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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

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Teacher Member Posts

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Transitions between Home, ECE Service and School

Helping Parents Make the Transition to ECE

Parents Leaving their Child For the First Time in Care – An anxious time.

“A heart wrenching moment for all parents is when we leave our child for the first time in the care of someone else who is not well-known to us or at early childhood service or school. A child may become a lot quieter than usual or kick up a fuss. Either way as parents we

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Child and teacher talking at lunch-time table in early childhood centre.
Job Guidance

Lunch and Rest Breaks – Your Entitlements

Lunch and rest breaks.

Working with children is a very busy and demanding job. Employees in different types of early childhood services are often questioning what their entitlements are when they come to breaks.

There is a huge variation of break times across the sector.

So what are early childhood teachers entitled to when it comes

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young toddler reading book at kitchen table while having a snack
Gifted and Talented Children

Gifted in Reading

While most children who are turning five years of age may at most recognise their name and perhaps a few other words, a gifted child at the same age may already be capable of reading books at Year 2 primary school level and above. 

Identifying a Child Who is Gifted in Reading

A child who is gifted in reading has most or all of the following characteristics:

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child is drawing in colouring-in book
Learning Activities - Outside the Box Ideas

Colouring-in Books and Drawing Templates

Colouring-in Books in ECE.

Back in the 80s and 90s the use of colouring-in books was hotly debated amongst early childhood professionals and a consensus developed that drawing templates and colouring-in books were bad for children.

But today, colouring-in books for adults have become fashionable. Such books are promoted as supporting mind

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Service Provider Member Posts

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early childhood education staff interviews
Governance and Committees

Governance Training and Capacity

Governance Training.

Most board members have little, if any, training on how to govern an early childhood service effectively.

They are often volunteers. 

They may come onto the board thinking their role is merely to support the supervisor or manager and mostly to fundraise and offer practical ideas for day-to-day operations.&nb

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child hands puzzle piece to adult
Advertising and Marketing / Promotion

No-Cost Ways to Find Teaching Staff Before Other Employers Do

Finding teaching staff.

Are you having difficulty finding staff who are suitable for your early childhood centre or home-based service?  

Do you have no or very little money to spend on advertising?  

Here are strategies that are simple, take little time, and are often overlooked – but have proven very effective for getting the

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cake birthday celebration homebased
Parent Forms and Complaint Handling

Family Exit Form For Feedback and Ways to Acknowledge a Child’s Time with You

Acknowledging a Child’s Time with You

Have you thought about how you’ll mark a child’s time at your service? Simple, meaningful gestures help children and whānau remember the transition and feel celebrated.

Ideas for the child

Farewell card with photos of highlights from their time at your service.

Book gift in an area of the

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working over-time staying late post
Employer Guides and Staff Management

Overtime – Paying Staff for Work Outside Normal Hours

Employers’ obligations and rights on paying staff overtime and when they work outside of normal hours. This article covers what constitutes work outside of normal work hours that an employee must be paid for. NZ employment law that cannot be negotiated out of with an employee. Legal requirements for waged and salaried staff. It also tells you

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Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles

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early childhood research journal online
2012 NZRECE Journal Articles

Early Childhood Practitioners Developing an Academic Voice and Tutors Making Sense of the Research Process

The study shares insights into the way undergraduate students who are early childhood practitioners in their final year of study developed an academic voice beyond the walls of a University. It was designed by two University tutors who followed the progress of a number of student/practitioners who came together with the intention of editing and pub

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sandpit play in summer
2024 NZIRECE Journal

Inclusion and equity for teachers with disabilities

The positive and negative experiences of early childhood teachers / kaiako with disabilities who are working in NZ. How this impacts on their human rights, sense of wellbeing, and work. Login to read the full research paper below. Or you can order a pdf copy of the article, go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

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the importance of touch as part of caregiving and teaching children
2023 NZIRECE Journal

Children’s Developing Minds Revealed by Parent-led Research

A new book giving insight into children’s developing minds. What do children make of the stories we offer them? What do they think and feel as they listen to a parent read a picture-book? And what if a story confuses them. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

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early childhood research journal online
2015 NZRECE Journal Articles

Three-year-old Children’s Visual Art Experiences

Three-year-old Children’s Visual Art Experiences.  

Julie Plows. University of Auckland, NZ.   

Full reference: Plows, J  (2015). Three-year-old children’s visual art experiences. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 18, 37 – 51.

Original Research

Abstract

This art-based study investigated the verbal and

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What We Do

The Office of ECE drives high-quality care, learning and teaching for all infants and young children and high-quality working environments for teachers and service providers.
Teacher supervising infant and young child playing in playground at ECE centre.

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