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Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland Conference Report Back

The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) Queensland Conference was just held in Brisbane between 26 June and 28 June. It attracted 2,000 delegates and had a massive trade exhibition. I attended alongside two ECC members.My take from the trip is that Queensland has huge advantages over NZ. For one thing, they do not have issues with their regulator systematically shutting down centres. If anything, they have the opposite problem and perhaps there are operators that should be shut down as low quali...

The Child Who Wanted to Reach the Sun

If you have ever had a conversation with a child before, you would know that their imagination and creativity are unmatched. As children are still learning the rules of the world around them, they often come to conclusions that an adult mind can’t fathom. Their unique logic and limited information have often made me smile during my years working with these tiny problem solvers.When I was working in the toddler room, I once noticed a few children playing in the block corner. One child in partic...

Work to residence changes a significant win for ECE teachers and providers

The Early Childhood Council says allowing ECE teachers to qualify for residency at their original Median Wage level will help reduce the chance of a future teacher supply crisis for ECE providers, and give overseas teachers already working in New Zealand a valuable reward. After COVID-19, many ECE centres recruited teachers from overseas because there weren’t enough domestic workers available. Now, many of those immigrants have been in New Zealand long enough to start to become eligible t...

Choosing Culturally Responsive Resources for your Early Learning Services

The resources children encounter in an early learning environment help shape what they understand about themselves and the world around them. Books, images, language materials and digital content can signal whose cultures, families and experiences are recognised and valued.For educators, choosing culturally responsive resources is not simply about adding more variety to the shelf. The strongest resources connect with the children and whānau in a service, support meaningful teaching practice, an...

What Happens When Food Reaches the Table

There is a point in every early learning setting where everything we say we value about food becomes visible.It does not sit in the menu, a policy, or a training session. It reveals itself at the table, when the food is placed down and children begin to engage. If you watch closely, this moment tells you almost everything about how the mealtime is working.The children are seated, and the rhythm of the routine, often held as a ritual, is complete. A sharing platter is placed within reach. Some ch...

Budget 2026: Government makes good on education promises with new investment into ECE

The Early Childhood Council (ECC) has welcomed the Government’s 1.5 percent cost adjustment for early childhood education in Budget 2026 – but has warned tough times remain ahead for the ECE sector.“The ECC campaigned hard on a 5 percent increase in funding for ECE in this year’s Budget. While it’s not near the amount required to keep the sector sustainable, we welcome this year’s cost adjustment,” says ECC CEO, Simon Laube.“Government funding has not kept pace with inflation, dr...

How work-based learning can support early learning services

Amid the plate-spinning of running an early learning service, workplace training can be the first thing to drop off the list. For centre owners and managers balancing staffing, compliance, whānau communication and the daily needs of tamariki, professional development needs to be practical.Work-based learning, also known as on-the-job training, can offer a practical option. It allows people to build skills while continuing in their usual role, with learning connected to the tasks and responsibil...

We Can Keep Safe: A Proven Personal Safety Programme for Early Learning

Early learning services play a vital role in supporting the health, wellbeing, and safety of young children during their most formative years. Tamariki aged 3–5 are naturally trusting and dependent on adults to keep them safe. While this is developmentally appropriate, it can also increase vulnerability. Many parents and kaiako want to teach children personal safety skills but feel unsure how to do this in an age-appropriate, calm, and empowering way.We Can Keep Safe was developed to meet this...

Where to find NZ video stories and songs to engage children

A new resource for early childhood teachers, caregivers and whānau is providing a safe space online for pre-schoolers to engage with a range of stories and songs made in Aotearoa. KIDOGO Junior is the creation of NZ On Air, who wanted to bring tamariki shows into one easy-to-discover place on YouTube.On KIDOGO Junior you can find great shows such as Toi Time, Kiri and Lou, Bigsies and Littles and Buzz’s Epic Little Missions, along with songs to get tamariki learning and moving from many well-...

Five Ways to Keep Your Centre Healthier This Winter

It’s every centre manager’s nightmare: another outbreak of illness.Sickness in early childhood education settings is incredibly common and the reasons are obvious: Young children have developing immune systems, and they spend long hours together in enclosed spaces. Add nappy changing, shared toys, hands touching faces, mouths and everything else, and you have the perfect breeding ground for bugs to spread quickly.But the impact goes beyond the unwell child. When children are sick, parents st...

The Power of Supportive Storytelling in ECE

Tamariki nod, recalling the physical effort, the slips, and the eventual triumph of making it across. What once felt impossible slowly became manageable, not because the equipment had changed, but because the tamariki had grown in their own confidence and capability.In early childhood settings, children face moments that feel just as significant, whether tackling a tricky puzzle or finding the courage to contribute in a group. Through the intentional support of a trusted kaiako, tamariki le...

Why ECEs need to take cyber risks seriously

Digital tools now play a crucial role in the day to day running of early childhood centres. Enrolment systems, payroll, attendance tracking, parent communication apps, and stored records all rely on technology to keep things moving. But as this reliance grows, so does the exposure to cyber risk. Cybercriminals don’t target only large organisations, they look for vulnerabilities, and any ECE centre with internet connected devices can be affected. A c...

