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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
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Teacher Member Posts
Laughter, Jokes and Having Fun
Fun and laughter in ECE – in our relationships with children and each other.
Creating a positive, playful, and happy climate to be in is key to effective teaching for diverse children.
Some of the things that make us laugh and giggle are:
Tickles and playful games like peek-a-boo, this little piggy went to market finger-play game,
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Children with ADHD in ECE.
ADHD is a biological disorder which is most often seen in school age children but can also be present in toddlers, pre-schoolers and adolescents and adults.
ADHD is usually broken down into three sub-categories: ADHD predominantly inattentive, ADHD predominantly hyperactive and ADHD combined type.
Children with
Autism
Children with Autism ASD in Early Childhood Education.
How often have you seen a child acting inappropriately in social situations, appearing to ignore what others say, or over-reacting to loud noises?
Children with such behaviours are often thought to be naughty or treated as a ‘problem’. Some early childhood services have policies tha
Transforming an Old Woodwork Table
I am James Lochead-MacMillan and I’m going to share with you our review and evaluation of the woodwork table and children’s use, and what we did to bring about improvement
Review and evaluation of woodwork
The hammers had seen better days, the saws were rusty, the screwdrivers were AWOL, the vices and the drills were all broken. The work benc
Service Provider Member Posts
Advice on Responding to a Parent Who Does Not Want Child to Have a Male Teacher
Parent does not want Male Teacher.
An early childhood centre manager asks:
After informing our parents that 2 new teachers had been appointed for the start of term, a mother said she did not want one of these teachers, a man, to have any contact with her daughter and that she must never be in the same group with him. We agreed to her
Building is Unusable But You Need to Continue Providing Care for Children
ECE Centre Temporary Relocation.
A major earthquake, a fire, or other unplanned event such as gas leak, may mean your early childhood centre building cannot be used.
Parents will continue to need childcare, and you want to continue business but what can you do?
And what arrangements can you make quickly and keep within the law?
Separated Parents – Policy on Who Child Can Leave With and Disclosure of Information about a Child
Separated Parents.
It can be tricky being caught between parents, new partners of parents, and lawyers and it’s never easy trying to determine what information if any you can and should share and where the line is between privacy rights and responsibilities and duties as a parent.
This article discusses key issues that have a
Governance Training and Capacity
Governance Training.
Most board members have little, if any, training on how to govern an early childhood service effectively.
They are often volunteers.
They may come onto the board thinking their role is merely to support the supervisor or manager and mostly to fundraise and offer practical ideas for day-to-day operations.&nb
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Educators Listening and Partnering with Parents: Recognising Parental Wellbeing and Agency
Research on parent wellbeing and recognising parent agency in ECE. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Thesis Supervisor – How to Choose Good Supervisors for Your Study
Thesis Supervisor – How to Choose Good Research Supervisors
If you want to develop skills as a researcher, have credibility in the workforce as a researcher, and contribute to the knowledge base in your area of interest then doing a thesis with academic supervision and support is the way to go.
When undertaking a thesis for a Doctorate or a
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.
Constructions of Quality in NZ Early Childhood Centres
This ground‑breaking New Zealand study examines how different early childhood settings construct “quality” from a values‑based perspective. By comparing the unique meanings held across kindergartens, childcare centres, playcentres and kōhanga reo, it reveals how diverse philosophies shape what quality truly looks like.
What We Do
Resources
