Leadership & Service Management
Building coping skills
7 simple ideas for helping children build resilience in a stressful world.
Learning Notes: Supporting engagement and assessment
Find out how Learning Notes have improved communication and accountability at Maungaraki Kindergarten.
Using Reflective Practice to Banish Burnout
Learn how to use reflective practice to overcome your feelings of tiredness and exhaustion.
Managing stressful moments: Breathe deep and create calm
Six strategies to help early educators manage their stress response, which can be practised in the workplace.
Survey reveals new wave of ‘despondency’ in ECE
Research from the early childhood sector has found high levels of despondency among educators associated with pay rates and staff retention.
Staff retention strategies for early learning
Four effective strategies for retaining your early education and care staff which don’t require an additional financial outlay.
Meet the Christchurch Preschool in the Park
Casa Dei Bambini Montessori Preschool, in Christchurch, is known as the preschool in the park as it survived the earthquakes and is now surrounded by parkland.
Staff evaluations – Why to and how to
Four strategies for conducting productive, non-confrontational staff evaluations with early education teams for managers and service directors.
Compulsory COVID vaccinations…?
With COVID-19 vaccinations underway, this article discusses the rights of early education workers when it comes to vaccinations.
10 ways to be a more reflective educator
Ten top tips for becoming a more reflective early educator, the habit of pausing to think about everyday interactions and how they can be improved.
10 Ways to Run Inspiring Meetings in 2021
Early childhood expert Adrian Pattra offers 10 ideas for directors wanting to improve their team meetings and use them as a forum to inspire and motivate staff.
How your service could benefit from positive psychology…
Psychologist Nicole Nossiter, the founder of Growing Strong Minds, explains how early childhood educators can support the wellbeing of young children through positive psychology.
Building bridges with families
Early learning services were required to rapidly rethink engagement strategies in light of the COVID-19 lockdown, what lessons were learnt?
Leading Educators and Managing Change
Adrian Pattra from Farran Street Education explains how early childhood managers can better recognise what educators need to successfully navigate through and adapt to change.
Get earthquake ready
ShakeOut is NZ’s annual earthquake and tsunami safety drill. Learn how to get involved and about the range of resources available to support early educators to teach children about earthquakes.
Preventing break-ins in your business
After a spate of break-ins in early childhood centres, this article offers suggestions for reviewing and implementing simple and effective crime and vandalism prevention strategies.
Boosting morale in times of uncertainty
A range of simple, cost effective strategies early childhood service managers can use to boost team morale and wellbeing during times of change and uncertainty.
Have you got a QR code?
The government is encouraging early education services to display QR codes at entrance and reception areas to make it easier to track people in the event of another COVID-19 breakout.
Apply now: Learning support study awards and scholarships
This article discusses a range of Ministry of Education scholarships and support schemes available to support early childhood educators to work more effectively with children with additional needs.
Keeping animals in early childhood settings
Interaction with animals offers children a range of developmental opportunities and benefits, this article explains the range of services available to give children this experience without committing to a service pet.
Burnout busters for worn out educators
Strategies for supporting the health and wellbeing of early education and care providers over the long months of winter to avoid burnout.
Home Based Educators Welcome Minimum Qualification Requirements
Recent changes to government policy mean the introduction of mandatory minimum qualifications standards for home based educators.
6 Strategies for embracing the digitally empowered parent
Strategies for addressing the digitally empowered parent head on.
15 reasons why kids bite
The 15 main reasons why young children bite and what educators can do about it.
The real purpose of an ECE centre layout
Play ‘n’ Lean offers tips on how early education centres can improve design to boost the learning end developmental opportunities for children and make the working day easier.
How to host an amazing tour
Learn how to reboot and revive your enrolment strategy by taking a close look at the effectiveness of your tours and how well you are engaging families.
The power of language for thinking and learning
Learn how preschool-aged children use language to think and learn in this contribution by paediatric speech pathologists Tania Kelly and Janice Zee, directors of Little Birdie Books.
