Early Childhood Education

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE CENTRES

There are a wide range of ‘Early Childhood Education and Care Centres’ available in New Zealand that are fully licensed by the Ministry of Education. These may be referred to as Preschools, Childcare Centres or Early Learning Centres to name a few. They are either privately owned or community-based (non-profit) and run individually or as part of a larger corporate chain. Each centre will have its own philosophy or ‘flavour’ which defines it. It may be based on an educational philosophy such as Montessori, Rudolph Steiner or Reggio Emilio or have affiliations with a specific religion, language or culture. Centres must meet minimum requirements under the Early Childhood Regulations and are accountable to the Education Review Office (ERO) who will periodically visit the centre to ensure it is meeting predetermined standards of quality.

Education and Care Centres are licensed to offer either full day or part day services.
Full day centres typically run between the hours of 7.00am and 6.00pm, although opening hours will vary. Many of these centres will also offer morning and afternoon sessions for families who only wish to attend half days. Part day centres offer morning and afternoon sessions, short bookings or casual enrolments. Many centres will have policies regarding minimum weekly attendance so it pays to enquire about this when considering enrolment.

Early childhood services usually cater for children aged 0-6 years although this also varies between settings. Most centres have an ‘Infant and Toddler’ area for 0-2 year olds and an ‘Over Twos’ area for 2-6 year olds. Some are able to provide separate areas for their 2-3 year olds and four year olds, allowing them to provide separate programmes for each individual age range. There are centres that will take infants as young as six weeks, while others will require children to be at least 6-9 months old. Some centres only cater for children over the age of two or three years old.

Early Childhood Fees

Centre fees can range from $25 for a half day session to $70+ for a full day. For many families this will be offset by WINZ subsidies provided by the government to assist with childcare costs. The government also offers 20 free hours for all 3-4 year olds which makes childcare more attainable for families. In general, care for children under two years will cost significantly more than care for 2-6 year olds. Some centres will provide cooked lunches for a small fee, or charge a small amount for planned outings into the community.

Early Childhood Education Ratios

Teacher to child ratios vary depending on the age of the children attending. The Ministry of Education requires that there be one teacher to every five infants and toddlers (1:5) and one teacher to every 10 children over two years of age (1:10). Many centres work on lower ratios which allow for better quality care and education.

Ministry requirements ensure that centres have a certain percentage of fully qualified and registered teachers on site at all times. Other staff may be untrained or in-training. However these are minimum requirements and many centres strive to employ 100% fully qualified teachers. Early Childhood Education Centres vary in quality so it is important to shop around and find a setting that feels right for you and your child.

 Early Childhood Curriculum

Like all Early Childhood services in New Zealand, Education and Care Centres work within the framework of Te Whaariki – The New Zealand Early Childhood Education Curriculum. Daily programmes generally include a balance of free-play and organised, teacher-led activities. Throughout a day, children are given opportunities to explore a range of core learning areas such as art and creativity, science and nature, carpentry, dramatic play, ICT, construction, fine-motor activities, gross-motor activities, dough and puzzles. Teachers generally allocate time for mat times, music and movement sessions and small group sessions for specific age groups. Pre-writing, pre-reading and numeracy skills are integrated into many areas of the early childhood programme. Teachers will observe the children and design the daily programme to meet their changing needs and emerging interests.

All children will be allocated a ‘profile book’ or ‘learning journal’ during their time at a centre. This will contain learning stories that document the child’s learning and development, along with artwork, photos and records of the child’s special achievements.