Budget 2023’s promise of significant additional ECE funding has the potential to help many centres avoid financial unviability and hardship, as long as the current 20-hours conditions are kept, prompting the Early Childhood Council to withdraw its urgent legal action.

We were proud to join with ECE sector leaders on this message.

Early Childhood Education leaders representing three quarters of the 4,579 ECE providers in Aotearoa have joined together in an open letter to the Minister of Education calling on her to rethink the unworkable 20 hours fees free conditions for two year olds and the pay parity consultation.

70 early learning centres shut their doors in the year-ended June 2022, showing how tough it is for community-based leaders and business owners to run financially sustainable ECE operations within the current Pay Parity initiatives and rising costs.

The Ministry of Education’s own sector Expert Advisory Group (EAG) holds serious concerns with the Pay Parity funding review.

The government’s plans to dump initiatives like 20 hours free Early Childhood Education, subsidies for children under two and 100% qualified teacher funding bands will mean increased parent fees and a bleak future for providers.