UCOL Whanganui wins contract to teach home-based early childhood educators

UCOL Early Childhood Education and Care lecturer Billie Comiskey (centre) works with students test driving a new playdough recipe. Photo / Supplied

UCOL Whanganui will be one of the providers delivering early childhood education to home-based teachers in response to new Government requirements.

Last year the Government announced that all home-based early childhood educators must hold a New Zealand Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECE) level 4 as a minimum qualification by 2025.

Head of school for Education, Dr Bridget Percy, said UCOL's programme was able to deliver on the requirement because it was designed for those already working in this sector and will need to earn their qualification while still working.

"There are currently approximately 6,500 ECE educators working in the home-based early childhood sector who will need to gain this qualification within the next four years," she said.

"We have found that the blended approach works much better for learners, as it includes a mixture of face-to-face and online sessions. Each session is recorded, so that the learners can return to the content later or even watch it at a time that better suits their work schedule. This style has proven to add real value to their learning experience."

Percy said the programme had proven success, with a course completion rate of 90 per cent.

"It's fantastic, our team are very pleased with the completion rates we're seeing. We've also recorded 95 per cent and 94 per cent course completions respectively for our Māori and Pasifika learners," Percy said.

The Ministry of Education finalised the contract with UCOL in March this year.

"We are working on getting cohorts up and running as soon as we can. We will not be waiting for term start dates, we will begin classes as soon as we have the numbers. The sooner we can assist the sector and get educators started on their journey, the better."

• Interested learners can access information by sending an email to homebased@ucol.ac.nz or freephone 0800 GO UCOL (0800 468 265).