Early Childhood Education (ECE) in New Zealand - Integrated System -

Integrated system – overview  no distinction between education and care  government does not own or operate ECE services  centralised authority for education and care  areas of central responsibility:  statutory regulation + associated tiers of administration  government funding  curriculum  monitoring

Policy & system development  system development in New Zealand  early 1900s – some government subsidies  1960 – regulation  1974 – targeted parent support  1986 to 1990 – centralisation of subsidies, support and development of quality assurance  1990 – introduction of new funding and licensing system  1996 – Te Whāriki (bicultural ECE curriculum) officially introduced  2005 – major funding system changes

Integration  sequence of integration:  revised education legislation  authority for childcare services transferred to Department of Education from Department of Social Welfare  qualifications benchmark to be phased in  Department of Education becomes Ministry of Education  funding for M ā ori language services transferred to Ministry of Education from Ministry of M ā ori Affairs  new funding system introduced

Teachers  the New Zealand Qualifications Authority manages the recognition of standards and qualifications  the New Zealand Teachers Council decides which qualifications can lead to teacher registration in ECE  the funding system is designed to incentivise increases in the number of registered ECE teachers  recently changed from a 100% target of registered teachers (in services led by teachers) by 2012 to 80%

Quality Assurance  1960 – first quality assurance – a form of licensing related to physical welfare of children existed  late 1980s… – sector advocacy for recognition by government  teacher registration and monitoring through ERO / NZQA / NZTC  1990 – new funding system and licensing + Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices  late 1980s – early 1990s – sector concerns about quality  late 1990s – 2009 changes in ECE regulations and relicensing requirements for ECE services are increasingly focused on quality of education

Policy Lessons & evaluation  Policy lessons  main concerns of the sector  mandate for reform  implementation of changes via a 10 year strategic plan  Evaluation of the 10 year strategic plan initiated in 2002:  1 st of 2 parts completed: monitoring of the early stages  integrated approach is successful for delivery of ECE; targeted intervention needed for those not participating