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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
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Teacher Member Posts

Bullying by Children as Young as 2 Years
Bullying by Children as Young as Two.
Children bullying another child is not uncommon, and it happens in early childhood centres and homes. Around one in ten children experience being bullied or picked on as a consistent experience from age two years, according to findings of a longitudinal study.
Here we will look at: Should a child be called a bully? What is bullying? Examples of bullying. What’s normal and how adults can stop bullying from developing in the first place

Mums Expressing Breastmilk and Managing Other People’s Reactions
Mums Expressing Breastmilk in ECE. By Dr Sarah Alexander.
Early childhood services can be places that support breastfeeding, and the attitude of staff and teachers and what they do makes a big difference as to whether a mother continues with breastfeeding.
Often there is not time enough time to discuss questions such what to do if anothe

Children Attending Multiple Early Childhood Services
Attending Multiple Early Childhood Services in NZ.
Children can attend more than one ECE service. But this was not always recommended.
When a child attends kindergarten, he should not, except in special circumstances, also attend playcentre. This is an overlapping of services and is contrary to the policy of nursery playcentres generally. It

Farm Visit
Farm Visit with Children.
While the animals may not be as exotic as the ones you find in a zoo, going to a farm can still be a great day out.
It can be especially good for smaller children as they can usually get closer to the animals.
Try these ideas to increase the learning potential of your visit.
Talk about the animals you might
Service Provider Member Posts

HIV and AIDS Childcare and Confidentiality Guidelines
HIV / AIDS Children and Adults At Early Childhood Services.
In May 2012 a Northland Childcare Centre was publicly slammed when it decided to send home an HIV-positive child. The centre was criticised by the AIDS Foundation and the story made the national news over several days. The centre claimed its exclusion of the child was temporary only w

Ministry of Education Audits: Funding Audit and Record Keeping Audits
Preparing for a Funding Claim Audit.
The purpose of a visiting audit from the Ministry of Education is to:
Verify that the service is claiming and receiving the correct amount of MoE funding,
Verify that a service is meeting the record keeping requirements for the grants, and to
Provide advice and assistance to services about record

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

A Small Privately-Owned Centre Set-Up
Small Privately-Owned Centre. By Marian Ayres Hill.
Setting up, managing and teaching in a small private preschool has many challenges, however it is very rewarding when you see the enormous benefits that a small owner-operated centre brings to children.
This is my story.
I trained as a kindergarten teacher in the 70s and spent 2
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles

Where are the Men in Jamaica’s Early Childhood Classrooms? The Experiences of those who Choose to Teach Young Children
Research on factors that male teachers believe deter other men from joining them in the early childhood profession. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

The Wellbeing of Pacific Children and Families: Foregrounding Culture, Language, and Identity Formation in ECE
Research on health and wellbeing of Pacific children in NZ early childhood education, and factors that impede or enable better health and wellbeing. 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

Getting People to Participate in Your Research Study or Survey
How to improve the response rate for your research study or survey.
Providing a financial incentive or gift to people to participate in your survey or research study is usually not needed. Much depends on whether people feel what you are asking them to do, is actually worth doing.
But if they see little value in giving their time, their
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