Early Childhood Education Sector Confidence Survey Results 2025

Confidence in where the early childhood education sector is heading falls to all-time low – 82% of those at the coalface say it’s going in the wrong direction.

1.6 stars out of 5. That’s the average rating that 1000 professionals and experts in early childhood education (ECE) have given the Government’s track record on improving the sector.

The results of the 2025 confidence survey, which the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) conducts annually in the last few weeks before the Budget is released, show that the sentiment in the sector is at an all-time low.

The vast majority of respondents (82%) said they felt the Government was taking the sector in the wrong direction. Just 9% said things were headed the right way. That put net confidence at -77% – the worst result since the survey started in 2018.

The outlook for the future of the sector was equally dire, with 83% of participants expecting the situation to get worse and just 6% predicting that things would improve.

The OECE’s chief advisor Dr Sarah Alexander says the findings should be a wake up call to politicians.

“Alarm bells should be ringing loudly. The message from teachers in our services and sector veterans alike is abundantly clear: we need urgent and drastic change.”

More than half of respondents had been pessimistic about the direction the sector was going in for five consecutive years.

During the last 12 months, the Government has introduced sweeping changes to how the sector operates. These have included removing restrictions for opening new services, Cabinet accepting recommendations by the Ministry for Regulation to to strip back regulations, and the scrapping of requirements for centre employers to pay relievers in line with pay parity scales.

The Coalition Government has also recently announced it will waive fees for teacher registration and the renewal of teacher practicing certificates for the next three years.

While a small group of respondents, mostly owners of private for-profit centres, were supportive of these shifts, overall the sector was dissatisfied with them, the OECE’s research found.

“The new policy changes (teacher registration fees free for the next three years) are just a front for the lack of other things that should be addressed: funding and staff salaries and teacher-child ratios,” one respondent said.

Another respondent described being “devastated that striving for best practice can be wiped out by those who have no appreciation of the importance of the early years and do not listen to the concerns of the sector”.

Low pay, insufficient ratios and resourcing, and funding issues continued to be some of the biggest pain points of the sector, the survey revealed.

One educator said they have a Bachelors degree, yet their husband, who works as a lifeguard, earns more than they do.

A respondent who gave the Government a one-star rating said they were deeply dissatisfied:

“There’s been a lot of talk, but not enough meaningful action. Quality ECE requires sustained investment in kaiako, fair pay, manageable ratios, and a genuine understanding of what tamariki and whānau need.

“Right now, it feels like the sector is being asked to do more with less, and that’s not sustainable.”

Alexander, the OECE’s chief advisor, is calling on the Government to properly listen to what those in the sector have to say and respond with policies that will enhance the quality of the care and education the sector provides.

“Will there be anything in Budget 2025 to reverse the grim situation the ECE sector is perceived to be in? Seeing these problems, will other political parties actively call out the Government on decisions and changes that have potential to, or will, make things worse still?,” she says.

The full report can be viewed at: https://oece.nz/public/evidence/reports/early-childhood-sector-confidence-survey-results-2025/

About the Office for Early Childhood Education

The Office for Early Childhood Education advocates for best practice in the sector, based on what research tells us about what is best for tamariki. We are not a lobby group and we represent all parts of the sector.

As well as being the national body for ECE, the OECE advises the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies on early childhood education and care. We are non-partisan.

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