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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
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
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Membership Services and Support for:
Teacher Member Posts
Different Ways to Write a Learning Story
Learning stories remain the most commonly used assessment approach, yet the way they are written can differ widely between settings. Even though teachers and home‑based educators understand the general purpose of learning stories, many still wonder what the best practice looks like and how to do them well.
Supporting and Involving Fathers
Early childhood education services in general do not do well when it comes to being inclusive of dads and supporting and involving fathers. Services could be doing better if teachers and service operators knew how.
New Zealand families are gradually changing and men are becoming more involved in raising their children.
However, public reali
Self Review: Working Smarter, Not Harder for Best Practice
Self-Review. By Janet Moles.
As I quietly move close to the habitat of an early childhood centre, I observe that the group is in the midst of the strange ritual known as ‘The Staff Meeting’. In this gathering, the leader communicates to the group, the tasks to be achieved, assigns duties and informs them of new requirements, rules and exp
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
Pay Reviews – Why, When and How
Regular annual pay reviews can help in developing and retaining a high-skilled and loyal staff. Reviewing staff pay is also a useful exercise to ensure that each member of staff is receiving pay that is appropriate and all legal obligations continue to be met.
Contents
What are employer’s legal responsibilities and moral obligations?Whe
Formal Warning Letter and Expressing Concern Letter
Here are templates for a letter ‘of concern’ and a letter giving an early childhood employee a formal first or second warning.
EXAMPLE LETTER OF CONCERN
Private and Confidential
DATE
Dear <Name>
Letter of Concern
This letter is to formally raise our concerns around <insert a general description of the concern, i.e. inapp
Social and Emotional Competence Policy
Promoting Social and Emotional Competence Policy and Procedures.
Rationale:
This policy and accompanying procedures will help us to ensure our curriculum and teaching practice supports the development of children’s social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour in our service.
Regulations and key references:
T
When Parents Want to Bargain Over Childcare Fees
Parents negotiating fees can put pressure on your pricing policies.
Learn how to hold the line on fairness and why a carefully chosen discounted spot can sometimes be smarter than leaving a space empty
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
The NZ Early Childhood Literacy Handbook by Judy Hamer & Paul Adams
Hamer and Adams have skilfully weaved the latest research and theory with the current political and social context to present proposals for best literacy practices and a huge range of practical literacy based ideas.
A Look into Montessori: Embedding Literacy in an Early Childhood Education Programme
The efficacy of a Montessori approach to the development of literacy skills in four year olds in the context of current research around pre-literacy skills development in early childhood education was investigated. This paper presents the findings.
Solo Fathers with Young Children and their Social Needs
Solo fathers are an ‘invisible’ group in society, although Census data suggests they make up almost 5% of families in New Zealand. No research other than a review of Census data in 1999 has been done on this family type in New Zealand, and there is also very little published research overseas, especially where it includes young children. This i
Contents – NZ International Research in ECE Journal, 2025, Vol 27
New research on inclusive early childhood education, cultural responsiveness, digital technologies, anti‑bias practice, home‑based care, sustainability, and policy implementation. Across these diverse studies, authors offer fresh insights that deepen our understanding of ECE quality and the systems that shape children’s early education experiences.
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