Early childhood education

In New Zealand Early Childhood Education (ECE) means education and care for children from babies to school entrant age. It is the first level of education.

There is a wide range of ECE services including crèches, kindergartens, centre or home-based education and care, playgroups, playcentres and Köhanga Reo (centres teaching in full immersion in Mäori language and culture).

ECE has a high participation rate; in 2006, 94 percent of children had received some form of ECE before starting school. Three and four year old children usually attend ECE for around 14 to 17 hours per week. The New Zealand government funds up to 20 hours ECE per week for three and four year old children, regardless of their parents' income, ethnicity or work status.

The government’s aim is to encourage intensive participation in quality ECE and to create positive education outcomes.

New Zealand has a strategic plan for ECE. Government focuses on the development of curriculum, regulating for minimum standards and teacher quality, funding support and other initiatives for quality ECE.

In New Zealand’s ECE system:

• the Ministry of Education provides support for young children from birth, or the time that they are identified as having special education needs, until the change to school
• ECE services are partially government funded but not government owned or managed
• parent, whänau (wider family) and community involvement is strongly encouraged
• other parent-led services, such as playcentres and Köhanga Reo, provide quality, low cost ECE and the government supports them
• English is the language medium of most services some centres are culturally oriented, such as Köhanga Reo or A’oga Amata (teaching in Samoan language and culture). Others focus on providing for special education needs or remote learning options
• the Correspondence School provides learning programmes for three to five year old children who are not able to attend ECE centres for reasons such as living in remote areas.

Te Whäriki is the early childhood education sector’s curriculum framework. It covers the education and the care of children from birth to school age and is used by most early childhood education services in New Zealand to guide the learning opportunities they provide for children.