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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
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
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Teacher Member Posts
When a Child’s Behaviour Gets Hard to Manage and When Enrolment May be Terminated
Top tips on what to do, what to change, and support when a child’s behaviour has become unmanageable. The circumstances in which you may cancel a child’s enrolment.
Library Trip
Library Trip with Children.
Going to the library is a great activity to do either on your own with a child or small group of children, or as a group visit with your early childhood service.
Maybe you will walk there. Or take the bus? It might be something that you do weekly or monthly to take out and return books.
The most obvious thing y
Tikanga in Practice
As a part of my journey I have focused on supporting my colleagues to learn and begin to understand some of the basic stuff that is important to Te Āo Māori. I understand and accept that if you don’t know, you don’t know, hence we should as teachers find ways to become aware. Along with this unknown factor I have experienced resistance. Resistance to acknowledging what it means to weave the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and therefore promote tikanga within our Centres.
For example, after partaking in these korero sessions and hearing Kaiako show enthusiasm for incorporating Tikanga in Practice, often those changes to practice that have been discussed, debated, worked out, and agreed upon as a collective don’t eventuate into practice.
It often feels like participants come to the workshops as a part of a box ticking exercise – they can put it in the appraisal system, but then don’t follow through with making actual changes to the practices.
For example, observing colleagues continue to sit on tables, place shoes or hair ties and hats on tables or benches where Kai is sometimes placed, using a chair to place food plates on, finding shoes in the hat basket, observing teachers straddle tamariki stretchers, or doing the laundry all in together.
When we have had discussions about how tikanga helps to make meeting regulations so easy, yet the changes are not forthcoming.
Two Curriculum Paths -Te Ara Whānui and Te Ara Māori
Regardless of what your service chooses to implement, as a teacher its very useful for you to know and have an understanding of the differences in Part A and Part B of the Curriculum Framework. Te Ara Māori or Te Ara Whānui.
Service Provider Member Posts
Working Smarter, Not Harder for Best Practice
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 expectations.
An important part of the ritual is the response from the group, to the leader’s communications. Sometimes this is given at the time, whilst other groups wait until the leader has gone to utter the loud and anguished cry, “Aaaaaaargh!#$%! Not another thing to do!” Following this, they get on and do as requested.
Working in ECE we are very familiar with change and new expectations. We’re a very adaptive species. However, we have a tendency to just add on the new task, rather than look to see how it can be incorporated with existing tasks – or even replace some of them.
This paper is about working more effectively, rather than behaving like pack-horses and adding more burdens as they plod onwards, up the hill.
Power Cut – No Electricity
A power cut – oh no! What do you do? Should you send children home?
If the power goes off again, what can you do to be better prepared?
How can you make the best out of a nuisance situation?
Here are some answers.
When there is no danger to children and adults there is no need to evacuate.
A power cut is not norma
CCTV and Security Camera Policy
The Office of ECE provides this CCTV policy template and guidance to help services using indoor or outdoor security cameras meet their legal obligations under the Privacy Act, the Children’s Act, and other key legislation.
With camera use under increasing scrutiny, every service that operates CCTV in areas where children or staff may be present needs clear, transparent procedures to ensure lawful, ethical, and defensible practice. Gaps in your policy can put your service and the trust of families, at risk.
Log in with your member details to access the full guidance and template. If your service’s membership has lapsed or you’d like to join, get in touch and we’ll help you get set up quickly.
Home‑based providers may also use this template to develop a policy for educators who have security cameras operating in their family homes.
Adult Toilet and Staff Bathroom
There are many good reasons for having a toilet specifically for adults that is suitable for adults to use. Sometimes staff need to use the toilet within a confined space of time, for example, while on a ten minute break or a parent needs to rush in and use the toilet when dropping off or picking-up their child. There may be lots of toilets but most may be more suitable for children’s use – smaller, lower to the ground and often in stalls of small size, for safety purposes. Small toilets in small spaces cannot accommodate the much larger size of adults.
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Early Childhood Educator Perceptions of Children’s Physical Activity and the Outdoors
Research on how early childhood educators perceive the natural features outdoors influencing children’s movement development and physical activity. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Negotiating Policy-Driven and State-Mandated Expectations of Leadership: Discourses Accessed by Early Childhood Educators in Australia
Negotiating Policy-Driven and State-Mandated Expectations of Leadership: Discourses Accessed by Early Childhood Educators in Australia.
Louise Thomas and Joce Nuttall. Australian Catholic University.
Full Reference: Thomas, L., & Nuttall, J. (2014). Negotiating policy-driven and state-mandated expectations of leadership: Disc
Through the Eyes of the Puppet: Using Puppetry to Foster Children’s Sense of Wellbeing and Belonging
Research on the use of puppets and outcomes for children’s wellbeing and sense of belonging in early childhood education settings. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Shared Cultural Responsiveness Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Educators: Insights from Japanese and Australian Researchers
Full reference: Ba Akhlagh. S. and Yamada, M. (2025). Shared cultural responsiveness teaching strategies for early childhood educators: Insights from Japanese and Australian researchers. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, pp. 17-30.
Login to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT:
The global movement of migrants and refugees presents significant challenges for host countries, particularly in providing equitable and inclusive education for children. Nations such as Australia and Japan have become safe destinations, yet the extent to which they are prepared to facilitate culturally responsive early childhood education varies. This paper presents research-based strategies, developed by two researchers in Australia and Japan, that have proven to be practical and helpful for educators, supporting children from cultural and linguistic diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia. These strategies, currently offered to educators in Australia, are planned for implementation among Japanese early childhood educators from 2026. Drawing on shared expertise from both countries, the approach fosters mutual learning and adaptation, aiming to inspire educators worldwide to contextualise and apply these evidence-informed practices within their own early childhood education settings.
Key words: Cultural responsiveness, educators, cross-cultural early childhood education teaching strategies, professional learning.
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