Teachers, parents fear review of early childhood education will be ‘wrecking ball’ for sector
Sunday, 23 June 2024
A review into the early childhood sector begins this month, the first review by David Seymour’s new Ministry of Regulation.
Teachers, parents and experts in the sector are concerned that the review will favour profit-driven service providers.
Relaxing of regulations drives health and safety standards lower, and puts children at risk, they say.
Children are being used as a “political football” and “easy target” for the “wrecking ball” aimed at the early childhood education sector by Minister of Regulation David Seymour, say parents, teachers and experts.
A regulatory review of the early childcare education industry begins this month, the new Ministry of Regulation’s first. Regulations being looked at include those covering education, health, safety, child protection, food safety, buildings and playgrounds.
“ECE services provide families and parents a choice to confidently leave their children in the care of others so they can work, study or volunteer. …We’re removing regulations from the early childhood education sector so parents can have this choice,“ David Seymour said about the review.
There is concern in the sector about what regulations will be removed and why, said Sarah Alexander chief adviser to the Office of Early Childhood Education, a mother of five, and a leading researcher.
“Early childhood is being used as a guinea pig, an easy target. There are alarm bells that it’s not a review for the right reasons, in children’s best interests, as Seymour has not even engaged with the sector,” she said.
Seymour declined to attend the National ECE Summit on June 10, where he’d been invited to engage with teachers and parents, Alexander said.
“The only people he seems to be listening to are lobbyists for profit-driven business owners who see regulations as an irritating burden, when in fact they are there to support and protect children,” she said.
Allowing centres to set their own rules will drive health and safety standards lower, and put children at risk, Alexander says.
Parents echo this concern that Seymour is only listening to certain business lobbyists, says Parents Council spokesperson Camille Furnandiz, who attended this month’s summit.
“Parents are marginalised. Policy-making and consultation processes put provider interests first, and our children become collateral damage,” says Furnandiz.
Instead of slashing regulations, the Parents Council would like to see minimum standards raised and new standards introduced, says Furnandiz.
“We feel there is an urgent need to limit the number of children per class or group and improve teacher-child ratios.”
David Seymour told Stuff the consultation period hadn’t started yet.
“”It’s a bit early to say we’re just listening to lobbyists. In terms of engagement so far, I’ve met with various groups, including ECAC twice – ECAC contains representatives from not-for-profits, along with advocacy groups and membership groups.
“Some are entirely community based, and many have a mix of community-based, not-for-profit providers in addition to private providers.
“Some are charitable trusts. I have additionally met with Playcentre Aotearoa and home educators, and have met with PPTA and NZEI. While ECE wasn’t really discussed with these two, that was the unions’ call.”
Seymour said the consultation period gave them plenty of time to consult with ECE business owners, the Ministry of Education, unions, child advocacy organisations, research bodies, the ECE workforce, and parents and caregivers.
“We will be engaging through many channels, and people can submit without waiting to be approach – and I welcome, and encourage, stakeholders to submit,” he told Stuff.
Service providers lobbying Seymour include business group The Early Childhood Council, which represents more than 1,300 centres and describes itself as “a voice into government.”
The council has provided Seymour with a 43 page briefing document including 29 recommended changes in regulation and funding.
Its chief executive Simon Laube, says regulations are “stifling innovation and creating barriers and hidden costs.”
“We reject the notion of ECEs being solely profit-motivated…We encourage everyone in early learning to participate in the Ministry for Regulation’s upcoming review,” said Laube.
Regulations have already framed as a burden by Seymour.
“Burdensome rules and regulations put ECE out of reach for many,” said Seymour, announcing his review earlier this month, citing an example of “absurd things like the risk of apples falling from a tree in the playground.”
Official Information documents requested by Newsroom reveal the Ministry of Education identified risks deemed “likely to happen” that children could either choke on apples or get sick from consuming rotten apples if they fell from a tree.
One parent who heard Seymour referring to regulation around apples as “absurd things” was Rotorua mother Marama Renata, who was instrumental in introducing food safety regulations to the sector after her 22-month-old son, Neihana Renata, was left severely brain-damaged and unable to talk or walk after choking on raw apple at a daycare centre in 2016.
“He suffers on an ongoing basis. It is just heartbreaking when I see him suffering. I try to do the best I can to give him a good life, but there are things that I can’t control because of the complications of the injury. Unless your child has a chronic serious illness or injury, it’s difficult to understand the impact of when things go wrong,” Renata told Stuff.
Parents should be able to trust that when they leave their child in the care of others in a centre, that “they come home happy and healthy, that they come home,” she says.
“That’s why we have overseeing bodies that should be enforcing rules. We want standards…there have been multiple serious injuries and deaths in New Zealand childcare centres.”
New Zealand spends around $2.3b in early childhood education every year. A Stuff investigation revealed $450m a year goes to the four biggest service providers.
It’s one of the highest funding rates per capita in the OECD, yet childcare here is among the least affordable in the developed world.
Strengthening regulatory standards should be the government’s focus, not relaxing them, says Renata.
“I want well paid, trained and resourced staff. Great centres and standards. The government and parent’s money should go into those sorts of things, not aiming for large profits that get banked at the end of the year…I couldn’t believe one big provider making $20million. How much of that goes back to the children?”
Not enough for nappies and food in many centres, says teacher, Helen van der Merwe.
She now manages manages a Tauranga preschool which is well resourced, but tells “horror stories” from previous centres she worked at, and from other teachers in the Teachers Advocacy Group.
“It’s the norm in many privately owned centres that teachers are ordered to cut corners to save money. Being told to serve children mouldy bread, rationing portions to save money even if a child his hungry.
“Not supplying spare nappies, so having to use another child’s nappy or leave the child in a dirty nappy all day. Children crammed into small spaces with little outside play. Things that put children really in harm’s way, one centre owner refused to buy a safety gate for the toilet and a toddler picked up some cleaning spray.”
Regulations need to be tightened in how centres calculate teacher child ratios, she says.
“Some centres bend the rules so they get away with paying less for teachers. Teachers doubling up as cleaners when they are also supposed to be looking after ten babies at the same time. Or counting a teacher in the ratio when they are actually in the next room.”
This week, early childhood teachers presented a petition to parliament raising concerns about the speed of the regulatory review.
Dr Sarah Alexander says hope lies that any relaxing of regulations will also have to be passed by cabinet.
Leading up to the 2020 election the National Party and Nicola Willis in the party’s election manifesto promised to introduce spot-checks of ECE services to ensure standards are being met. They also pledged to tighten deadlines for centres on provisional licences to improve, and cancel licences if a centre was downgraded three times.
“We hope that the conscience and beliefs of the likes of Nicola Willis and Emma Stanford will stop any proposals by Seymour that negatively impact children’s care and education. Cabinet is accountable to families, to society as a whole, not just to business.” said Alexander.
“The prime minister himself says how important education is.
Our children deserve a better start in life than backyard childminders.“