Kindergarten Association supports government decision

Auckland Kindergarten Association supports government decision to consult on update of early childhood education curriculum

04 November, 2016

For more information contact Auckland Kindergarten Association CEO Tanya Harvey on 027 2805479 or 09 3001807

The Auckland Kindergarten Association has applauded the Government’s decision to consult on its update of the early childhood education curriculum, ‘Te Whariki’.

Association CEO Tanya Harvey said today (04 November) there was ‘deep affection’ for the existing curriculum. And she and others in the early childhood education sector ‘appreciate and applaud’ the Minister’s decision to consult more widely on how it was to be changed.

Ms Harvey said the curriculum update had been undertaken so far by seven government-appointed ‘writers’, and was set to modify the way children were taught in early childhood education services throughout New Zealand.

She said it was ‘a tricky job’ to refresh the 20-year-old curriculum for a new generation whilst retaining the ‘spirit and essence’ of the old document, and it was ‘a very good idea to ask those working in the early childhood education sector to help achieve this’.

Ms Harvey said government was seeking to update educational content, review learning outcomes and how they were assessed, create links between the early childhood and primary school curricula, and strengthen advice on curriculum implementation.

The review seemed to be ‘on track to produce something that would work well for everyone’, but it was likely that input from the sector would make it even better, Ms Harvey said.

The Auckland Kindergarten Association was founded in 1908, and is the largest kindergarten association in New Zealand. It runs 107 kindergartens, four KiNZ early learning daycare centres (with a fifth set to open in Orewa), and five play groups. It cares for more than 8500 children a year.

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