Advocates call for a slow down in ECE regulation changes in New Zealand

Early childhood academics in New Zealand have warned that rapid paced changes to early childhood education regulations may not be in the best interest of children, urging the government to stop, or slow the pace. 

Their comments follow decisions made by New Zealand’s Ministry of Regulation in 2024 after the Ministry found that excessive early childhood rules needed trimming, with the government accepting its recommendations.

Nine researchers including current and previous academics from AUT, Otago, Victoria and Waikato universities have written to the government, urging them to consult more broadly before going any further with regulatory change. 

“The review recommendations are inconsistent with the best interests of children and go against decades of research evidence on how to ensure high quality ECE,” the academics wrote.

“We have deep concerns about the ECE Regulatory Review recommendations. The ECE Regulatory Review Report was released on 18 December 2024. The Minister for Regulations and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour accepted all the recommendations and announced he would take them to Cabinet early in 2025, thus leaving no room for sector analysis and feedback before their Cabinet consideration.”

The letter said plans to remove regulated curriculum standards and to recognise qualifications other than teaching qualifications for funding and staffing purposes should be removed altogether.

Professor Alex Gunn from Otago’s College of Education told local news source RNZ that the group of academics was worried the recommendations were potentially “far further reaching” than the problems they intended to solve.

“They prioritise business interests and efficiencies to the detriment, we think, of children, family, educators and actually the education system,” she said.

The group, she continued, feared Regulations Minister David Seymour was rushing to get changes through Cabinet before people in the sector really understood the review’s recommendations, and that changes to licensing criteria related to the curriculum could lower the quality of early childhood education some centres provided.

“Every single experience of those children matters for those children’s lives,” she said.

Other concerns include concerns about a recommendation that the system recognise qualifications other than early childhood teaching qualifications.

Currently at least half the staff in early learning services must be qualified teachers and services received higher rates of funding if they had higher proportions of qualified teachers.

“This is a minefield and needs some quite careful working through because teacher qualifications are one of the most direct factors in determining the quality of experience that children have,” Professor Gunn said.

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