Newsletter - Weekly Early Childhood Update Being Informed - Sept 2010
Being Informed - Sept 2010
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In this Month’s Newsletter:
- Sick Children Attending ECE
- ChildForum is On Facebook
- Early Childhood Service Management Forum (Places are filling fast for this national event)
- Evolution: The First Kohanga Reo Expands and a New Muslim Kindy Opens
- Lost in Transition: ECE and Children’s Achievement in Maths at School
- Who Should Pay the Cost of Childcare?
- This Month’s Pick of Articles Online
- Feature Articles on Early Childhood Services
- Information Alerts (a) host an Aussie EC student teacher for 1 - 2 weeks; (b) Teacher grants (c) Register your interest in Providing the Incredible Years Parent Programme for Children 3 – 8 years (c) A tool for keeping your children safe online
- ECE Funding Cutbacks to Centres with 100% Registered Teachers
- Politician’s Views about ECE and Parenting
Special Offer to Newsletter Subscribers Only
A 10% discount off 12 months ChildForum Membership is being offered exclusively to newsletter subscribers – but only until the end of the school holidays. Newsletter subscribers can put in the Coupon Code of CF10 when purchasing their first membership. To get the discount you must use the coupon code at the time of taking out a membership. This offer expires on 10th October 2010. For information on joining go to www.childforum.com
1. Children Attending ECE when Unwell
Often early childhood carers/educators and managers ask what to do when parents want to drop off a child who is noticeably sick. Many parents are facing financial pressures, or can not take time off work, and sometimes a break from caring for a sick child is very necessary for a parent but there may be no one else at home to help.
“We have unwell children (cough, temperature around 38.4 plus, and generally unwell) coming to our centre with medical certificates from the doctor. In our opinion these children should not be here and whilst we obviously have a policy, parents are upset with us and are questioning our right to make this decision”
What are your views and experiences on this? Also let us know if doctors in your region are giving clearance for sick children to attend, so we can ascertain how big this problem is. Click here to go to the blog page.
2. ChildForum is on Facebook
In reply to the question of: “What’s on Your Mind?”
Heather wrote: "Lack of Professional Development Providers, relevant professional development that will extend our knowledge. Professional Development should be to extend us not just to go to because it is part of keeping our teacher registration."
Do you like this comment? Say what’s on your mind. Go to ChildForum's Facebook page.
3. Early Childhood Management Forum
Registrations opened last week for the first national forum for Early Childhood Managers and Administrators from across the early childhood sector. Places are filling fast!! Information about this is at www.childforum.com and you can register quickly and easily online or contact us for a registration form.
4. Evolution: The Original Kohanga Reo Expands and a New Muslim Kindy Opens
When the first Kohanga Reo (Maori language nest) opened 28 years ago a revolution in early childhood education was started. The message was that the Maori language needed to be preserved and the best way to do this was to teach children from birth. Mainstream early childhood services were not serving Maori language and cultural aspirations well.
Today Pukeatua Kohanga Reo in Wainuiomata - the first Maori language nest that was a pilot for the country, is expanding. The old building licensed for 35 children will continue to provide ECE, and the new building has capacity for 70 children. The new, very modern, $1.5 million building has been created using the shell of existing classrooms at the old Wainuiomata intermediate school. On the old school site many other community groups are already present including Wainuiomata Toy Library, Glendale Play Group, YMCA and Wainuiomata Judo.
While it would have been unthinkable 20 - 30 years ago, it is not uncommon now to find different early childhood services set up to cater specifically for children of different cultures and religions.
The latest example, also in
5. Lost in Transition: ECE and Children’s Achievement in Maths at School
The latest results from the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) show that maths achievement in primary schools has changed little over the last twelve years. The annual NEMP assessment of Year 4 and Year 8 students states that there was only a small improvement in performance for Year 4 students between 1997 and 2009, and no change in the overall performance of Year 8 students.
The NEMP report may send alarm bells through the early childhood education community. Questions that may be asked include:
(a) If ECE produces better educational outcomes for children why are we not seeing this in the NEMP results?
