Recognising teachers with primary and overseas ECE qualifications

Registered primary teachers

The Government is committed to recognising the broad range of skills and knowledge primary qualified teachers can bring to early childhood education (ECE).

These changes ensure that these teachers will be recognised through funding to ECE services.

The Government has set aside $19.5 million over four years to cover the additional cost of recognising New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers in ECE services for funding purposes.

What has changed?

From 1 November 2010, New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers in ECE services can be counted for funding purposes. This means that registered primary teachers can be included in the staff hour count.

What does this mean for an ECE service?

An ECE service that employs a New Zealand qualified and registered primary teacher may be eligible for higher funding rates.

What happens next?

Further information about the change will be sent to providers by September 2010.

This change does not affect:

• staffing requirements set out in the Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 or the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008
• person responsible requirements.

Can New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers count towards ECE services’ staffing requirements for licensing purposes?

No. New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers can only be counted by ECE services in their funding claims. No changes have been made to the staffing requirements set out in the Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 or the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.

Teacher-led ECE services still require at least 50% of their staff to hold a recognised early childhood teaching qualification (one staff member in their final year of study towards a recognised ECE qualification can still be counted towards this total).

Can a New Zealand qualified and registered primary teacher be a person responsible in an ECE service?

No. Person responsible requirements remain unchanged. The Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 1998 or the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 require that the person responsible in teacher-led ECE services must hold a recognised early childhood teaching qualification.

Will services have to attest to paying New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers at a certain salary level?

Yes. Higher funding rates are only available to teacher-led ECE services that agree to pay all registered teachers employed by their service at least at the levels stated in the current Education Circular Attestation: Registered Teachers’ Salaries. The levels stated in this circular are based on the minimum levels of the Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement.

From 1 November 2010, no new services will be able to access the 80-99% or 100% funding rates. What happens when a centre employs a New Zealand qualified and registered primary teacher and moves up to one of these funding bands?

Recognising New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers for funding purposes in ECE services will not affect the funding rates of services already in the higher (80-99% and 100%) bands. Services in the 50-79% band that are affected by recognising New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers will be able to move up to the new 80% + funding band from 1 February 2011.

Can employing a New Zealand qualified and registered primary teacher move a service to a higher band that is less than the 80-99% funding band?

Access to the lower funding bands has not been restricted. Employing a New Zealand qualified and registered primary teacher may mean a service moves up the lower funding band from, for example, the 25-49% band to the 50-79% band.

What do these changes mean for primary qualified teachers who are enrolled in a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)?

ECE qualifications are recognised for more purposes. Completing a recognised ECE qualification will mean a teacher can be recognised for licensing requirements and can become a person responsible in an ECE service.

New Zealand qualified and registered primary teachers in an ECE service will only be recognised for funding purposes.

Are provisionally registered teachers with primary qualifications eligible for the support grant for provisionally registered teachers?

No. Qualified primary teachers with provisional registration who are employed by an ECE service will not be eligible.

How can provisionally registered primary teachers working in ECE services gain access to teacher registration support?

The decision to employ a teacher is for individual ECE services. It is a matter between employers and employees to decide what additional training and support teachers receive, including primary teachers.

I have studied to be a teacher in a secondary school but want to work in ECE. Will my qualification be recognised for funding purposes in ECE services as well?

No. Secondary teaching qualifications can be quite specialised in content. Therefore secondary teachers would require further training to teach in an ECE setting.

Will the change have an impact on quality ECE provision?

Registered primary teachers bring a range of skills and knowledge to ECE services. Many primary teachers already make a significant contribution to ECE services. This change recognises this contribution.

No changes have been made to the staffing requirements set out in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. Teacher-led ECE services still require at least 50% of their staff to hold a recognised early childhood teaching qualification, ensuring that services maintain a body of specialist ECE knowledge.

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Overseas qualified ECE teachers

Government is committed to recognising the broad range of skills and knowledge of overseas ECE qualified teachers.

The changes ensure that knowledgeable and experienced teachers will be recognised through funding to ECE services.

Funding of $15.4 million over four years has been set aside to support the Government’s commitment to easing the transition of overseas ECE qualified teachers into New Zealand ECE settings.

What has happened?

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) is changing the way it assesses overseas ECE qualifications and will recognise a wider range of qualifications. For overseas ECE qualifications to be considered for this, they must have been assessed as at least equivalent to New Zealand Level 7 (bachelor level) qualifications.

What does this means for overseas qualified ECE teachers?

People with overseas ECE qualifications can apply to have them assessed by the NZQA. The expanded assessment process for overseas ECE qualifications will now include determining whether an overseas qualification contains core components of a New Zealand Graduate Diploma of Teaching (ECE) qualification.

NZQA expects more overseas ECE qualifications to be recognised as comparable to a New Zealand ECE qualification. It does not mean that all qualifications will be automatically recognised. NZQA assesses applications on a case by case basis, and applicants will be advised if their qualification can be recognised.

Is further information available?

For further information, email the Qualifications Recognition Services team at NZQA (ece.qrs@nzqa.govt.nz).

How can teachers get their overseas ECE qualification reassessed by NZQA?

Teachers can contact NZQA to discuss whether a qualification reassessment is possible (ece.qrs@nzqa.govt.nz). There may be a cost involved.

How much will qualification reassessment cost?

Costs will be estimated on a case-by-case basis depending on the amount of time required to carry out a reassessment.

How long will the assessment/reassessment process take?

Up to 35 working days exclusive of any time required to verify evidence and/or seek further information from overseas institutions and agencies.

Should an overseas ECE qualification that was assessed as comparable to a Level 6 qualification in New Zealand be reassessed?

No. Overseas teaching qualifications need to be equivalent to a New Zealand Level 7 (bachelor level) qualification to be considered as comparable to a New Zealand teaching qualification.

Will reassessment affect the registration status of a teacher who has already been registered with their current overseas qualification?

There will be no change to registration status.

If a teacher’s qualification is reassessed as containing the core components of a New Zealand Graduate Diploma of Teaching (ECE), will they be recognised as an ECE teacher for licensing and funding purposes?

If a qualification is reassessed as containing the core components of a New Zealand Graduate Diploma of Teaching (ECE), and is approved by the New Zealand Teachers Council for registration, the Ministry of Education will recognise the qualification for ECE staffing and funding purposes.

Will these changes affect the development of the short intensive induction programme for primary and overseas ECE qualified teachers?

The content and delivery of such a programme is still being scoped and no decision has been made.