Complaint laid against early childhood advocate for 'deliberately misleading' parents, sector

RNZ News

10 hours ago

Dr Sarah Alexander.
Photo:
RNZ Insight/John Gerritsen
An organisation representing early childhood centre owners and managers has filed a complaint against a sector advocate, who the Ministry of Education says is causing confusion in the sector.
Dr Sarah Alexander runs an advocacy website called the 'Office of Early Childhood Education'.
Until recently the organisation had a group called the 'Early Childhood Advisory Committee' - which is the exact same name as an Education Ministry entity.
The Early Childhood Council has filed a complaint against Alexander alleging her organisation is deliberately misleading the sector.
The Commerce Commission said it would be speaking to Alexander to remind her of the obligations under the Fair Trading Act.
The Ministry of Education told RNZ that Alexander was not affiliated with central government and some elements of her advocacy work had caused confusion in the sector.
Since RNZ contacted Alexander, some of the wording on her website has changed.
Alexander said she stood by the work of her organisation and had not been contacted by either the Commerce Commission, or the ECC.
The Early Childhood Council claimed Alexander and her website - the 'Office of Early Childhood Education' (OECE) - was "deliberately misleading" and confusing parents and childcare centres.
The website publishes newsletters and articles about the sector and ECE centres, and states that Alexander is the "Chief Advisor".
Until recently it said the "Office" was the "lead public advisor on early childcare and education".
The website says it is the "national body for the sector and leading authority on ECE", and represents "all stakeholders and parts of the sector".
It has a "specialist ECE newsroom" with paywalled articles, some of which include details of coronial inquests and criticisms of childcare centres and policies.
The earlier version of the OECE website.
Photo:
Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website
The updated version of the OECE website.
Photo:
Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website
Before it was changed not long ago, the OECE organisation had a group called the "Early Childhood Advisory Committee" (ECAC), which is the identical name of a Ministry of Education entity.
"This is not connected to the Ministry's official Early Childhood Advisory Committee. The Ministry has noted that the naming of this internal OECE group has caused some confusion within the sector," ministry deputy secretary of policy Andy Jackson said.
"The Ministry's ECAC has a different membership and mandate and operates under formal terms of reference to provide advice on government initiatives and the operation of early childhood education at a national level."
The Ministry of Education said the OECE website was an independently operated advocacy organisation that published opinion and commentary on the sector, and was not affiliated with central government.
"It is not a government agency, statutory body, or formally affiliated with the Ministry of Education (MoE)," the Ministry's deputy secretary of policy Andy Jackson said.
"The 'Chief Advisor' title held by Dr Sarah Alexander is not a government-appointed role, nor is it a position within the Ministry."
Jackson said officials regularly engaged with a range of groups across the ECE sector.
"From time to time, we meet with Dr Alexander and members of the OECE's ECAC to share information and respond to queries," he said.
The Early Childhood Council has filed a complaint against Alexander alleging her organisation is deliberately misleading the sector.
Photo:
Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website
The Ministry of Education said Alexander was a member of the Ministry's Early Learning Regulatory Advisory Group, which is an unpaid advisory body of around 15 sector representatives.
"Dr Alexander's involvement allows her to contribute perspectives on early learning policy, but it does not represent a leadership or decision-making role within the Ministry," Jackson said.
Alexander told RNZ she never said the OECE had a decision making role.
"But we do provide advice to the Ministry and have done for many years. Until the end of last year, the OECE and MoE had bi-monthly meetings," she said.
Alexander said the Ministry has never had an issue with the name of the OECE's advisory group.
"In fact, some Ministry officials have said anyone can have an early childhood advisory group - there is no trademark or anything illegal about this," Alexander said.
The new 'ECE Advisory Committee' page.
Photo:
Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website
Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube said while the name change was "really encouraging", there were still things the Council considered were "deliberately misleading".
"They are not an 'office' at all. Our complaint to the Commerce Commission still stands, we will be very, very interested to see what they make of it," he said.
Laube felt Alexander was causing concern and confusion in the sector.
