Early Childhood Day of Action and Petition Launch

A nationwide petition is being launched on Tuesday 1st February calling on the government to reverse the cuts to early childhood funding and commit to more investment in early childhood education.

The cuts which were announced in last year’s Budget took $285 million out of early childhood education and come into effect on February 1st. They significantly reduce funding for about 2,000 early childhood centres and services which have 80% or more fully qualified staff, impacting on 93,000 children.

The cuts mean the majority of services which are losing funding are putting up their fees, while others are being forced to consider losing or reducing their numbers of qualified staff.

To mark the day the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is launching a nationwide petition as part of a national day of action.

The petition calls for the funding cuts to be reversed and for the government to commit to a plan to invest 1% of GDP on early childhood education as recommended by UNICEF. All the evidence shows that investment in the early years is the most important but New Zealand currently spends less than the OECD average on early childhood education.

NZEI members at early childhood services will be joining with their communities on February 1st to launch the petition and will be holding a number of activities to highlight the impact of the cuts in their area.

This is a big local issue in communities throughout the country affecting thousands of families. The day of action and petition launch will provide plenty of colourful media opportunities along with people who know about the issues.

To find out what’s happening in your area on Tuesday 1st February please contact:

ENDS

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