Teacher shortages, teachers responsible for up to 10 young children at a time, and losing teachers to less stressful work are just some of the issues faced by early childhood education (ECE) teachers who are speaking up at public hearings in major centres around the country starting this week.
The public hearings, led by opposition parties Labour, The Greens, Te Pāti Māori, and education union NZEI Te Riu Roa, have been set up to address the deep community concerns around the potential impacts of the Government's fast-track early childhood sector regulatory review, which is out for consultation until 31 August.
NZEI Te Riu Roa union members have said one of the main problems with the review is that it is driven by reducing compliance costs and therefore increasing profit for ECE employers, not centred on improving quality for children.
Early childhood education teachers want regulations that improve teacher to child ratios, ensure pay parity is guaranteed for every early childhood teacher, require 100% qualified teachers, and address the teacher shortage by improving working conditions.
Union member and early childhood teacher Soya Thomas says it is pivotal for the sector that the regulatory review does not lead to "lowering the standards" of early childhood education.
"We need qualified teachers with good working conditions and enough staff to ensure teachers can take the non-contact time they need,” she says.
"Teacher shortages are due to the very real issues of burnout, teachers taking up relieving positions or other jobs with less workload, more flexibility and pay, and teachers moving overseas for better pay and conditions. When one of our teachers resigns, it takes around four to five months to find a replacement – and we have good conditions at our centre."
Thomas also says equity for tamariki participating in early childhood education is problematic, given that the current teacher to child ratios are simply not sufficient.
"We need ratios to change so there are more qualified teachers to work with our tamariki. It's hard to cater to the needs of each child when you’re responsible for so many children of different ages and stages at the same time."
Thomas says that means politicians need to put forward positive solutions for the sector: "It will be aggravating for every teacher in the sector if the proposed changes from the Government simply undermine quality early childhood education."
"We need quality early childhood centres with dedicated, passionate, qualified kaiako to shape the future of our tamariki. The positive effects of investing in early childhood education will eventually flow on to the rest of society."
*Hearings will be held in main centres around the motu until early September.
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