Quality Will Go Out The Window With ECE Funding Review

The just-announced review of ECE funding could lead to a reduction in quality of care and education for Aotearoa’s youngest, and some of its most vulnerable, tamariki, the Office of Early Childhood Education says.

On Tuesday, associate education minister David Seymour announced the establishment of a Ministerial Advisory Group, which will look at how the ECE sector is funded.

The OECE’s chief advisor, Dr Sarah Alexander, is worried that the review will lead to larger ECE services becoming more commonplace, leading to “bulk day-care” of children.

“Quality is going out the window,” she says. “The review’s terms of reference show that children’s best interest is not its priority. Instead, the review’s focus is on supporting labour market participation. Childcare should not be the sole or main purpose of ECE.”

Although Seymour has promised the total pool of funding for the sector will not be reduced as a result of the review, it could drastically change who gets how much of the pie. For example, Alexander says, services that are larger, offer more child places or longer hours of care could be allocated more funding.

The potential removal of funding incentives for services that have a high proportion of qualified teachers is troubling, Alexander says.

Alexander is concerned about who has been selected to make the recommendations for the review.

Four out of the seven members of the advisory group are service providers or owners (or represent the interests of service providers). This means half of the group stand to benefit directly from any funding changes, which could lead to skewed decision making in their favour, rather than decision making that will benefit the wider sector.

The terms of reference defines a quorum for the advisory group as half the number of members, plus the chair. This means that the four service provider representatives could yield a lot of power over the review’s recommendations.

Despite the terms of reference stating that it would be beneficial for the advisory group to include a person who understands the ECE system from a parent or whānau perspective, no one on the advisory group has this background. Alexander says a member of the ECE Parents’ Council could have been selected to the advisory group to fill this gap.

The OECE will be reviewing the terms of reference and providing further comment in the coming week.

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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