Building knowledge for better early childhood learning

Additional funding of nearly $2 million will see three new early childhood education Centres of Innovation next year, Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced today.

"These new centres, in addition to the six begun last year, will strengthen quality in early childhood teaching and share knowledge of what works best for New Zealand children," Trevor Mallard said.

"This government is committed to lifting participation in early childhood education and to improving children’s learning and development in these critical years which set the foundation for future learning."

"By being better informed about quality teaching practices we can provide our children with the best possible learning opportunities."

Trevor Mallard said the Centres of Innovation are supported for three years through assistance and funding to research and develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

Centres of Innovation support continuous improvement in early childhood education, encourage provider collaboration, facilitate networks of learning support, build research capability, share information, develop leadership and strengthen quality teaching and learning.

"Centres of Innovation are a significant way of improving quality in early childhood education, one of the key goals in Pathways to the Future: Ngä Huarahi Arataki, the early childhood education strategic plan, launched in 2002.

"The ECE Centres of Innovation programme has shown how vibrant and innovative the early childhood education sector is and reflects its commitment to developing the best teaching practice to support effective learning for children.

The first six centres focused on innovations in the use of ICT, improved links between services, and quality practices in Mäori and Pasifika bilingual and immersion services.

The Ministry of Education is currently analysing the focus for the next three centres and the selection process would get underway later in the year.

Current early childhood education centres of innovation:

A'oga Fa'a Samoa (Auckland) New Beginnings Pre-school (Christchurch) Roskill South Kindergarten (Auckland) Te Kohanga Reo o Puau Te Moananui-a-Kiwa (East Auckland) Wilton Playcentre (Wellington) Wycliffe Nga Tamariki Kindergarten (Napier)

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