Tēnā koutou katoa
Welcome to the Office of Early Childhood Education
The OECE is a national organisation for the ECE sector and public adviser, championing high-quality education and care for every child
View our positions
- Provides membership support to ECE services, teachers, researchers, and community partners
- Actively contributes to sector analysis, research, and policy development
- Advances evidence-based best practices that prioritise children’s interests and wellbeing
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
Get Unrestricted Access to NZ’s Specialist ECE NEWSROOM
National and local stories, expert analysis, commentary, and more.
Education Bulletin and Sector Notices
Free to sign-up and receive
Membership Services and Support for:
Teacher Member Posts
Assessing Reading Readiness
Assessing Reading Readiness – 7 Signs a Child is Ready to Go from Listening to Reading.
How can you tell if a child is ready to go from listening to stories to reading stories? The best way to know is to look at the behaviours, skills, and interests which indicate that a child is ready for reading. The checklist can be useful also as
Protecting Children’s Skin and Eyes from the Sun
Practical and best sun protection measures for babies, toddlers and young children in home-based and centres.
Always use sun protection measures during peak UVR times between September and April, especially between 10am and 4pm (or Terms 1 & 4 in early childhood services).
During the winter months and outside of these hours sunhats and ot
Sandpit Play Variations and Learning Extension
Extending play in the sandpit and ways of turning the sandpit into an amazing social hub for learning.
Below are practical tips and guidance for teachers and parents on
variations to basic sandpit play equipment and changes you can introduce daily or weekly to maintain and invigorate children’s interest and participation,ways to get ch
The Learning Story Narrative Approach to Child Assessment
Narrative Approach to Child Assessment.
While our country’s youngest children are not assessed with end of year tests or other formal assessments, the Ministry of Education does require early childhood education (ECE) services to be ”informed by assessment, planning and evaluation (documented and undocumented) that demonstrates an understandi
Service Provider Member Posts
Adult Toilet and Staff Bathroom
OECE staff writer
There are many good reasons for having a toilet specifically for adults that is suitable for adults to use.
Sometimes staff need to use the toilet within a confined space of time, for example, while on a ten minute break or a parent needs to rush in and use the toilet when dropping off or picking-up their child.
There may be lots of toilets but most may be more suitable for children’s use – smaller, lower to the ground and often in stalls of small size, for safety purposes. Small toilets in small spaces cannot accommodate the much larger size of adults.
Food Allergy Management
Food Allergy Management.
Sharing a sweet treat on your birthday is great fun, but in an early childhood setting it can be more complicated than simply working out how many pieces you need to cut the cake into.
If your centre or home-based service has children who have food allergies or intolerances, what seems like some harmless baking coul
Strategies Services are Using to Improve their Financial Outlook
Financial Improvement of Struggling ECE Services.
On this page you can find out what centres and home-based services are doing in respect of:
fees,staffing,ways that they are cutting back on spending (or not),marketing approaches and new markets being targeted, and
The insight this provides will be helpful for everyone who is seeking to i
Creating a Team Contract and the Behaviours of a Well-functioning Team
Creating and signing a team contract is a great idea – it fosters teamwork by acting to cement agreed behaviours and establishing a platform for effective professional conversations.
Having effective professional conversations supports continuous improvement of practices by allowing teachers to examine beliefs and assumptions and understand how these impact on children, the service, and each other.
Spending time discussing service philosophy, behaviour and kaupapa are important aspects of teaching. This can be linked to the Te Ao Māori concepts of tapu and noa.
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Cultural Components of Early Childhood Teacher Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
Research on the cultural components of early childhood teacher education. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Advancing Early Childhood Educators’ Access to Professional Learning in Gifted and Talented Education
An investigation into what specialists in gifted and talented education can provide to early childhood educators in professional learning and support and ECE teacher preferences and needs. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Constructing Teacher Identities across Different Learning Paradigms
Abstract:
This article discusses one key finding from a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of overseas-born, ethnic minority early childhood pre-service teachers in New Zealand. Data were collected through interviews with recently graduated Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) teachers and early childhood lecturers
Play and the Professional Early Childhood Teacher: A Personal Reflection
Play and the Professional Early Childhood Teacher: A Personal Reflection.
Sue Stover. AUT University, New Zealand.
Full Reference: Stover, S. (2014). Play and the professional early childhood teacher: A personal reflection. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special Issue: Early Childhood Policy, 17, 89-100.
Ori
What We Do
Resources
