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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
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Teacher Member Posts
Protecting Children’s Skin and Eyes from the Sun
Practical and best sun protection measures for babies, toddlers and young children in home-based and centres.
Always use sun protection measures during peak UVR times between September and April, especially between 10am and 4pm (or Terms 1 & 4 in early childhood services).
During the winter months and outside of these hours sunhats and ot
Sign Language and Baby (Child) Signing
Baby Signing.
What is baby (child) signing?History – how it developed and what the researchers discovered. Simple tips for getting started with baby signing. Examples of some baby signs that you can easily learn and teach to infants in your care.
Also see a related article on what a parent and ECE service says about this: Parents sig
Dress guidelines for people working with children in ECE services (staff of all genders)
Rarely do early childhood teacher education texts contain guidance on appropriate teacher dress and physical appearance. One exception is Maria Montessori who wrote that the teacher of young children: “must be attractive, pleasing in appearance, tidy and clean, calm and dignified. These are ideals that each can realise in her own way. The
The Place of Travel in Teachers’ Professional Development
Travel in Teachers’ Professional Development. By Kathy Goouch and Hazel Bryan.
There has been increasing interest shown by those concerned with young children’s learning in international policy and practice. By travelling ourselves, we sought to understand the imperative for practitioners to look beyond their own geographical and cultural
Service Provider Member Posts
No-Cost Ways to Find Teaching Staff Before Other Employers Do
Finding teaching staff.
Are you having difficulty finding staff who are suitable for your early childhood centre or home-based service?
Do you have no or very little money to spend on advertising?
Here are strategies that are simple, take little time, and are often overlooked – but have proven very effective for getting the
Performance Appraisals for Early Childhood Staff and Managers
The Teaching Council no longer requires teachers to participate in an appraisal process – this requirement was replaced with a Professional Growth Cycle requirement.
However, the Ministry of Education’s licensing criteria that sits alongside the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations requires that services have processes for human resource management; including “a system of regular appraisal” (GMA6 home-based; GMA7 education and care centres; GMA7 playcentres; GMA7 kōhanga reo; GMA7 hospital-based).
The templates and guidance provided here covers performance appraisals for managers who may also be the service owner, and teaching staff (including unqualified and qualified staff).
This article also covers
How to conduct a performance appraisal, the process involved and 6 simple steps to follow
Tips for setting the scene properly and conducting the performance review effectively.
The ECE Fundraising Guide
Fundraising Guide.
Hi, can you please help me and my kohanga. I don’t know how or where to get funding for an outside playground!!!! This is my first time trying to get a grant…….I’m really on the fundraising committee but I just found out there is no funding committee so I’m giving it a go
Morning teas, cake raffl
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
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Screens or No Screens: Understanding Young Children’s Use of Digital Technologies
Maya Robinson-Kennedy.
Full reference: Robinson-Kennedy, M. (2019). Screens or no screens: Understanding young children’s use of digital technologies. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special issue presenting early childhood position papers, 22(2), pp. 18 – 25.
Page 18
Original Posit
Breach of Trust – Getting it Right for Children in Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland
Breach of Trust – Getting it Right for Children in Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland.
Mary Moloney. Mary Immaculate College, Ireland.
Full Reference: Moloney, M. (2014). Breach of trust – Getting it right for children in early childhood care and education in Ireland. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special
Index for the NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2002, Vol 5
The titles, authors and abstracts for papers published in the NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 5, 2002 are shown below.
To view any paper, scroll to the end of this page for copies.
Research as a Journey: The New Researcher as a First-time Traveller
Michael GaffneyChildren’s Issues Centre, DunedinNZ
Early Childhood Practitioners Developing an Academic Voice and Tutors Making Sense of the Research Process
The study shares insights into the way undergraduate students who are early childhood practitioners in their final year of study developed an academic voice beyond the walls of a University. It was designed by two University tutors who followed the progress of a number of student/practitioners who came together with the intention of editing and pub
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