Latest news with #OfficeofEarlyChildhoodEducation
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Complaints against early childhood education advocacy group filed with commerce commission
An organisation representing early childhood centre owners and managers has filed a complaint with the commerce commission about a sector advocacy group called the 'Office of Early Childhood Education'. Alexa Cook reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
FamilyBoost Changes A Boost For Higher Income Families – But They Fail To Even Out The Playing Field For All Whānau
Tweaks to FamilyBoost that will put more money back into the pockets of families with infants and young children in early childhood education will certainly be good news for many parents amid the cost of living crisis. But the changes to the scheme announced today fail to address some of the problems that have prevented uptake – such ECE service providers failing to provide parents with compliant invoices. The changes also seem to favour higher income families, who can afford higher fee-charging services, the Office of Early Childhood Education's chief advisor, Dr Sarah Alexander, says. On Monday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the IRD estimated that around 16,000 more families would be eligible for rebates under the revised scheme, when the income threshold is raised from $180,000 to $229,000 on October 1, and that those who already qualify would now get up to 40% of their fees back (up from a maximum of 25%). Alexander says although she's pleased that more families will benefit from the scheme, she would've liked to see lower income families getting a higher proportion of ECE costs back. 'I would have liked to see the policy creating a more even playing field when it comes to affordability of childcare and supporting parental choice of ECE service.' Before advising the Minister on how to improve the scheme's uptake, Inland Revenue asked the Office of Early Childhood Education for ideas. In our submission, we outlined several key problems with the scheme in its original form. Based on our analysis, we suggested that the Government: Maintain the rebate of 25% of eligible fees for higher-income households, but increase the rebate to 50% or higher for lower-income households. Apply the rebate cap of $975 per quarter on a per child, rather than per family basis. Make claiming the rebate easier by reducing the amount of information that parents must input before they upload invoices. Require ECE providers to provide timely and correct invoices, and not place their own conditions on parents making a claim. Produce short videos for social media outlining how FamilyBoost works and how to make a claim (ensuring the messaging resonates with time-poor parents). The OECE's full submission to the IRD is on our website at While we're pleased to see the rebate amount raised, in the OECE's view, the process of claiming remains burdensome for parents and caregivers, and needs to be simplified to encourage more eligible whānau to take up the rebates.
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Early Childhood Education Sector Confidence Survey Results 2025
Press Release – Office of Early Childhood Education 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. 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: 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.
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
The Office Of ECE's Response To The Green Party's ECE Policy Announcement
Press Release – Office of Early Childhood Education Although the Greens policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, its not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other … 'The Greens describe their ECE policy as 'bold'. It certainly is. It could even be described as 'whacky', because it's so different to the status quo. 'But that doesn't mean it's crazy. In fact, it deserves consideration and might well have merit. 'Essentially, the Greens are proposing to turn the way the ECE sector is structured and funded on its head. 'The Greens have homed in on two of the most critical problems facing the sector: instability and cost. 'The dominance of the sector by private for-profit providers means that, being businesses, most ECEs could close overnight if they decided to, leaving whānau in the lurch. This is not an issue in the community-based part of the sector. 'Without fee capping, as the Greens are proposing at $10 per day initially, the prices ECE services charge are, and will remain, at their discretion. 'The OECE has spent many years advocating for transparency in ECE services' financial accounts, so parents can see where money is going and assess whether fee hikes are justified. Opening up the books can also help ensure all families can access high quality early childhood education and care, whatever their household income or ability to pay is. 'We also recognise that ECE is a 'public good'. 'Although the Greens' policy removes the ability for private enterprise to use ECE as a money making endeavour, it's not foolproof. The policy still leaves room for community organisations running ECE centres to divert public funding to other purposes of their charity or organisation. 'If an external body is managing the finances of centres, through 'networks' as the Greens have proposed, individual centres won't have control over their own spending. 'Many current providers might also refuse to become not-for-profits, which could lead to a lack of capacity and a lack of available places for tamariki to meet whānau demand. 'There are multiple ways the policy could unravel; whether it's successful will depend on how it's implemented.' Other comments from the OECE: In the documentation they've released alongside their policy, the Greens have left some important questions unanswered, such as: Whether the number of teachers at each not-for-profit centre will be capped according to the existing minimum ratios or whether teacher headcounts, and the corresponding salaries, will be determined per centre using a different metric How non-teacher led parts of the sector (EG: Playcentre) will be funded. The Greens have confirmed to the OECE that they're committed to funding parent-led services like Playcentre, but how to do this hasn't been costed yet. How this approach would work for home-based services.
