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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
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
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Education Bulletin and Sector Notices
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Membership Services and Support for:
Teacher Member Posts
Death of a Child, Parent or Other Adult
In the event of the death of a child or person known at your service, the impact will be extensive on children, yourself, members of your team and your community.
You should be open and honest with your service leader and discuss the option of seeking professional help and support for yourself, in order to be able to adequately support children
When Your Service is Not Meeting Adult-Child Ratio Minimums
Not meeting adult:child ratios.
There are various ways that adult-child ratios can become a problem.
For example, does your manager or boss tell you that it is okay to go under ratio and not replace you when you go on morning-tea breaks and on other occasions provided you are still in the building or on the grounds?
Ratios
Noho Marae – What’s involved and making the most out of your overnight stay at a marae
If you’ve attended noho marae before, you will likely have some knowledge of the pōwhiri or mihi whakatau process, and of the specific tikanga of the marae.
If it’s your first time, you may feel nervous and keen to ensure you know what to do, to show respect to the haukainga.
Noho marae are a unique and powerful experience of learning and connectedness.
Many ECE teams attend noho marae. This may be for professional development, team building, wānanga, connecting with tangata whenua or all of these reasons! Noho marae are also usually included in initial Teacher Education programmes.
Pōwhiri Process
Pōwhiri are important welcoming ceremony which welcome manuhihi onto a marae.
Teaching How to Ride a Bike (a pedal bike)
Every child will learn things in their own time but learning how to ride a bike and using pedals before 5 years of age is a reasonable aspiration for parents and early childhood teachers to have for children.
It is a significant event in life that most of us can remember so it is worth making it a rewarding experience for a child.
The
Service Provider Member Posts
Astroturf, Artificial Grass or Real Grass?
There will always be differing opinion about whether artificial turf or natural grass is the better option for an early childhood service to have.
There are ways to make both work; the ultimate goal, regardless of the choice made, is to ensure that children are provided with a safe and stimulating environment which encourages growth and develop
Building is Unusable But You Need to Continue Providing Care for Children
ECE Centre Temporary Relocation.
A major earthquake, a fire, or other unplanned event such as gas leak, may mean your early childhood centre building cannot be used.
Parents will continue to need childcare, and you want to continue business but what can you do?
And what arrangements can you make quickly and keep within the law?
Shade and Outdoor Planning for Sun Protection
Below are tips and recommendations for creating and maintaining effective and acceptable shade in outdoor play areas. This is important in conjunction with other methods for protecting children’s skin and eyes from the harmful effects of the sun over summer.
Attention is drawn here to different problems such as tree branches breaking and falli
Union Rights and ECE Service Provider Duties
Union rights.
Whether your early childhood service is party to a collective agreement or not – you need to know the ins and outs of the law on rights and duties in dealing with unions.
There are also obligations you must meet in respect of new staff appointments. Keep reading below to find out more.
You may also be interested in reading&
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Shared Cultural Responsiveness Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Educators: Insights from Japanese and Australian Researchers
Full reference: Ba Akhlagh. S. and Yamada, M. (2025). Shared cultural responsiveness teaching strategies for early childhood educators: Insights from Japanese and Australian researchers. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 17-30.
Login to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT:
The global movement of migrants and refugees presents significant challenges for host countries, particularly in providing equitable and inclusive education for children. Nations such as Australia and Japan have become safe destinations, yet the extent to which they are prepared to facilitate culturally responsive early childhood education varies. This paper presents research-based strategies, developed by two researchers in Australia and Japan, that have proven to be practical and helpful for educators, supporting children from cultural and linguistic diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia. These strategies, currently offered to educators in Australia, are planned for implementation among Japanese early childhood educators from 2026. Drawing on shared expertise from both countries, the approach fosters mutual learning and adaptation, aiming to inspire educators worldwide to contextualise and apply these evidence-informed practices within their own early childhood education settings.
Key words: Cultural responsiveness, educators, cross-cultural early childhood education teaching strategies, professional learning.
Educators Listening and Partnering with Parents: Recognising Parental Wellbeing and Agency
Research on parent wellbeing and recognising parent agency in ECE. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Early Childhood Educators’ Workplace Well-being
Catherine Jones, Fay Hadley, Manjula Waniganayake and Melissa Johnstone. Macquarie University, New South Wales.
Full reference:Jones, C., Hadley, F., Waniganayake, M. & Johnstone, M. (2019). Early childhood educators’ workplace well-being: A case for using self-determination theory to understand and support workplace well-being in earl
Shared Decision-Making as a Component of Partnership in New Zealand Early Childhood Education Centres
Research looking into the difficulty early childhood education practitioners have in establishing a genuine partnership with parents. It details tensions in shared decision-making and highlights what enables and hinders partnership in decision-making. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
What We Do
Resources