You Can't Ask That!!
Four questions you should never ask during a job interview and tips for running a great interview.
2020 ECE Census
The Ministry of Education ECE census offers a picture of the state of play in the early learning sector and gather datas to inform the policy making process.
Early learning at Alert Level 2
With NZ likely to be at Alert Level 2 for some time, this article is a reminder what that looks like in early learning services and what hygiene procedures need to be adhered to at this level of operation.
Techniques and tips to avoid back pain and injury
Steps educators can take to reduce their risk of injury at work and care for their body.
Pay boost for ECE teachers
Budget 2020 offered good news for centre based early childhood educators with a pay increase, designed to move them towards parity with teachers in other areas of education.
Portfolios: Making learning visible and accessible
Early learning portfolios fulfil operating requirements and become treasured memories for many families. Learn the pros and cons of digital portfolios and the more traditional paper portfolio.
Food for Thought: Do parents make better educators?
Early childhood expert Nicole Halton from Inspired EC says high quality educators have wide ranging skills and experiences which should not be judged by age or parental status.
Up skill and exercise your brain with a free online course
Free online courses that can be undertaken in an educator’s own time and at their own pace offering invaluable new skills.
Managing difficult conversations with parents
How to manage tricky conversations to ensure great outcomes for children, parents and service providers.
Leadership for learning promotes shared responsibility
The keys to becoming a better early childhood leader and what the benefits are.
What does automation have to do with early childhood?
Is there a role for robots when it comes to caring for and educating young children.
Work can be stressful - Self care 101
9 simple ways to improve self care practices and boost wellbeing in your early childhood service.
Keeping children safe with tips to tackle policy review
The safety of children in early childhood settings is an operational priority and recent media coverage on accidents and oversights is a timely reminder to review health and safety obligations.
How & Why to Boost Parent Engagement
Partnerships between an early childhood centre and families can reduce social disadvantage, improve child outcomes and increase social inclusion.
CareforKids.co.nz Marketing Guide
This Marketing Guide for the Early Childhood Sector outlines a range of simple strategies for boosting the profile of your service.
How to convert leads to enrolments and keep your centre full
Converting lookers into bookers at your early childhood service.
Converting lookers to bookers
Making a great first impression on families and to how to run a professional and informative tour, which leads to touring families converting to enrolments.
Communicating tricky issues
Tips for communicating tricky topics effectively with families.
10 awesome interview questions
Interview questions to make staff recruitment easier and more effective for managers.
How to manage different personalities among your educators
One of the most challenging, time consuming, and subsequently costly elements of running an early childhood centre is the recruitment, training, and retention of quality staff members.
The important art of staff retention
Tried and tested staff retention strategies that may work to reduce attrition rates in your service.
Stress management strategies for early childhood professionals
Stress management strategies for early childhood educators, to boost wellbeing and avoid burnout.
Why we need more men in early childhood
According to Child Forum, only 1.8 per cent of all early childhood education and care workers in New Zealand are male. Why is this figure still so low?
How to communicate with parents when there is an issue
Positive partnerships with parents are based on effective and regular communication work to ensure the best outcomes for children.
How to recruit great employees on a budget
Atract the right staff to your early education service without breaking the bank.
Sell Yourself Developing a Marketing Plan
Attracting families to your service: Gone are the days when families defaulted to the provider closest to them.
The Power of Parent Reviews - How to make them work for your service
Encouraging the parents in your services to write ratings and reviews for your CareforKids.co.nz profile is an effective way to spread the word about your centre.
How to prevent your licence being downgraded
The Ministry of Education downgraded more than 300 early childhood education centres across NZ in 2017 and 2018 after identifying operational problems.
Are you a great teacher?
What is it about teachers, that can improve student learning?
5 ideas to boost staff motivation
Boosting motivation levels among educators who go above and beyond their job descriptions each and every day.