Child Care News
South Canterbury Kindergartens celebrate 75 years
Stuff - Esther Ashby-Coventry - November 23, 2020Past and present kindergarten teachers have celebrated 75 years of kindergartens in South Canterbury. About 90 people gathered at the Landing Service Building, in Timaru, on Saturday afternoon for speeches and reminiscing. South Canterbury Kindergartens general manager ...
Early childhood education concerns
Otago Daily Times - Editorial - November 23, 2020Disquieting survey comments were aired last week from some teaching staff in early childhood education centres about the quality of the places where they worked. The online survey, conducted by the Child Forum Office of Pre-Primary Education, involved self-selected participants...
Victory for bullied kindergarten teacher after more than five years
Stuff - Lee Kenny - November 22, 2020Five-and-half-years after she reported being bullied by her boss, a Christchurch preschool teacher will receive more than $100,000 in disregarded sick leave. Jane Barnes worked at Kidsfirst Kindergartens MacFarlane Park in Shirley for 23 years, but a new manager joined in 2014...
Childcare centres are like 'overfilled zoos of kids', teachers say
Stuff - Josephine Franks - November 16, 2020Early childhood teachers say centres are like “prisons” or an “overfilled zoo of kids”, with a quarter saying they wouldn’t send their own children to their centres. In ChildForum’s survey of more than 4000 early childhood education (ECE) staff, teachers said overcrowding and overwork ...
Ōtara school lockdown lifted after firearm incident
NZ Herald - November 16, 2020Police have lifted a imposed on an Ōtara primary school and childcare centre after a reported firearm incident at lunchtime today. Mayfield Primary School and BestStart's Johnstones Rd kindergarten were placed in lockdown after police were told that a firearm had been discharged...
Tongans receive NZ Early Childhood qualification
Matangi Tonga Online - November 16, 2020Over 100 Early Childhood Education graduates from the Pacific community, mostly Tongans, received their certificates from an Auckland education provider on November 12. The 119 graduates from the New Zealand Management Academies [NZMA] in Manukau completed ...
Gloriavale accused of exploiting workers; MBIE says it can't intervene
Stuff - Joanne Naish - November 14, 2020For more than two decades, Virginia Courage worked 14-hour days with one week off a year. She was never paid. According to the government, she was a volunteer and therefore not entitled to protection against exploitation. That’s despite the government taking income tax from ...
Ministry of Education wants to tighten early childhood centre rules
Stuff - John Gerritsen of RNZ - November 10, 2020The Ministry of Education is planning a series of rule changes that will make it easier to crack down on poor-quality early childhood centres. Ministerial documents said the overhaul was needed in part because of a rising number of complaints about centres and a growing...
Poverty as much to blame as devices for childrens' language delay
Stuff - Katy Jones - November 9, 2020Catherine Campbell isn’t surprised by research showing some children are starting school with the language skills of toddlers. Recruited into kindergartens four years ago, the speech language therapist has worked with hundreds of children struggling to talk and understand ...
Tauranga early childhood centre closes doors
Sunlive.co.nz - November 9, 2020A Tauranga early childhood centre will close its doors at the end of this year. Holy Trinity Anglican Church has made the difficult decision to close the Ark Early Childhood Centre and Space Programme from December 23 2020. Holy Trinity says following an in-depth review...
Kiwis don't want to be au pairs: No nannies causing grief for parents
Stuff - Ryan Anderson - November 8, 2020Emma Graham has spent many nights over the past few months lying awake wondering how she is going to take care of her kids. An essential worker and a solo mum, Graham has relied on the help of an au pair to manage pick-ups and drop offs and the day-to-day realities ...
Kindergartens Aotearoa Welcomes Cabinet Announcements
Scoop - Kindergartens Aotearoa - November 2, 2020Kindergartens Aotearoa, the collective representing 365 kindergartens and other early childhood services, congratulates Chris Hipkins on being reappointed Education Minister along with his other new responsibilities. Spokesperson Pauline Winter who heads the Auckland Kindergarten Ass...
First time author writes about 75 years of South Canterbury kindergartens
Stuff - Esther Ashby- Coventry - October 31, 2020This year kindergartens in the region celebrate 75 years. Reporter Esther Ashby-Coventry spoke to the woman behind the book which celebrates the milestone. After writing her first book about the history of South Canterbury’s kindergartens, Marie Rapley is itching to write more...
The three Taranaki men breaking the early childhood teaching mould
Stuff - Brianna McIlraith - October 30, 2020Having one male early childhood teacher is rare, but for one New Plymouth early childcare centre, having three is the new normal. Dom Bell, Brian Rawlins and Aaron Mayhew are part of a team of six full-time teachers at Learning Adventures early childhood centre, on Mangorei Rd...
Homes opened in aid of Twizel Kindergarten
Stuff - Esther Ashby-Coventry - October 26, 2020A 10 home tour has been organised to help raise $30,000 for an upgrade of Twizel Kindergarten’s play area. Twizel Kindergarten committee project co-ordinator Jemma Gloag said each house on the tour has an interesting story behind it. The homes range from old to brand new...
