Urgent need to address ECE teacher supply
“Teacher shortages aren’t limited to schools”
said NZ Kindergartens chief executive Clare Wells. “There
is also an urgent need to address the recruitment and
retention of qualified teachers in early childhood education
(ECE).”
“We are seeing the result of government changes over the past decade and shifting targets and timeframes to achieve a fully qualified ECE teaching workforce” said Clare Wells. Sixteen years ago, the Labour government set in place targets for 100% qualified teachers in teacher-led, centre-based services. In 2010, the National government slashed the target to 80% along with the funding. “Years of uncertainty for people looking to take up a teaching career, and for employers and training providers, is taking its toll. We have to turn that around.”
“Kindergartens and many education and care services have managed to hang on to 100% qualified teachers but that’s getting harder to do” said Clare Wells. “Attracting people into the teaching profession is one thing, supporting them to stay there is another - and we have to do both” Clare Wells said.
What will make a difference:
- determining that all staff in teaching roles
are qualified teachers;
- reinstating and improving
funding levels to maintain 100% qualified teachers in
services where this is currently the case;
- designing
policy and implementing funding to help those working in ECE
services to become qualified teachers;
- providing
appropriate funding to ensure newly graduated teachers have
access to the support they need as beginning teachers;
- increasing pay and improving employment conditions for
all qualified ECE teachers and ensuring they are covered by
a national collective agreement;
- extending the support
offered to teachers in the schools sector to all teachers,
to attract and retain staff especially in isolated and rural
communities.
“Clearly the initiatives to attract more
school teachers is a welcome ‘quick fix’ but there is no
such offer to ECE” Clare Wells said. “We’re lagging
behind again. We need the government to put a stake in the
ground now and implement a coherent workforce policy, ensure
top quality teacher education programmes are available, and
ensure ECE services have the resources and support they need
to attract and retain qualified
teachers.”
ENDS