The Office Of ECE’s Response To The Green Party’s ECE Policy Announcement

“The Greens describe their ECE policy as ‘bold’. It certainly is. It could even be described as ‘whacky’, because it’s so different to the status quo.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s crazy. In fact, it deserves consideration and might well have merit.

“Essentially, the Greens are proposing to turn the way the ECE sector is structured and funded on its head.

“The Greens have homed in on two of the most critical problems facing the sector: instability and cost.

“The dominance of the sector by private for-profit providers means that, being businesses, most ECEs could close overnight if they decided to, leaving whānau in the lurch. This is not an issue in the community-based part of the sector.

“Without fee capping, as the Greens are proposing at $10 per day initially, the prices ECE services charge are, and will remain, at their discretion.

“The OECE has spent many years advocating for transparency in ECE services’ financial accounts, so parents can see where money is going and assess whether fee hikes are justified. Opening up the books can also help ensure all families can access high quality early childhood education and care, whatever their household income or ability to pay is.

“We also recognise that ECE is a ‘public good’.

“Although the Greens’ policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, it’s not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other purposes of their charity or organisation.

“If an external body is managing the finances of centres, through ‘networks’ as the Greens have proposed, individual centres won’t have control over their own spending.

“Many current providers might also refuse to become not-for-profits, which could lead to a lack of capacity and a lack of available places for tamariki to meet whānau demand.

“There are multiple ways the policy could unravel; whether it’s successful will depend on how it’s implemented.”

Other comments from the OECE:

In the documentation they’ve released alongside their policy, the Greens have left some important questions unanswered, such as:

• Whether the number of teachers at each not-for-profit centre will be capped according to the existing minimum ratios or whether teacher headcounts, and the corresponding salaries, will be determined per centre using a different metric
• How non-teacher led parts of the sector (EG: Playcentre) will be funded. The Greens have confirmed to the OECE that they’re committed to funding parent-led services like Playcentre, but how to do this hasn’t been costed yet.
• How this approach would work for home-based services.

© Scoop Media