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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

Different Ways to Write a Learning Story
Writing a Learning Story.
Learning stories are still the assessment type of choice for most early childhood services and teaching professionals. The way that learning stories are written vary from service to service.
While teachers and home-educators know what they are supposed to do in learning stories, they may be left questioning, what

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

Fireworks Enjoyment and Pet Safety
Fireworks safety around young children and pets. Things to teach and talk about with children in conjunction with Guy Fawkes Day and the use of fireworks with children
Should you hold a fireworks display at your early childhood service, or if your children and families are planning to have fireworks at home, these are the rules to follow to kee

Working More Hours than You are Being Paid
Not Being Paid for Hours Worked.
A teacher’s work is never done. This is a phrase that are heard all too often in early childhood education when referring to unpaid work that is done by teachers. It is almost an expectation in some services that teachers spend hours of their own time setting up, cleaning, attending staff meetings, attending w
Service Provider Member Posts

Interview Questions for Teaching Job Applicants
This article goes over the broad areas to cover when interviewing an applicant and questions interviewers have found work.
When interviewing for a teaching position try to cover at least the following broad areas:
Prior work experience and reasons for any gaps in the applicant’s work record.Qualifications, when, where, how, areas of

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

Mentoring New People to Come onto the Committee
Mentoring new people.
Are you finding that you have to twist the arm of an unwilling parent or person to be on the board or committee?
Here are some tips so you never have to do this again.
Most organisations, early childhood services included, wait until the president or chair, secretary, treasurer and other members announce individuall

Kindergarten Girl on Slide Nearly Died From Strangulation
Slide safety.
UPDATE: Another case of strangulation showing that lessons have not yet been learnt. A child died in 2016 at Angels Childcare in Auckland due to strangulation on a slide.
An Opinion article on Slide Safety
By Dr Sarah Alexander September 1, 2010.
The mother of a young girl nearly strangled after being caught in a rope
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles

Researching Pedagogies for Sustainability in Australian Bush Kinder
Research on sustainability and children spending more time in natural settings and Bush Kindergarten. 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, 2009, Vol 12
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 12, 2009 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
Reviewing the Reviewers: Commentary on the Education Review Office’s Evaluation of Assessment
Ken E. BlaiklockUnitec

A Whole School Approach to Language Development in the Early Years
Research findings on supporting children entering school with speech and language delay. Concerning is that the skills necessary for teachers to have to support children are lacking within initial teacher training, which does not support children who are most vulnerable before and after entry to school. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.

Supporting Parents to Use Schema Theory to Understand and Manage Challenging Behaviour in the Home
Research on how teachers can share schema theory with parents for managing the challenging behaviour of children with special needs and with disabilities. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
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