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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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- 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
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Teacher Member Posts

Speaking Up: Learn to Communicate Your Issues and be an Advocate for Children
Advocate for Children and Early Childhood Education and Care.
“If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances” – author Julia Sorel
We are more likely to benefit children and keep growing as people ourselves if we take chances.
What Is on Your Mind? What Would You Li

Making Volcanoes
Making Volcanoes with Children.
Children find volcanoes intriguing.
Here are some key facts and simple information to share with children about volcanoes and geysers, along with a ‘recipe’ for making your very own fun miniature demonstration volcano. Introducing knowledge and understanding of volcanoes is a common part of teaching and

Ideas for Play: Literacy by Emma Smoldon and Megan Howell
Ideas for Play: Literacy by Emma Smoldon and Megan Howell.
Ideas for Play: Literacy is a fresh NZ book written for families at home, parent educators in playcentres, and early childhood teachers.
All elements from the text, graphics and design, and publication combine in making this a really unique book. The first thing you notice is how at

Daylight Saving is here – what you need to know to support tamariki over this period
Losing an hour of sleep can be hard on your body clock.
So it’s no surprise that young children can seem particularly grumpy and out of sorts at the start of the daylight saving period.
In Aotearoa, daylight saving begins on the last Sunday of September, when 2am becomes 3am.
Service Provider Member Posts

Visiting Teacher Forms for Home Visits
The Visiting Teacher forms we have provided here in sample format are for you to modify according to your service and community. The forms include:
To make a record of a child observation. A letter to thank the child for your visit. Evidence of the home visit and supervision of the educator (the administration record).
Child Observati

Daylight Saving is here – what you need to know to support tamariki over this period
Losing an hour of sleep can be hard on your body clock.
So it’s no surprise that young children can seem particularly grumpy and out of sorts at the start of the daylight saving period.
In Aotearoa, daylight saving begins on the last Sunday of September, when 2am becomes 3am.

How Necessary is it to have Written Policies and what Shortcuts can be taken?
Early childhood service policies on everything are not always needed and are certainly not required.
Managers and early childhood service staff can easily get caught up in a sea of paper-work, that includes writing and reviewing policies in particular if they do not know the following.
Did you know that every service must have a written chi

Job Description: Qualified Teacher
Here’s not only a template for a qualified ECE teacher job description but also a sample JD for you to use and adapt. If you would like more guidance and ideas go to the main article about writing JDs.
Template
Service name or Logo
Position description
POSITION/ ROLE:
E.g. Qualified early childhood teacher
POSITION/ ROLE TYPE:
E.g.
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles

Early Childhood Teacher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Research on student teacher learning during Covid-19 restrictions, with key themes being invaluable experience, inadequate preparation for teaching and working with families. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

Retaining Early Childhood Teachers: What Factors Contribute to High Job Satisfaction?
The results of a study on why early childhood teachers leave their jobs and factors such as better adult-to-child ratios that contribute to satisfaction in the workplace. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 1999, Vol 2
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 2, 1999 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
Digging Deep: But Who Gets the Pickings When the Researcher Goes Home?
Ann HatherlyAuckland College of Educa

Changing Roles and Responsibilities: The Development of Coaching in Early Intervention
This paper examines if coaching has a potential role in helping authentic collaborative partnerships between early intervention teachers and early childhood educators and families.
Coaching is a process that can empower. It can also help ECE teachers to examine their own perceptions about the knowledge they hold. 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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