"Using things like 'Office of' and calling yourself 'Chief Adviser'... leads many people to think that they are a government department, when they're not," he said.
The Commerce Commission said it would contact Alexander.
"Following our assessment, the Commission will be contacting Office of Early Childhood Education to remind them of their obligations under the Fair Trading Act," general manager of competition, fair trading and credit, Vanessa Horne said.
Alexander said she had not been contacted by either the Commerce Commission, or the ECC.
She said her organisation's advice was based on years of research and consultation with practitioners, academics and other experts in the field.
Others in the sector are also worried about Alexander's OECE website, and her advocacy work.
Montessori Aotearoa NZ chief executive Cathy Wilson told RNZ that while Alexander's heart may be in the right place, her claim on the website that "The OECE is the national body for the early childhood sector and public advisor on ECE in Aotearoa NZ" was false.
"She is not the voice of the sector. She's absolutely not representing any peak body whatsoever," she said.
Wilson said she regarded some of the material produced by the OECE as fearmongering.
She said while the changes Alexander had made to her website were promising - the organisation's name was still a problem.
"She still is inferring that she speaks for the ECE sector, that inference hasn't gone away," Wilson said.
Childcare centre owner and advisor to advocacy group Advocates for Early Learning Excellence Kelly Seaburg said despite the changes, many in the sector still had serious concerns about Alexander's advocacy work and website.
"She isn't truly engaging with the sector in a meaningful way. It's just very one sided and that concerns me.
"If you are putting yourself out to be an expert leader, someone who's in touch with what's actually happening on the ground, but when I see some of their recommendations, they don't seem to be in touch with reality," she said.
Seaburg urged media organisations to be careful when interviewing people and double check the facts, as well as ensure a story had been thoroughly researched.
Dr Sarah Alexander is called the 'Chief Advisor' on the OECE website.
Photo:
Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website
Alexander has been
interviewed by RNZ
when she represented the 'The Office of Early Childhood Education', and in her former role with the now-closed 'Child Forum'.
The Ministry of Education told RNZ it respected the right of individuals to advocate on issues they felt strongly about, but it was important that such advocacy was conducted respectfully, particularly when it involved the experiences of others.
"Responsible advocacy should avoid using personal or sensitive situations to advance individual agendas and instead focus on supporting informed, constructive dialogue across the sector," Jackson said.
Laube said over the past six months the ECC had worked with a number of childcare centres who felt targeted by Alexander, who wrote stories on her website or commented publicly on cases.
He said the OECE had published critical articles about providers on their website, questioning their childcare practices.
"She went after them. It's very, very stressful for providers because their reputations are everything - they rely on parents trusting them with their children every day.
"I've had people completely in tears. It can be really traumatic for the provider," Laube said.
The Ministry said early learning services were encouraged to refer to the Ministry's official communication channels - such as the ECE Bulletin - for accurate and up-to-date information on government decisions and guidance.
Alexander said she stood by the mahi she and the OECE did.
She said the OECE had a code of conduct that they encouraged all ECE services to follow, and their objectives were highlighting what was best for tamariki, ensuring high-quality care and education and a well-functioning early childhood sector.
"We dig deeper. We do OIAs. We ask questions. We draw on research and evidence. We analyse data. We identify lessons that can be learnt and changes that could help to improve," she said.
In response to RNZ's questions about the allegations of targeting childcare centres, Alexander said there was a huge cost to teachers and on children and families when the owner or operator had "not properly fulfilled their obligations, leaving things to go wrong".
"The ECC may like to consider the very high costs to children, families and teachers, and ensure their centre owners comply fully with regulatory requirements and provide a safe and quality care and learning environment for children always," she said.
"The business lobby in the ECE sector is strong, and it's important that the sector has other groups that advocate for best practice, outside of business interests," she said.
The ECC told RNZ they were an incorporated society that filed annual reports and was transparent about its work and membership.
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