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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
Supporting Boys’ Interests and Play in ECE
Ideas for activities and learning extensions are provided for teachers who are working with boys aged 3- 5 years.
There is a good chance you will see some gendered play and behaviour in any early childhood setting you enter. Our profession is female dominated and early childhood settings can be feminised environments.
All Together Now – Providing Family Learning Sessions
Family learning sessions highlight how much parents shape their children’s development and how early childhood teachers can strengthen that impact by meaningfully engaging families. This article is essential reading for New Zealand ECE teachers because it shows why adopting these approaches can deepen partnerships with parents and enrich learning beyond the ECE setting.
Relieving Work – Relief Teaching
Working as a Reliever in ECE.
Most permanent early childhood teachers will have experienced relievers within their services, either from an agency or permanent relievers employed by their service and they may be interested in pursuing relieving themselves. If you are a reliever and for teachers who are considering moving from a permanent role
Chants
The best early childhood chants to introduce to your children. Why chanting is great for children’s language development and for building a sense of fun and community togetherness.
Chants
For child sitting in a swingClap hands chant for infantsFruit Haka in MāoriBoom Chica BoomMary wore her red shoes (involving every child by including t
Service Provider Member Posts
Job Description for a Head Teacher, Room Leader, or Home-based Visiting Teacher
Job Description for a Head Teacher, Room Leader, or Home-based Visiting Teacher.
Here is a template to help guide you in preparing a job description that matches your service’s philosophy and reflects the position. This person will have additional responsibilities compared with other qualified and unqualified staff and educators.
If you wou
ECE Employer Guide to Employing and Managing Staff
The ECE Employer Guide is for all managers and persons who employ or are involved in the recruitment and employment of staff. It is a comprehensive resource with detailed information on employment matters as well as on managing your team.
Power Cut – No Electricity
A power cut – oh no! What do you do? Should you send children home?
If the power goes off again, what can you do to be better prepared?
How can you make the best out of a nuisance situation?
Here are some answers.
When there is no danger to children and adults there is no need to evacuate.
A power cut is not norma
Staffing Rosters: Balancing Safety and Compliance at Opening and Closing
Staffing Rosters at opening and closing can make or break the safety and compliance of an early childhood service. Many leaders are unsure what the law actually requires, especially when only a few children remain at the end of the day. This article cuts through the confusion with clear guidance on ratios, supervision, and who can legally be left to open or close the centre and differences between legal and best practice.
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Supporting Teaching Practices to Foster Toddlers’ Emotional Literacy
Research on helping teachers to develop teaching practices to foster toddlers’ emotional learning. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Contents – NZ International Research in ECE Journal, 2018, Vol 21, No. 2
This issue examines emergent literacy across socioeconomic contexts, strengths‑based approaches for supporting vulnerable families, school‑starting age debates, early literacy perspectives for children under three, professional standards in ECE, and inquiry‑driven STEM learning.
A Look into Montessori: Embedding Literacy in an Early Childhood Education Programme
The efficacy of a Montessori approach to the development of literacy skills in four year olds in the context of current research around pre-literacy skills development in early childhood education was investigated. This paper presents the findings.
Focus Group Methodology
Focus Group Methodology and its Usefulness in Early Childhood Research. By Claire McLachlan. Published in NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2005, pp. 113-123.
Abstract.
Focus groups are increasingly being used by researchers as a method of qualitative data gathering in educational contexts. The history of the focus group started with the ‘foc
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