Learning through Visual Art: Sketching Chicks

Take a blank sheet of paper and try drawing something. For many adults, it’s unexpectedly nerve-wracking. What do you draw? Where do you start? Overthinking quickly takes over. A blank page offers the opportunity of decision making; it is possibility waiting for direction. Visual arts give children a safe place to practice that cho...

5 Percent to Secure Our Children’s Future

Simon Laube, ECC CEO, says Government funding for the sector has not been keeping up with inflation. Since 2019, this has equated to a drop in funding by more than 11 percent in real terms. Growing centre budget shortfalls are putting the futures of our youngest tamariki severely at risk. “Quality early childhood education is one of the best things we can give our young people. It sets them up for success – not just as they embark on their education journeys, but for the rest of their l...

Compliance is not the Enemy; Confusion is

Early childhood education has a long memory. Leaders remember the fear years, the uncertain years, the “are we doing this right?” years. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: most of what the sector calls “compliance pressure” has never actually been about compliance – it has been about confusion.As new regulatory changes take effect from April 20, 2026, many services are feeling a familiar tension. Not resistance, not rejection, something else – recognition. We have been here before...

Supporting Blind Low Vision Children in ECE

In New Zealand there are many blind low vision children who experience difficulty transitioning into and out of ECEs. There is also lack of training or professional development for teachers in relation to managing such children. This leads to a poor start to their education and often flows through to primary school and beyond....

Noticing Children Who May Need Extra Support in ECE, Without Labels or Guesswork

In early learning settings, difference is normal. Some children may benefit from extra support for attention, communication, sensory needs, or behaviour. Often the hardest part is knowing what to notice, how to start a respectful kōrero with whānau, and how to record observations in ways that protect privacy and reduce bias. This article provides light, repeatable ideas for ECE practice that sit comfortably within Te Whāriki, support ERO’s improvement focus, and puts whānau partnership at ...

Dance: More than Just Music and Movement

Often in early learning settings dance comes as an add-on to music, as suggested by the phrase ‘Music and Movement’, but there is more to dance than this. This article considers the benefits of dance, the teacher’s role and links to Te Whāriki with the aim to widen teachers’ perceptions of dance and its place in early childhood education....

The Hidden Cost of Outdated Fee Schedules

In today’s economic climate, every dollar counts for families and services alike. With rent, insurance, and wage costs rising faster than government contributions, private revenue from fees has never been more essential. Yet many centres still rely on outdated fee structures that no longer reflect the true cost of delivering quality education and care. The result? Hidden financial pressures, reduced sustainability, and missed opportunities to build trust with families.If your service has no fe...

Celebrating 20 Years of Support for New Zealand’s Early Childhood Sector

In 2005, after owning and operating Strawberry Fields childcare centres in Auckland, I founded New Zealand Childcare Finance - a specialist finance company to help early childhood operators access the working capital they need to grow and thrive.Back then, and still now to an extent, traditional banks didn't fully grasp the unique cash flow cycles of the early childhood sector - the peaks and troughs of Ministry funding, the fluctuations in enrolments, and the personal dedication of those who ch...

Te Kete Rangimārie: Our Story

Rangimārie: 1. (noun) a state of peacefulness, harmony and acceptance.Te Kete: 1. (noun) the basket or kit.Tōtara Kids Early Learning Centre is the realisation of Elise’s lifelong dream to own an Early Childhood Centre; a vision she’s held since  just 15 years old. That dream came to life in 2024 when Elise, alongside husband James and then four-year-old son Fletcher, opened Tōtara Kids in Stoke, Nelson.Tōtara Kids is the result of over a decade of planning and learning. Each elemen...

Progress to improve NZ’s child protection system welcomed

The Early Childhood Council is welcoming the government’s new approach to the child protection system announced by Hon Louise Upston, saying the proposed changes will improve child safety while being less punitive to childcare providers than what we have now....

Learning-rich Leadership: A New Approach to Leadership in Early Childhood Education

How can leadership drive high-quality education in early childhood services that are facing rapid change, diverse needs, and external pressures? We know there is a relationship between teacher qualifications and programme quality in early childhood education, and between high staff turnover and poor child wellbeing. But how can these relationships be actively managed as a force for increased quality?The answer lies in practices of learning-rich leadership; effective leadership for quality practi...

Te Tupu o Te Tōrea: Innovation Rooted in Whakapapa, Whenua and Wellbeing

When I look back at the journey that led to the creation of Te Tupu o te Tōrea, I begin at the Alten Road Centre. An old villa nestled among trees, it was warm, welcoming, and homely. Its presence aligned with my pedagogy and reflected what our community valued. Alten Road showed what was possible when care, belonging, and learning intertwined in an environment that truly felt like a home away from home....

Light and Shadows: A Journey of Inquisition and Expression

In early childhood education, following the lead of tamariki is key to fostering meaningful learning. Back in mid-February, I observed a growing curiosity about shadows among preschoolers in my centre. Their spontaneous questioning paved the way for an extensive exploration of light and shadow – a journey that paralleled our long-term internal review focus on oral literacy and communication. With thoughtful planning and simple, hands-on experiences, I was able to turn this curiosity into a pow...