There has been a lot of debate about how good New Zealand's early childhood education is in these pages this week. That's a good thing. You are entitled to hear every side of the story when it comes to the care of your kids. But not everything that's been said is accurate. So if you're a parent who's been left wondering, here are the facts.
Quality early childhood education can make a real difference to your child's life. Research shows that kids who experience it do better at later learning and in life. New Zealand's early childhood education system is one of the best in the world. We consistently rank in the top three countries on teacher qualifications and the numbers of staff to children. We also rank near the top of the tables on funding.
Our system provides parents with good quality services, with good access to a range of different kinds of services, and affordability through the 20 hours early childhood education policy.
Not every service starts out perfect. As the Herald pointed out on Monday, we are working with 150 to improve how they help kids to learn, and how centres are managed. Kids are safe at these services, but we are working to improve the education they are getting. Most services are providing good-quality teaching and learning. In centres reviewed by the Education Review Office (ERO) since mid-2013, 88 per cent rated at the top rating or second top of quality measures.
If the health, safety and the care of kids is at risk in any way, we have the power to take action - and we do. In any one year, there is a small group, less than 1 per cent of all services, that we have serious concerns about. With those services, we increase the frequency of checks, or put them on a provisional or suspended licence. We can also cancel licences. Services have to display their licences, so parents can see if their child's service is on a provisional licence. All our concerns are noted on provisional licences.
Private providers are subject to the same checks and controls as everyone else. As the Herald has noted, ERO reports show safety and quality at these centres is just as high as for other centres.
Our services are staffed by skilled teachers who care and who want to make a difference. Seventy-five per cent of staff in teacher-led services are registered teachers. That's a three-year qualification, followed by two years' professional development before full registration - the same as for primary school teachers. Those that aren't qualified are generally studying to qualify, or have experience.
Let me be clear. I'm not saying we've got everything right. We still have a way to go on consistency of service and on ensuring every parent has access to early learning for their child. With hundreds of thousands of parents, around 200,000 children enrolled, and 4000 centres, there will always be stories about services that haven't got it right yet.
If you're a parent in most parts of the country, you will have access to quality early learning services staffed by skilled, caring teachers. Just as you can rely on your local primary school, you can rely on your local early childhood service. They will work with you to give your child a great start in life.
For more information
• To find out more about early learning services, including how to choose a service, check education.govt.nz under the parents website
• Check on your service's ERO review at ero.govt.nz
• Find an early learning service near you on educationcounts.govt.nz
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• Peter Hughes is the Secretary for Education.