In 2002 the government's 10 year strategic plan for early childhood education stated "The Government is committed to raising the level of educational achievement of all
(b) Is it time to revise and update Te Wharaki, the national early childhood curriculum produced in 1996 to provide the "basis for a consistent high quality curriculum", to give greater emphasis to subject knowledge and maths learning and teaching in particular?
In March 2009 a story ran in the national newspapers that principals were saying that many children were starting school lacking the basics of knowing how to hold a pencil, how to wash their hands, knowing how to read a book from the front to the back and that pictures relate to text.
(c ) Are the benefits of high 'quality' (as in higher funded and more regulated) ECE being lost in transition to primary education?
A large
Your comments on this topic are invited. Click here to go to the article online, read what others say, and add your comment.
6. Who Should Pay the Cost of Childcare?
The result of our first online poll asking you the question of “Who should pay the cost of childcare?” was:
47% The State and Parents/Users
30% Parents/Users only
13% The State only
5% Parents and Fundraising
2% The State and Fundraising
2% Fundraising only
1% Other
The results overall show strong support for childcare costs being shared between the State and families. Opinion was largely against State-only funded childcare and leaned more toward families having the responsibility for childcare costs. Fundraising was a less popular option, suggesting voters preferred for costs to be paid directly by taxpayers via the government or by consumers (families) rather than through community and parental voluntary fundraising efforts. 171 votes were received.
7. This Month’s Pick of Articles Online
- The Christchurch Earthquake Impact on Children, Families, and Early Childhood Services (video, personal perspectives, and analysis). Click here to read more.
- Men who Change Nappies Change the World! Click here to read more.
- Responding to Children who are Gifted. Workshop presentations, Information and Discussion click here to go straight to this material
- Books Children Prefer (what research can tell us about this). Click here to go to the article.
- Do you have something to say but are to scared to say it? Got problems at work? Problems at home? Do you have a political concern? Are you bursting to speak up about it but something is holding you back? Our advice is - Just do it! But be careful to pick the right moment and do it in an appropriate way. Click here to read more.
8. Feature Articles on Early Childhood Services
This month the following lovely services are featured:
- Castle Kids Nursery in Waikanae– click here to read more
- Lake Terrace Preschool and Nursery – click here to read more
- Country Educare in Levin – click here to read more
- Footsteps Christian Community Preschool in
- Manukau Institute of Technology Children’s Education Centre in
- Little Wonders in Oamaru – click here to read more
- Early Childhood on
To nominate your early childhood service to be featured online contact us.
9. Information Alerts
Host an Aussie EC Teacher Education Student
How would you like some extra help in February next year and the fun of a cultural exchange?
Grants for Teachers
(a) The Support Grant for Provisionally Registered Teachers. The cost of ChildForum membership and purchase of professional resources and ChildForum Research Journals can be included under the PRTG. ChildForum membership gives you access to professional information, support, and learning opportunities.. We understand that the Ministry will be reviewing this grant, and whether it will continue and in what form may not be decided until 2011. For more information click here to go the Ministry website.
(b) The new Early Childhood Teacher Education Grant (replacing the Incentive Grant Scheme) is for paid practicum/teaching practice, paid study leave, and/or course fees only.
Call for Tenders to Provide the Incredible Years Parent Programme for Children 3 – 8 years
The Ministry of Education is calling for organisations interested in providing an Incredible years Parent Programme (a 14 session programme for children aged 3 – 8 years) to express their interest. This programme is part of the Positive Behaviour for Learning Action Plan being implemented by the Ministry of Education. For details of what information you need to provide and for information about the Ministry’s requirements contact Graeme Jarratt
Senior Advisor, Positive Behaviour for Learning Programme, at the Ministry of Education main office in Thorndon,
Online Safety for Children
Do you know what your older children are doing when they are online? Easy-to-read activity reports let you know what your children do online. You can find out what sites your children visit, what they search for, who they chat with, and what social networking sites they spend time at. This will help you to protect and guide them. It is a free service. For more information click here.
