Child Care News
Ministry of Education report shows few incidents or complaints reported in Whanganui early childhood education
NZ Herald - Jesse King - July 30, 2018he Ministry of Education has released early childhood education complaints data for 2017 and Whanganui has returned low figures. The Ministry received 339 complaints nationwide, 297 of those complaints were investigated and 166 were upheld. Only three of those complaints...
Kids doing 11-hour days in before and after school care
Stuff NZ - Josephine Franks - July 27, 2018This number is on the rise. In 2009, 8.8 per cent of children were in some kind of formal out-of-school care. By 2017, that number had leapt to 15 per cent, according to Stats NZ. Childcare providers have noticed the trend, too. Danielle Reynolds-Howlett runs the Chillout programme...
Rotorua early childhood teacher Sally Blumenthal deregistered after failing to reveal fraudulent past
NZ Herald - July 24, 2018A Rotorua early childhood teacher has been censured and had her teacher registration cancelled after failing to reveal her dishonesty convictions when applying for a job. Sally Blumenthal was an early childhood teacher who received five convictions in 2016 for dishonesty when...
Educators gather in Rotorua for learning needs symposium
NZ Herald - Zizi Sparks - July 23, 2018Hundreds of early childhood educators came together to plan how to best serve the needs of special needs students from an early age. The Ministry of Education's director of education for Bay of Plenty-Waiariki, Ezra Schuster, said the aim of the Learning Support Symposium on...
Wading through red tape and cotton wool to enable nature-based kindergartens
Stuff NZ - Jack Fletcher - July 22, 2018A Christchurch woman is petitioning the Government to allow full-time outdoor kindergartens, a phenomenon common in Scandinavian countries. Celia Hogan has been an outdoor educator for 20 years and runs regular nature play sessions for young families in Christchurch...
Teacher asked child, 2, to bite another child's finger ''so he knew how it felt''
Stuff - Melanie Earley - July 19, 2018An early childhood teacher has been censured for "serious misconduct" after asking a 2-year-old child to bite the finger of another. The woman, identified only as "teacher J", was looking after several children when one of them, "child A", bit the finger of another child...
Early childhood centres facing impacts of growing drug use, overdcrowded homes
Stuff - Adele Redmond - July 18, 2018A preschooler who pulled a synthetic cannabis bag out of her lunch box is among a rising number of children affected by drug use at home, according to a new government report. Early childcare services expressed concerns to the Ministry of Education about growing drug use within their communities
ABC Sunset Rotorua staff ''should have called for back up'' when kids escaped on trikes
NZ Herald - Samantha Olley - July 19, 2018Staff at a Rotorua early childhood centre "should have called for back up" before three children escaped on trikes and got 320m down the road, according to newly released Ministry of Education documents. On Tuesday, March 6, the 4-year-old girls fled ABC Sunset Rotorua for two to five minutes...
Daycare difference? Quebec fertility rate outpacing Ontario's
CTV News.ca - Ryan Flanagan - July 18, 2018Quebec's long-term attempt to boost its fertility rate by offering cheap childcare appears to be paying off, according to a new study from Statistics Canada. The study, which was released Wednesday, shows that Quebec's fertility rate bottomed out at 1.45 children per mother in 2000. It has rebounded since then...
Connections between early childhood program and teenage outcomes
Science Daily - New York University - July 16, 2018A new study examined the long-term impacts of an early childhood program called the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) and found evidence suggesting that the program positively affected children's executive function and academic achievement during adolescence...
'Paranoid' preschools ban birthday cakes over allergy fears
www.stuff.co.nz - Paula Hulburt - July 15, 2018Birthday cakes are off the menu at some early childhood centres after being banned because of food allergy risks. Despite being part of many a Kiwi childhood, bringing a birthday cake to share with friends, food allergies have seen some preschools and kindergartens in Marlborough ban homemade treats for fear of triggering a health scare...
Kumeu site suitable for young and old
NZ Herald - True Commercial - July 14, 2018A development site, which has gone on the market for sale in Auckland's booming north west, is fully consented for both childcare and aged care facilities. Colliers International is marketing 455 Taupaki Rd, Kumeu, by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Thursday July 26, unless sold earlier...
5 Things Schools Should KNow About Early-Years Education
Schools Week UK - Alison Peacock - July 14, 2018Children get profound, long-lasting benefits from their earliest exposure to teaching, from academic and non-cognitive development to better health and careers later in life. Research also shows that their teachers' professional development is key, says Alison Peacock...
2017 ECE Complaints data released
Press Release: Ministry of Education - July 11, 2018A new report released today by the Ministry of Education reflects the Ministry's ongoing commitment to giving parents confidence in the early childhood education (ECE) sector, says Deputy Secretary Sector Enablement and Support Katrina Casey. "Last year more than 200,000 children...
NZ kindy fighting to save Pacific languages bags prestigious award
Radio NZ - Koroi Hawkins - July 10, 2018A kindergarten in Porirua fighting to save Pacific languages has won a prestigious prime minister's award for engagement and service to its community. Nestled in the heart of Cannons Creek Toru Fetū is a kindergarten with a mission to establish the present...
