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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
Giving Children Choices – Strategies for the Best Outcomes
Giving young children choices and empowering them to make their own decisions will help prepare them for life. The early years are the best time…
Dressing Like an ECE Professional: Comfort, Practicality, Respect
Clear advice on what to wear, what’s appropriate, and how to navigate expectations around uniforms, tattoos, jewellery, shoes and overall professional appearance. It’s a helpful…
Teaching Science and Children’s Scientific Learning
Teaching Science and Children's Scientific Learning. By Rachel Pratt. How many times do you walk into a centre that has a table in the corner,…
The Kind of Teacher You Are
It all Comes Out in the Wash! Teaching Style and Thinking About The Kind of Teacher You Are. By Joy Lubawy. Have we moved forward…
Service Provider Member Posts
Illness and Infectious Disease Policy: Covering Children and Adults
Illness and infectious‑disease management is under closer scrutiny than ever, and every ECE service must have a policy that reflects current regulations and best practice.…
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…
Getting Men to Apply for Your Staff Vacancy
Male job applicants. We are advertising for a teacher and have received some quality applications so far, but no applications from males. We would love…
Making a Complaint, the Complaints Process, Steps and Your Rights
Licensed early childhood services must meet minimum legal standards and are expected to exceed these and operate transparently. Complaints are an essential part of keeping…
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
Contents – NZ Research in ECE Journal, 2016, Vol. 19
This special issue examines equality and diversity in early childhood education, spanning inclusive science exploration, evolving coaching roles in early intervention, whole‑school language development, socio‑economic…
Ideas for Play: Literacy by Emma Smoldon and Megan Howell
Literacy ideas is a NZ book written for families at home, parent educators in playcentres, and early childhood teachers.
Developing Curriculum for the Early Years: A Perspective from Bangladesh
This paper gives a narrative of the emergence of early childhood education in Bangladesh, a country with 156.6 million people. Reference is made to the…
The Descriptive Quality of Kindergarten, Kōhanga Reo, Childcare, and Playcentre
Most research on early childhood programmes focuses on developmental measures, but this study takes a values‑based approach instead. By examining the unique ‘heartbeats’ of eleven…
What We Do
The Office of ECE drives high-quality care, learning and teaching for all infants and young children and high-quality working environments for teachers and service providers.
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