The Government is putting children at risk in early childhood education (ECE) by proposing to loosen the requirement for qualified teachers.

“David Seymour should focus on growing the number of qualified teachers so more children get the support they deserve,” Labour’s early childhood education spokesperson, Jan Tinetti said.

“What’s worrying about this announcement is how little it tells us about what changes are actually in store.

“Instead of hiding behind vague statements, David Seymour needs to be transparent about what his plans are and whether they will come at the expense of our children’s learning and wellbeing.

“A review into the sector is certainly warranted. It’s important we’re always improving and future-proofing the sector. It’s why we undertook our own review in Government and were clear about what we were modernising.

“We’ve already seen David Seymour butcher the school lunches programme, I’d hate to see the same done to our ECE sector,” Jan Tinetti said.

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