Early Childhood Education in NZ

By Hanam

  • Parish Work Houses

  • London Foundling Homes for Infants

  • 1st book on child rearing written

  • Protestant and Catholic Orphan Schools opened in Australia

  • Kindergartens spread through Germany

  • Sisters of Mercy founded an orphanage in Auckland

  • Anglican Church (Parnell Orphan Home)

  • Neglected Criminal Children’s Act

  • 10 institutes established for orphaned and destitute children

  • Dunedin Creche formed

  • Baby Farming

  • Industrial Schools Act allowed for fostering

  • 1st Kindergarten opened in Dunedin

  • NZ First Foundling Home – Mother Aubert

  • Children’s Protection Act

  • Infants accounted for a ¼ of deaths in the population

  • Infant Life Protection Act

  • Adoption of Children Act

  • World Congress for Woman

  • Legislated the protection of children in family and workplaces

  • Mothering was seen as an occupation of value

  • First Crèche in Wellington

  • Mother Aubert established a crèche for children of unmarried mothers

  • Professional baby farmer (Mary Ann Guy) convicted of murder

  • Infant mortalities dropped to become the lowest in the world

  • Plunket movement started in Dunedin

  • Karitane Home for Babies opened in Dunedin

  • Sixty branches formed with plunket nurses

  • Six Karitane Hospitals opened

  • Mother craft manual – “Feeding & Care of Baby”

  • The “Great Depression”

  • Dunedin Nursery established

  • Elizabeth McCombs: 1st woman member of Parliament - established a community crèche run by a City Council

    established a community crèche run by a City Council
    1936 - 34 Free Kindergartens

  • 34 Free Kindergartens

  • 2 Charitable Crèches

  • New Playcentre movement

  • Government provided bursaries for trainees

  • Forty Playcentres

  • NZ Playcentre Federation is constituted

  • Moria Bell (Nee. Callagher) promotes child centred programmes

  • Period: to

    Playcentre and Kindergarten create workforce of women in preschool education

  • Recruitment and training of teachers was moved to teachers’ colleges

  • Ninety-two playcentres

  • NZ Free Kindergarten Association is formed

  • - Government tries to get more co-operation between Playcentres and Kindergartens

  • NZTKA negotiates employment conditions

  • First NZ Childcare regulations

  • First married woman accepted into Primary and Kindergarten training

  • Cultural awareness is accepted in Centres and Schools

  • All Kindergartens staffed with fully trained teachers

  • Funding cuts caused closure of Karitane Hospitals; replaced by day units (Plunket Karitane Family Centre)

  • Plunket philosophy changes: identifies child’s development (0-5)

  • Government introduced fee subsidies for parents unable to afford costs of childcare

  • Government commissioned a report into childcare issues

    which found the need for better regulations and more trained staff (5 years before it was released in 1981)

  • National car seat rental programme introduced

  • Forerunner to Kohanga Reo

  • - Hine Potaka developed the idea of Maori Curriculum for Maori children

  • Government introduces grants to support early childhood training

  • Labour Government transfers Early Childhood services from Department of Social Welfare to Department of Education

  • Department of Education replaced by Ministry of Education

    whose primary role was to focus on policy development and funding

  • Government report on E.C.E published “Education to Be More”

  • “Before Fives” reform

  • E.C.E Curriculum: acknowledged a bi-cultural nation was under development

  • Period: to

    1,029 new ECE Centres open

  • First university to establish an Early Childhood Department (Waikato University)

  • Impact of budget

    • Fees go up and wages go down
    • Cut in Kindergarten ratios but increase of roll numbers
    • Ratio’s for funding for under 2 children was reduced and redirected towards a government led initiative: “PAFT”

  • First NZ Curriculum for early childhood (Te Whariki)

  • Quality in Action (DOP’s) & Regulations released

  • Ten Year Strategic plan

  • Six centres of Innovation named

  • Kei Tua o te Pae Assessment for Learning

  • 20 hours free introduced by Labour Government

  • Updated Early Childhood regulations released

  • Budget: - Announces removal of 100% funding rate- 20 hours extended to include: 5 year olds, Kohanga Reo and Playcentre- 80-100% new funding rate will be reduced- Reduction in funding for 80% rate

    • Announces removal of 100% funding rate
    • 20 hours extended to include: 5 year olds, Kohanga Reo and Playcentre
    • 80-100% new funding rate will be reduced
    • Reduction in funding for 80% rate
  • Period: to

    Early Childhood attendance has risen steadily

    https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/main/student-engagement-participation/1923

  • 'Early Learning Information' (ELI) system was introduced in some services

    https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/main/student-engagement-participation/1923

  • Budget 2015 - extra $74.9 million over 4 years in ECE to support more children attending ECE for more hours

    http://www.education.govt.nz/news/budget-2015-allocates/