Early Childhood Education

Articles

Early childhood education or ECE can be confusing – What options are there and which is best for us? We thought an early childhood section would be a help.

As most of us are well aware; education doesn’t begin at Primary School, age five. A significant amount of education also takes place in the pre-school years, in homes and early childhood centres throughout New Zealand.

The range of early childhood and pre-school education options for our kids is broad and provides lots of choice for parents. Around 180,000 children attend an ECE service each year in NZ, of which about 140,000 children attend a centre-based service and around 40,000 are in home-based education.

While the range of early childhood care and education facilities is encouraging, this can also lead to a little confusion. Is one better than the other? What’s best for my child (whilst also considering my own commitments)? Can I change these options in the future as my family’s circumstances change?

These and other questions will be investigated in the following Early Childhood articles in our popular Kiwi Families Education section. These articles provide up-to-date information and have been written by education professionals.

If there is anything you would like to see added to this section on early childhood education issues, please let us know.

In this section, you will find the following topics:

20 Hours ECE	The government has announced that they will provide 20 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds. Find out where and how to access this subsidy.
Childcare Subsidy	The Childcare Subsidy helps low and middle-income families to access childcare services. Find out more about the Childcare Subsidy and eligibility here
ECE Overview	Find generic information about early childhood education. There are several different ways early childhood education is delivered and where. Read about your options.
Choosing a Service	You've made the decision to send your child to ECE now how on earth do you choose the right service for you and your child? Find advice about how to go about this.
Correspondence	Some pre-school children need to be educated via correspondence - for geographic, health or disability reasons. Find out more about correspondence school here.
Daycare	So what is daycare? How does it work? What does my child need to take along? What will he or she be doing there?
Home Based Care	Read about how home based ECE works. There are even options about whether a carer comes to your place or your child goes to theirs.
Kindergarten	Find out about how kindy differs from other ECE services. We cover what age your child will attend kindy from, what they are likely to learn and more.
Kohanga Reo	Read about Kohanga Reo and the philosophies behind this ECE option. How do Maori incorporate their culture into learning? Who does the teaching and more.
Montessori ECE	Heard of Montessori? Read about Montessori as an ECE option for your child.
Nannies	For many families, having child care in their home is the preferred, or most economical option. Find out more about your home-care options and costs here.
PAFT	PAFT stands for Parents as First Teachers. Find out about how this scheme helps you be the best first teacher for your young child at home.
Playcentre	Playcentre is a parent led ECE service that had a large following in NZ. Learn more about how it works and what part you would need to play as a parent.
What is School Ready?	It’s that time and it’s come round far too quickly. Your baby is going to school. But before they get there it would really help for you to know whether he or she is ready for this.

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