$92m to boost preschool enrolment

Hon Anne Tolley. Photo / NZ Herald

Families in Waitakere and Northland will be the first to benefit from a $91.8 million Budget fund aimed at increasing participation in early childhood education.

While it has yet to be decided exactly how the money will be spent, Education Minister Anne Tolley has made it clear she wants to increase participation - especially by children in Maori, Pacific Island and low-income families.

"We want all young New Zealanders to get the best possible start in life, and currently too many Maori and Pasifika children, and children from lower socio-economic backgrounds are missing out."

Mrs Tolley said spending on early childhood education (ECE) has trebled in the past five years to $1.3 billion but participation has increased by less than 1 per cent.

"That's why the Government is focused on increasing opportunities for the children who are most likely to benefit from ECE, but are the least likely to take part."

The Ministry of Education plans to talk to community groups to try establish why participation is low and what services could be implemented to improve that.

It is expected 3500 children will gain access to ECE as a result of the five intensive community led-projects, starting in Waitakere and Northland in October. The other three areas, which have yet to be determined, are to be announced next year.

Mrs Tolley said one in five Maori children and 25 per cent of Pacific Island child were missing out on ECE in some parts of Waitakere, while in some Northland areas a quarter of Maori children arrive at school without early childhood education.

The new programmes will build on the experience of the Counties Manukau participation project, which involved building new services and funding supported playgroups, street side playgroups and play days in local communities.

The announcement has received praise from the Early Childhood Council, which says too many of New Zealand's most disadvantaged children are missing out on early childhood education.

Chief Executive Peter Reynolds said previous government policy had, for many years, paid lip service to the idea of increasing participation for low-income children. Insufficient resources had been targeted at a group of children at the bottom of the social heap "who all too frequently get little or nothing in the way of opportunity".

Mr Reynolds said New Zealand's ethnic make-up would alter substantially over the coming decades, resulting in "a substantial future risk of increases in the number of children leaving school with no qualifications".

"That is why the ECC strongly supports a targeted investment in early childhood education that addresses this risk by ensuring that the most disadvantaged of children turned up to school ready to learn."

However, education sector union NZEI has criticised the approach to early childhood education, saying it "defies logic".

Vice-president Judith Nowotarksi said Government plans to slash $400 million in early childhood funding for centres with more than 80 per cent qualified teachers would affect 92,000 children.

"The sad irony of the Government's policy is that many children in low-socio-economic areas who are already participating in early childhood education may have to be removed or have their hours cut because their parents can no longer afford it.

"Any moves to increase participation could simply be cancelled out."