Child Care News
Unions unhappy with Government's pay parity pathway for early childhood teachers
Stuff NZ - Ellen O'Dwyer - September 15, 2021Education unions are unhappy with the Government’s announcement about how pay parity for early childhood services will be delivered. Minister of Education Chris Hipkins announced on Wednesday how the pay boost for early learning teachers would come into effect...
Covid-19: RSV rates down as lockdown breaks chain of transmission
Stuff NZ - Katie Townshend - September 13, 2021Lockdown has helped dampen the outbreak of the highly contagious RSV, which had put pressure on hospitals throughout winter. But, with schools and early childhood centres back in operation, one last batch of infections could still be on the cards...
ECE expert slams MOE, MOH for opening centres in Level 3
TVNZ News - September 10, 2021New Zealand’s only expert on health and wellbeing in early childhood centres has slammed both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education for opening centres at Alert Level 3 when it is “impossible” to protect those involved against Delta...
Covid-19: What should working parents do with schools closed on Wednesday?
Stuff NZ - Lee Kenny - September 7, 2021Parents hoping to return to work on Wednesday may find themselves looking for childcare, with some schools not permitting pupils on site and others not allowing new children to join their bubbles. With alert level 2 coming into effect at 11.59pm on Tuesday, many people will be...
Covid-19: What you can and cannot do under the new level 2
Stuff NZ - Lee Kenny - September 6, 2021All early learning services, schools, kura and tertiary education facilities will fully reopen on Thursday. School events or activities like performances, cultural events and sports can also continue. Students and teachers do not need to physically distance but parents, carers and whānau...
Covid 19: Parents asked to donate fees to early childhood centres in lockdown
Stuff NZ - Katy Jones - September 6, 2021Early childhood centres are asking parents to contribute fees while children remain at home, as the services struggle to find enough money to pay staff. Wendy Logan, who works with three non-profit children’s centres in Nelson and Marlborough, said it appeared the centres...
Moving school holidays would take pressure off lockdown juggle, parents say
Stuff - Henry Cooke and Joseph Franks - September 3, 2021Parents struggling to balance work and homeschooling say moving the school holidays forward would take the pressure off. National wants the Government to look seriously into moving holidays earlier so children won’t have another two weeks at home soon after lockdown ...
Covid-19: No shortage of challenges for preschools reopening at alert level 3
Stuff - Lee Kenny - September 2, 2021Abacus Montessori Preschool is licensed for 51 children, but on Thursday morning there were just four. The Christchurch Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre is one of thousands across the country to have reopened at level 3, for children of essential workers ...
New Zealand early childhood teacher denounces lack of COVID-19 protections
WSWS.ORG - September 1, 2021The World Socialist Web Site received the following letter from an early childhood teacher in New Zealand, highlighting the significant risks that COVID-19 will spread in early childhood centres due to a rush to reopen before the country has stamped out the virus ...
Play dough flour delivered to solo mum to feed four kids in lockdown
Stuff - Tom Hunt - August 31, 2021Staff in low decile schools and daycare centres are reporting heartbreaking tales from struggling families during lockdown, including one solo Wellington mother receiving a daycare’s play dough flour to feed her four children. KidsCan would usually supply up to 40,000 meals ...
Covid-19: Families struggle to feed children with schools and daycares closed
Stuff - Josephine Franks - August 30, 2021Since lockdown started, early childhood teacher Emma-Jane Jones has spent sleepless nights wondering whether the children she teaches are getting enough food. At her centre in Ōtara, south Auckland, a lot of the families rely on the three meals a day the children are fed ...
Teachers and students won't have to wear masks when schools reopen at level 3
Stuff - Cecile Meier - August 29, 2021Teachers and students will not have to don masks at schools and early learning centres when parts of New Zealand go to alert level 3 on Wednesday. Schools, kura and early learning centres have been nervously awaiting guidance from the Ministry of Education on what level 3 ...
Covid-19: Essential workers pack out childcare scheme
Stuff - Benn Bathgate - August 27, 2021Frontline essential workers are missing out on securing childcare after providers faced a deluge of calls seeking assistance. Early in lockdown Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the restart of a scheme for the workers in alert level 4 businesses and services ...
Childcare services provide piece of mind for essential workers during lockdown
Stuff - George Heagney - August 25, 2021A select few childcare centres are playing an important part in looking after the children of essential workers during Covid-19 alert level 4. While most people are at home during lockdown, essential workers are still on the front lines and need their children to be looked after ...
Free counselling service for early learning and schooling workforce during COVID-19
Scoop - August 25, 2021Teachers and support staff across all early learning services, kōhanga reo, kura, and state and state-integrated schools can now access free COVID-19 Employee Assistance Programme support, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Our kaiako and teachers ...
