Priority Outcome 1:

What are we seeking to achieve?

Regular participation in high quality early childhood education for a sustained period before primary school has been shown to positively influence a child’s future educational achievement. We need to increase participation, and the quality of participation, in early childhood education in certain geographical areas, and among groups with traditionally low participation rates. We need to work in partnership with parents, communities and local services to identify children with disabilities and special education needs as early as possible and ensure they are provided with support that enables them to achieve educational success.

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How will we demonstrate success in achieving this?

We will know we have achieved this when we see changes such as:

• the proportion of children from targeted groups attending high quality early childhood education rising to levels consistent with the general population
• increases in the consistency and length of attendance in early childhood education for children from target groups
• fewer children starting primary school with previously unidentified and unsupported special education needs.

System indicators⁴:

• Participation in early childhood education (ECE).
• Hours of participation in ECE.
• Percentage of children attending an ECE service prior to starting school.
• Hours of Early Intervention services⁵ provided and participation rates.

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What will we do to achieve this?

Targeting for participation:

The Ministry will focus on increasing participation for groups with low participation rates. This will include analysis of how early childhood education funding, subsidies, licensing controls, teacher regulations and participation initiatives could be better directed to increase participation in early childhood education for Māori and Pasifika children, and children from poorer communities. The Ministry will work with early childhood education providers, parents, whānau, iwi, community groups and local government to develop local solutions that best meet the early childhood education needs of communities, in order to increase access to ECE and Early Intervention services.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• the success of new and adjusted initiatives designed to increase participation in early childhood education for target groups, measured through monitoring data and evaluation
• the quality of relationships and the timeliness of progress made in local planning to increase participation
• the proportion of Māori and Pasifika children receiving Early Intervention services being in line with population representation.

⁴ We will use these indicators to identify change over time, and to identify the quality and effect of that change. Most recent status and historical trends in these indicators are available on the Ministry’s Education Counts website: www.educationcounts.govt.nz
⁵ See Glossary – Early Intervention services.