10. Rally Against ECE Funding Cutbacks to Centres with 100% Registered Teachers
On Saturday 28th August according to:
- Radio Live there were an estimated 3,000 people
- TV3 news - hundreds of People
- Sunline The Bay's First News - a crowd of about 400 people
participating in a rally in Tauranga to protest against cuts in government early childhood education funding.
Children were taken on the political rally. Should people who care for children support children's involvement in political protests?
The funding cutback will be felt by early childhood centres that are on funding rates for 100% registered teachers and 99 - 80% registered teacher funding bands.
It will not affect sessional public kindergartens as they will continue to receive funding at the 100% registered teacher rate. Playcentres, Kohanga Reo, and Home-based education services all receive an increase in funding, along with childcare centres that have less than 80% registered teachers.
The funding cut for registered teachers will affect the public kindergarten where one of the rally organisers is employed as her kindergarten operates a full-day license.
The majority of public kindergartens in NZ have chosen to change to the full-day model for this funding.
It will likely hit public kindergartens that have moved to the childcare model the most as these centres are on the 100% registered teacher rate which is currently $12.45 per hour per child receiving 20Hours ECE. After 1 Feb 2011 the rate will drop to $11.12 per hour per child. When you add up the number of children enrolled in public kindergartens operating all-day services, this equates to quite a significant drop in revenue received by kindergartens from the government.
Due to a fairly persistent staffing shortage many childcare centres have struggled to reach and to maintain a level of 100% registered teachers, and being required by the Ministry of Education to do regular staff counts means comparatively few are able to access to the 100% registered teacher rate. All-day centres with staffing levels of between 99% and 80% registered teachers are currently paid $11.52 per hour per child receiving 20 hours ECE and this will drop to $11.12 per hour from February next year.
What's the legal minimum requirement according to the regulations for the percentage of qualified and registered teachers a service must employ?
Sessional (part-day) public kindergartens for children are legally required to have 100% qualified teachers.
This is what the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, Part 2 r44 say about other ‘teacher-led’ services:
"50% of the required staff at a teacher led early childhood service to hold a recognised qualification, -
"1 member of the required staff of a teacher led early childhood service who is enrolled in a course of study, that, if passed, will result in the award of a recognised qualification within 12 months may be counted as holding a recognised qualification:
"a person who holds a recognised qualification and is rostered to work at more than 1 early childhood service may be counted as a member of the required staff at no more than 2 early childhood services to which the qualification requirements apply: "
11. Politician’s Views
Over the weekend the National Parenting Forum was held in
National’s Katrina Shanks explained that politics was often described as being about who gets what, when and why – and that parenting is no different. She said that the real measure of success in the end is not the GDP but if mums and dads have access to paid jobs. She said that change can happen in the early childhood sector without adequate consultation with parents. A group of parents had approached her about the Wellington Kindergarten Assn deciding to change the licenses of many of their sessional kindergartens to full-day services. They were concerned because they didn’t feel they had been adequately consulted with. Ms Shanks described the move away from sessional kindergarten to being like taking the vanilla out of vanilla essence.
Peter Dunne talked about changes in the lives of families and about parenting, giving some extensive information. He mentioned a Bill to be introduced to parliament for paid parental leave for 12 months.
Heather Roy was next to speak and she spoke about the work achieved in the area of special education. What concerned her was the lack of talking and working between government departments. It would benefit children and families if we could break down the silos around education, health, and social policy.
Sue Moroney agreed that politics is about priorities. She expressed disappointment that National had withdrawn from its commitment to be part of a cross-party caucus on children's issues – an idea that had been proposed by Every Child Counts. A forward thinking government sees ECE as an investment and funds it accordingly; it does not cut back on funding. Ms Moroney expressed concern that National was putting funds into supported playgroups, and that this would see a 3-tier ECE system.
Sue Kedgley discussed pressures on parents to work. She said it was important for children to have time to be with their parents. She also said that quality early childhood education was important. She had put through a Bill for flexible work hours so parents would not be discriminated against in the workplace.
While a lot was said amongst those on the political panel about the importance of parenting and of young children having time with their parents. Nothing was said about how ECE policy may be developed to promote this ideal. Currently, education policy and in particular the rules around ECE funding of part and full-day services can work against this ideal.
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