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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
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Teacher Member Posts
School Entry Assessments
School Entry Assessments.
One of the most important things an early childhood service can do for its older children is to help them prepare for school.
Shortly after they begin school new entrants will be assessed by their teachers.
These assessments are called school entry assessments and take place between four and eight weeks afte
Gun Play?
Do You Allow (Or Even Encourage) Gun Play? By Tim Kahn.
Tim Kahn writes his thoughts about the superhero and weapon’s play that is often indulged in relentlessly by a small group of boys – and less persistently by another group of boys and a few girls.
Starting with the child
Effective learning for young children starts from their i
Over-Stimulating Environments Unsuitable for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Dear Fellow Teachers,
I’ve recently been approached by the mother of a child with ASD and Sensory Integration Disorder.
He is 3 and a half and finds a standard ECE environment too overwhelming – noise in particular but also visual stimulation and movement affect him adversely.
We had a long discussion about the unspoken belief that all children thrive in a visual stimulating and noisy environment.
The mother has investigated
Associate Teacher and Centre Information on Supporting Student Kaiako & Payment
If you’re a qualified, registered teacher and you’re ready to start supporting student kaiako as an Associate Teacher, we’ve got some helpful information to make the experience as rich and rewarding for everyone involved.
Service Provider Member Posts
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
Cashflow Management
Cashflow Management.
How do we cope with huge cash inflows from the MoE three times a year then famine in between?
The simplest way is to put into a separate bank account all the advances received each four months and then transfer it into the normal bank account monthly. You will also need some capital of your own in the bank to cover the c
Job Descriptions for Relievers
How to write a Job Description for a Reliever Position.
Many services like to use relieving staff they know, rather than going through an agency.
Below is a template for a job description that you can adapt to suit and use. If you would like more guidance and ideas go to the main article about writing JDs.
Service name or Logo
J
Building the Real Quality of Your ECE Service
Beyond Regulatory Standards and Expectations to Building Quality.
There seems to be so much to do in trying to provide a quality service, does there not?
Is all your work worth it or could a change in focus and method achieve better results?
To help you to think critically on this consider the following:
Who defines what quality is? A
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Early Childhood Educator Perceptions of Children’s Physical Activity and the Outdoors
Research on how early childhood educators perceive the natural features outdoors influencing children’s movement development and physical activity. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Call for Papers for the 2026 New Zealand International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal Special Issue
Theme: “Quality Begins with Teachers: Workforce Challenges in Early Childhood Education”
High-quality early childhood education begins with a skilled, supported, and sustainable workforce. This special issue calls for paper that explore the central paradox of our sector – the significant responsibility placed on teachers despite the systemic challenges that threaten their professional sustainability.
In this 2026 issue of the NZIRECE Journal, we aim to examine the complex realities educators navigate and the resilient practices they use to maintain high standards of care and education. We invite submissions from both New Zealand and international scholars that address the essential links between workforce wellbeing and pedagogical excellence. Papers from different perspectives are welcomed
The Production of ‘Worthwhile’ Knowledge about Quality in Early Years Education
Confusion over what “quality” means in early childhood education has grown as new stakeholder and postmodern perspectives have emerged. This paper breaks quality into three distinct dimensions and shows how each leads to very different paths for quality assurance and outcomes.
Children as Teachers: Creating Opportunities for Children to Share Expertise with their Peers
In early childhood centres young children have the opportunity to interact with their peers in a play based environment. Play takes a central role and is a way by which children may challenge and extend each other’s thinking. Current accounts of how children learn and develop recognise the importance of peer interactions in this process. The stud
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