Tēnā koutou katoa
Welcome to the Office of Early Childhood Education
National and public adviser on ECE, the OECE is a sector body representing teachers and all types of licensed services driving safer, higher‑quality education 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
Teaching Literacy – An Early Childhood Educator’s Guide
Guide to Teaching Literacy. By Dr Sarah Alexander.
From their earliest speech experiences through to contact with written language and technologies, what happens in children’s homes and communities shapes their early literacy learning. How, and whether this early learning is taken up and extended through early childhood educational practic
Plane Spotting and Tracking
Plane Spotting at the ECE Service.
Going plane spotting is easy. You can do this now without leaving home or your early childhood service.
There are thousands of learning possibilities…
Technology – tracking planes, use of real timeGeography – different countriesMaths – comparing land masses, number of planes, altitude, speed, di
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
Under-5s Rugby
Teaching Rugby to Children in Early Childhood Education. This fosters a sense of belonging, pride, and achievement.
Rugby is part of NZ’s culture and central to our cultural identity. (See another article on following and celebrating the Rugby World Cup with children
It is a great sport to introduce to children from about 2 years of a
Service Provider Member Posts
Sandpit Design
A good sandpit design for an ECE service sees it being large enough to accommodate half or more of the children attending. It should provide enough room for each child to stand or sit and dig without touching or getting sand on another child.
In home-based settings, the sandpit design should make sure it is of sufficient size to accommodate
Sandpit – Safety, Hygiene and Health
Sandpit safety and hygiene.
There are many potential safety problems and hazards in regard to sandpits.
Sandpit Safety.
Ensure that active supervision of children in the sandpit is provided at all times.
When the wind makes playing in the sandpit uncomfortable and poses a risk to children’s eyes withdraw children to other acti
Electrical Testing
The importance of electrical testing.
Is your early childhood education service compliant for electrical safety? It needs to be:
Failure of electrical wiring or appliances is one of the most common causes of house and building fires – which could be devastating financially for your service, personally for everyone affected, and eve
ECE Policies: What’s Required, What’s Optional, and What’s Just Paperwork
Learn the difference between the documentation ECE services are required to have and the policies they often write unnecessarily.
Service leaders will benefit from understanding how to reduce paperwork, meet legal requirements efficiently, and free up time for what matters most – supporting children and staff.
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
How to do Action-Based Research or an Inquiry, and Writing Your Report
What is Action Research?
Action research is defined in the glossary as:
A hands-on approach to research for change in a setting and/or to one’s own practices, thinking and knowledge. Action research can be a collaborative endeavour or carried out by an individual.
When action research is being undertaken to bring about change in a se
Men who Teach Young Children: An International Perspective by David Brody
Author Dr David Brody provides a penetrating look at the lives and personal beliefs of male early childhood and kindergarten teachers. He also reviews the cultural values and conditions that have shaped and influenced the path they travel.
Omissions and Presuppositions in Kei Tua o te Pae: A Critical Discourse Analysis
This research note describes some of the findings from an analysis of three introductory booklets of “Kei Tua o te Pae”, an early childhood assessment practice resource produced by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Analysis involved taking a critical discourse perspective to identify ways in which text was likely to persuade readers to
Call for Papers for the NZIRECE Journal
You are warmly invited to submit a paper to the NZIRECE Journal for consideration for publication. The NZIRECE Journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes research results, critiques, methodological papers and theoretical articles relating to children’s education, well-being and care in the early years (from birth and up to six or seven years of age).
What We Do
Resources
