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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
Volunteers and Unpaid Workers in ECE – Your Rights
Voluntary work in ECE.
There are many examples in the early childhood sector of different ways employers may rely on free labour, such as:
I was offered an unpaid position and it was a foot in the door as there were no jobs going in my area. I’ve been at ____ for four months and I do the same work as other teachers.
My centre manager t
Zoo Trip
Zoo Trip With Children.
Everybody loves a cuddly furry animal, so the zoo is a great destination for a day trip for adults and children.
Here are some ideas to make the most of a zoo safari.
The zoo offers children the chance to see exotic animals they may never otherwise encounter. Before or after the visit, talk about the type of
Say Sorry – Asking a Child to Apologise
Ask a Child to Say Sorry. By Warwick Marshall
Some early childhood service teachers do not want to ask a child to say sorry. They avoid this.
But why?
And what if anything is wrong with supporting children to say ‘sorry’?
Here is some reasoning on the matter.
No doubt there’s some kind of reasoning for it but this articl
What a Primary Caregiving System is and Common Questions
This article provides an easy-to-read discussion about primary caregiving in early childhood centres. It covers some common questions and concerns relating to a primary caregiving system.
The main reason why early childhood services go for this particular organisational model of staffing is they are concerned for
Service Provider Member Posts
90-day Trial Period
All employers in New Zealand, no matter their size, are able to use 90-day trial periods. 90-day trials will not affect other aspects of employment relations, such as the requirement to act in good faith. It can be used for any staff – including and not limited to teachers, cleaners, cooks, administrators).
If you wish to put a new staff me
The ECE Safety Checklist – Daily Hazard and Safety Checklist
The ECE Safety Checklist – A Daily Hazard and Safety Checklist for Every ECE Service. Checklist items include regulation requirements and reflect learnings from tragic incidents that have happened in ECE.
How to Use the Checklist
This checklist is to assist in conducting and recording the daily inspection.
It is more thorough and detaile
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
A Tree Fell at a Centre and WorkSafe and MoE Heard It
A tree fell on children in an early childhood centre and for the first time ever Worksafe prosecuted an ECE service.
Four children and one adult were injured.
The most fundamental practice change to be made is that every day the service provider and all adults responsible need to assume that something could go wrong. Don’t take a
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Primary School Entry Assessment in New Zealand
Research on the literacy and numeracy skills of New Zealand children when they start school. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Airplane Grows in the Tummy of Clouds: Living Through Relations in the Early Years of Life
Using a child’s expression that illustrates his mental image of constituted relations of living things, the author conceptualizes relationality, an interrelated view of being, and its importance for early childhood education. The difference between relation and interaction, and the significance of inter-human relationship are discussed as signifi
Learning from Sure Start: Working with Young Children & their Families
Clear details on how the British have been trying to get it right for young children by taking an integrated service delivery approach, aiming to base services on what children and parents need rather than on what the experts and bureaucrats think they need.
“It is a Risk, But it is a Risk Worth Taking”: Early Childhood Teachers’ Reflections on Review of Practice Using an Approach of Practical Philosophy
“It is a risk, but it is a risk worth taking”: Early childhood teachers’ reflections on review of practice using an approach of practical philosophy.
Anne Grey. AUT University, NZ.
Full reference: Grey, A. (2015). “It is a risk, but it is a risk worth taking”: Early childhood teachers’ reflections on review of practice usin
What We Do
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