The Herald today starts a week-long look at the burgeoning early-childhood education sector. In this first instalment, Kara Segedin looks at the shape of the industry and examines the work of a typical South Auckland centre.
It took the help of Prime Minister John Key for a South Auckland community to get its new early childhood centre off the ground.
Randwick Park is one of five new early childhood centres planned for Manurewa.
The community-based centres will reflect the needs of their areas and should be running by early next year.
Karen McMurray, principal of Randwick Park School, has been trying to set up a preschool in the area since the school opened in 1997.
"As a decile one school a lot of our children do not get the opportunity to go to early childhood education," said Ms McMurray.
Associate principal Felicity Oberlin-Brown said that after years of letter-writing, council meetings, hounding members of Parliament, and a vetoed decision, Mr Key gave permission for the centre to go ahead late last year.
The centre will be attached to the existing school on council land and will help children integrate into primary school and build relationships with parents who may be unfamiliar with the New Zealand education system.
"A lot of the parents haven't experienced it themselves, a lot come from overseas."
There is a private centre in front of the school, but it is out of the price range of many parents.
In the past year, 272 new centres opened across the country and 34 closed.
Councillor Colleen Brown has been lobbying for new centres for many years and said they were a significant step forward in areas of high need and low participation.
The aim is to get more 3 to 5-year-olds into quality preschool education for at least 20 hours a week.
"I hope it grows confident children and parents who embrace education as a way forward," she said.
Manukau City is home to 10 per cent of the country's pre-school-age population, but has had some of the lowest preschool participation rates in the country - Randwick Park has the second lowest rate in Manukau City.
Mrs Brown believes the demand for services is growing as parents realise the importance of early childhood education - the number of enrolments and centres in Manukau has been growing above the national average.
"The need has been there for a long time, we just haven't tapped into it."
At July 1, 2009, enrolments at licensed early childhood centres in Manukau increased 15.6 per cent to 13,29,1 up from 11,495 in 2005.
During that period 49 new centres were built taking the number of centres in Manukau to 305.
ROLL CALL OF LICENSED LEARNING CENTRES
* KINDERGARTENS
626 - up 1.3 per cent since 2005
Provide sessional and day programmes run by qualified and registered teachers for children aged 2 to 5. They are non-profit, community-based and parents are encouraged to participate in the programme.
Homebased services, at 297 up 47.8 per cent since 2005, provide education and care to babies and young children in the child or educator's home. Each educator must belong to a home-based service and is supported by a co-ordinator, a registered ECE teacher.
* EDUCATION AND CARE CENTRES
2236 - up 27.5 per cent since 2005
Includes privately and community owned centres and those attached to businesses or organisations like gyms. Qualified, registered teachers run all-day sessions, or flexible-hour programmes for children from birth to school age.
* PLAYCENTRES
461 - down 4.4 per cent since 2005
Parent co-operatives and families are responsible for how the centres are managed. Parents run sessions and are expected to participate regularly with their child. They have strong focus on parent education and children's learning. Supported by Playcentre Associations.
* TE KOHANGA REO
464 - down 7.4 per cent since 2005
Cater for children from birth to school age in a Maori language and tikanga Maori environment. Parents and whanau manage and operate the centre.
