ECE Taskforce toes Govt line on registered staff

It is disappointing that the Early Childhood Education Taskforce has toed the Government line and only recommended that 80 percent of staff in early childhood centres should be registered teachers, the Green Party said today.

“There is clear agreement from the ECE sector that the goal should be 100 percent registered staff. By toeing the Government line and only recommending 80 percent registered staff, the ECE taskforce has undermined the sector and reinforced the rationale for damaging funding cuts made in Budget 2010,” Green Party Education Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said.

“Those cuts have already seen parents withdrawing children from high quality ECE centres because it has become unaffordable, and the taskforce has effectively endorsed this approach,” Ms Delahunty said.

Ms Delahunty that it was good to see the report made a strong case for investment in ECE in order to make considerable savings in the long-term, but was concerned that this approach was undermined by some of the report’s other recommendations.

“Investing in high quality ECE means taking a child-centred approach and keeping the best interests of our children paramount.

“Some of the report’s recommendations – like removing the fee controls from 20 hours ECE and requiring some parents to pay more for ECE than others – don’t seem to have taken a child-centred approach.

“There are worrying hints that this report is trying to line up with the harmful recommendations of the Welfare Working Group, for example by recommending ‘incentives and support for parents to return to paid work’.

“This should not be the purview of a report on ECE. It should be focussed on how to achieve the highest quality ECE services for the largest number of children, including our most vulnerable kids.

“We support in principal moves to target priority groups such as Māori, Pasifika, children from lower socio-economic backgrounds and children with special educational needs, but will need more detail on how this is to be achieved.

“Any actions arising from this report must be child-centred and aimed at increasing childrens’ access to ECE no matter what the income status of their parents,” Ms Delahunty said.