end of the year in Australia.

Approval is pending for a new ECC degree to be offered at Wintec (Waikato Institute of Technology).

New regulations imposed by the former government for the EC sector will not be introduced on 1st December, says education minister, Anne Tolley.

“We are short of around 300 suitably qualified teachers all over NZ to meet the growth of new centres and the vacancies that we have,” says Wayne Wright, owner of Kidicorp, NZ’s largest private provider of ECE and care centres.

Thousands of kindergarten teachers are attending paid union meetings around the country to vote on a pay claim to take into negotiations next year.

The New Zealand Playcentre Federation has released a report highlighting how the government has undermined parents wanting to educate their own children.

“Barnardos New Zealand is welcoming the research project on child discipline carried out by the University of Otago Children’s Issues Centre between December 2006 and July this year. It is academically rigorous and it shows that parents are moving towards more positive disciplinary methods”, says Murray Edridge, chief executive of Barnardos NZ.

This November Nickelodeon launches the world-renowned and much loved National Geographic Kids preschool series, Toot & Puddle.

Plunket and Trade Me are celebrating one year of partnership. Through seller donations, over $55,000 has been raised and Plunket are really excited to see that so far, over 320,000 listed auctions have been chosen to donate.

NZEI says any move to provide more flexibility within ECE must not come at the expense of quality teaching and terms and conditions of staff.

Barnardos NZ held its AGM for 2008 last month, with Judge Andrew Becroft, Principal Youth Court Judge of NZ being the keynote speaker.

The Early Childhood Council has appointed as its new chief executive the prominent education academic, Dr Sarah Farquhar.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic and the NZ College of ECE have joined forces to make it count for nanny students on the West Coast.

Flexible learning environments and shared decision-making help create a sense of security for children and teachers that strengthens learning, according to new research findings by Massey University’s Child Care Centre at Palmerston North.

The Auckland Kindergarten Association (AKA) turned 100 years old earlier this month.

Kids to Five on Somerset in Hamilton, submitted an entry into Maori Language week for 2008.

Te Kohanga Reo throughout NZ have a new understanding of road safety and the correct use of child restraints thanks to a nationwide education campaign by ACC and Te Kohanga Reo National Trust.

Plunket is excited to announce the theme for their 2008 Annual Appeal (13th-19th October), ‘Be a superhero for under fives’.

While it was rainy and wet outside, inside there was warmth, laughter, learning and dancing at the KidStart Conference.

Restrictive new regulations and criteria for the early childhood sector will not be introduced on 1st December if National is in government, says National’s associate education EC spokesperson, Paula Bennett.

A programme designed for gifted pre-schoolers which has already met with success in Auckland is set to be rolled out to other locations by The Gifted Education Centre, after it recently received a funding boost from the Sovereign Sunshine programme.

A jungle of regulation is slowing the building of preschools, creating unnecessary waiting lists, and restricting children’s learning once they get through the door, says an ECE sector leader.

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.

Chris Carter has announced grants worth $9.3 million for 27 ECE providers across NZ.

From September groups of children turning four will be invited to have a B4 School Check.

National will scrap rigid new regulations that Labour is bringing in for gym créches, says National’s associate education (Early Childhood) spokesperson, Paula Bennett.

Free ECE enrolments have topped 85,000, but more than 6000 three and four-year-olds attending quality education services still have no opportunity to access this government scheme.

Another half dozen EC centres and schools will benefit this month from computer upgrades at the University of Waikato.

In the midst of a recent baby boom in most areas of NZ, Plunket has seen a significant increase in the number of enrolments over the last year – and continues to provide support for over 92 per cent of young families.

Labour’s insistence that all ECE centres must have closed-off sleeping rooms for children will force many centres to the wall, says National’s education spokespeople, Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett.

The NZ Early Childhood Research Conference will be held in conjunction with the Australian Association for Research in Education on Thursday 22nd – Friday 23rd January, 2009, in Wellington.

NZEI, the union representing early childhood teachers, is welcoming figures released by the minister of education, which show a big boost in participation rates in ECE, through the 20 Hours Free policy.

CORE’s Early Childhood Education, Information, Communication and Technology Programme (ECEICTPL) Team recently co-ordinated and hosted the 60 ECE lead teachers that are part of the programme at at an iLead Conference in Auckland.

The Early Childhood Council Conference to be held in Rotorua, 29th May – 31st May, 2009, is the largest annual EC event in NZ and attracts a wide range of delegates from the EC sector including centre managers, owners, committee members, teachers, trainees, training providers, and government officials.

Delegates at the 46th New Zealand Childcare Association Conference in Christchurch were dismayed by National’s proposal to drop the 2012 teacher qualification targets for under two-year-olds.

Early childhood and education recruitment specialist Select Education has expanded its services into the Waikato area, in an effort to help ease shortages in NZ in both the early childhood and schools and early childhood sectors.

May was an interesting month for Kids to Five on Somerset. At the end of May we participated in Balloon Day.