National Standards- a potential risk for ECE

Labour Spokesperson for Early Childhood Education, Sue Moroney said today that she shared the concerns of the NZEI Te Riu Roa forum regarding the negative impact national standards may have on early childhood education.

"As I visit early childhood education services, I regularly have concerns raised with me about the negative impact of national standards on learning for our under 5's" said Sue Moroney.

"The sector fears that pressure for 5-year old children to perform to national standards will lead to a more narrow curriculum for younger children."

“The biggest concern is that National Standards could have a push down effect into early childhood services and compromise the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki.

"That outcome would be a tragedy for our ECE curriculum which is highly regarded internationally." said Sue Moroney