PAFT was managed by Early Childhood Development (ECD).  In 2003 around the time of this research the ECD was taken over by the Ministry of Education.  Since then the PAFT programme has been shifted to be the responsibility of Ministry of Social Development.  This research project commenced as an evaluation, but by the time of report writing because of political sensitivities and the impending closure of the ECD it was necessary to write up the research more as a descriptive study than an evaluation.  

PAFT is now an established parent education and support service in New Zealand; an adaption of the overseas model.  The NZ PAFT programme caters for children in the first three years of their learning and development.

This 1st of 2 reports presents the findings of an analysis of a Family Exit Survey completed by 400 families. The overall conclusion of the report is that according to families, participation in PAFT benefits families.  The benefits included:

• Strengthening parenting skills,
• Encouraging parents to take greater responsibility for their child’s education, and
• Accessing community, health, and early childhood education services.

At the time that the families in this study enrolled in PAFT the programme was available to any family who wished to enrol in it. This subsequently changed due to greater targeting of families within communities to ensure equity of access, especially of Maori, Pacific Island, single parent, teen-parent, and low-income families.

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