Report's vision for early childhood education

EMBARGOED until launch – 5pm Tuesday 3 November

Report outlines vision for high quality early childhood education

A report released today outlines a vision for a national network of high quality community-based early childhood centres. The report ‘Strengthening Community-based Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa – New Zealand’ was authored by Helen May from the University of Otago and Linda Mitchell from the University of Waikato.

Nancy Bell, Chief Executive of Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa / NZ Childcare Association participated in the working group, “This report aligns very closely with the Association’s vision of high standards of early childhood education and care for all New Zealand children.”

“The report foregrounds the important issue of quality in early childhood education. Underpinning this vision is a shared commitment to strong, responsive ECE services which are embedded in and accountable to their local communities, providing high quality learning experiences for children, families and whanau. For our members quality is of paramount importance, a report underscoring this fact is good news for the ECE sector.”

One of the key drivers of quality in early childhood education is having a high number of qualified teachers. In a statement made last week Minister Tolley announced a delay to the 2010 ECE teacher qualification targets. “The delay means we may lose momentum on the important work of getting teachers qualified. We hope this report will provide the impetus for the Government to review its teacher supply strategy and put policies in place which will ensure a qualified early childhood teacher for every child. This vision of a fully qualified teaching workforce is central to our view of quality ECE.”

Nancy Bell will be giving a speech at the official launch of the report at NZEI at 5pm on 3 November in front of an audience of early childhood sector representatives.

ENDS

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