Child Care News
Coronavirus: What COVID-19 alert level 3 means for Auckland and level 2 means for the rest of New Zealand
Newshub - Matt Burrows - February 14, 2021From 11:59pm on Sunday, the entire Auckland region will move to coronavirus alert level 3, while the rest of the country will move to alert level 2... Schools and Early Childhood Education centres can open but will have limited capacity, and attendees should stay at home wherever possible...
Mouldy food allegations at Pitter Patter Education Centre - Health officials investigating
NZ Herald - Charlotte Cook, RNZ - February 13, 2021Health officials have been asked to investigate the Pitter Patter Education Centre where former teachers complained toddlers were being fed mouldy food. The Ministry of Education launched an investigation into the Feilding childcare centre after both former staff and parents said...
Music education in New Zealand needs a reset, experts say
Stuff - Andre Chumko - February 13, 2021New Zealand’s music education system needs a reset to make sure budding musicians have access to proper training and to instruments, music experts say. “It remains hit-and-miss as to whether [talent] is discovered early enough and nurtured in the same way that many sporting...
New Māori Performing Arts subject set to be included in NCEA curriculum
EducationHQ - News Team - February 9, 2021More than 30 secondary schools and kura across the country will be piloting a new Māori Performing Arts subject called Te Ao Haka (The World of Haka). Around 900 students in both English-medium and Māori-medium education settings will be studying Te Ao Haka, earning credits towards...
South Dunedin preschool concerned by name clash
Otago Daily Times - Bruce Quirey - February 8, 2021The name of a new child care centre moving to Green Island has caused a stir at a Dunedin preschool. The Rainbow Corner Early Learning Centre will open next year on the site of the Commercial Tavern. But a trustee of Rainbow Preschool, in South Dunedin, says the newcomer’s name...
New pre-school lunchbox rules hard to swallow
Stuff - Steve Stannard - February 6, 2021Opinion: A friend, after hosting my once-young children for fish and chips, commented that the Stannard kids were the only ones who cried, not when the hot chips ran out, but when all the lemon slices were gone. Even at a young age our lot had developed a taste for many different foods...
Parents sad and angry after popular preschool closed by education officials with 48 hours' notice
Stuff - Lee Kenny - February 5, 2021Staff and parents at a Christchurch preschool are shocked and saddened it has been forced to close after it failed to meet six government compliance conditions – some relating to “missing paperwork”. Blueberries Nursery and Preschool in Addington was on Thursday given 48 hours...
Three big themes in a new view of history
Stuff - Editorial - February 5, 2021If your child is starting primary school in 2022, he or she will spend part of the following three years learning about how Māori came to New Zealand and became tangata whenua, and how Māori voyaging was deliberate and skilful, not accidental. They will hear that Māori gave names to ...
Helping Hand For The Class Of 2020
Scoop - University of Auckland - February 4, 2021Newly qualified teachers whose classroom experience was cut short because of last year’s Covid lockdowns can now apply for extra mentoring support. All first-year registered teachers employed in a teaching role in 2021 who weren’t able to complete up to 25% of their practical ...
New Zealand failing to identify high-achieving science students at school, research finds
Stuff - Laura Wiltshire - February 4, 2021A Victoria University researcher is calling for the return of school science advisors, and a national strategy for identify and engaging high-achieving science students, after research found some young scientists may be falling through the cracks at school. The call supports principals ...
ECE teacher: 'There was just silence' from MOE over abuse fears
Stuff - Charlotte Cook of RNZ - February 5, 2021A teacher who reported an early childhood centre for punishing toddlers by putting them in isolation or forcing them to sit on a mat for hours fears the abuse is continuing. The woman complained about the Waikato pre-school four years ago and heard nothing back from ...
Investigations ongoing into Feilding childcare centre
Stuff - George Heagney - February 4, 2021The investigation into a Manawatū childcare centre which was temporarily shut down due to serious complaints is still ongoing. Pitter Patter Education Centre in Feilding was closed for three weeks in late November. The Ministry of Education suspended the centre's licence after...
Pre-school teacher deregistered for serious misconduct after using force on kids
NZ Herald - February 3, 2021An early childcare teacher has been deregistered for using physical force on two young children and grabbing a third child, causing him to bang his head on a couch. The Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC) charged Philippa Baillie with serious misconduct - with the case heard...
Wairoa school teachers used to pack their leftovers to feed pupils
NZ Herald - Hawkes Bay Today - February 1, 2021Staff at a Wairoa school used to be so worried for the kids they were teaching that they would bring food from their homes for them. Research for KidsCan by Colmar Brunton on food insecurity in schools has highlighted the challenges children living in poverty are facing every day...
Covid-19: What happened in NZ on 28 January, 2021
RNZ - January 29, 2021The father has not been at work and the daughter has not attended childcare since they left isolation on 15 January. But they visited at least 19 locations of interest where other members of the public were at the same time. All locations are in north Auckland, mainly Albany...
