ECE Service Closures in 2022

This article provides an overview of early childhood service closures in New Zealand in the 2022 calendar year.

• Service Closures: The ECE services that have closed for reasons such as non-compliance, retirement of the owner, financial reasons, declining roll, loss of tenancy, or never opened.
• Organisation Types: It includes different types of service like centre-based teacher-led services, Homebased Networks, Te Kohanga Reo, and Playcentre.
• Ownership Types: The services were owned by various entities such as companies, charitable trusts, private trusts, incorporated societies, sole traders, and public education institutions.
• Compliance Issues: A significant number of services were closed due to the Ministry’s withdrawal of licence for non-compliance, highlighting a concern for regulatory adherence in the sector.

In total 147 ECE licences were cancelled, and services closed. These are shown in the Table below.

The reasons for licence cancellation of the services were:

• 50 services were disestablished by their service provider, or the service provider retired
• 49 services did not have enough children to continue operating (declining roll)
• 24 services non-complaint resulting in suspension and/or licence withdrawal by the Ministry of Education
• 11 services cited financial reasons resulting in closure
• 7 services suffered a loss of tenancy and could no longer continue to operate from their premises
• 2 services never started operating with children enrolled
• 2 services closed to move premises (and apply for a new licence)
• 1 service was temporarily closed (with a view to applying for a new licence when ready)
• 1 service was closed to change to a different operation type

The recorded reasons for services shutting their doors may not give the full picture. Anecdotally, the pandemic, with the lockdowns and changes in parent uptake of ECE, had a part to play in service providers re-evaluating their commitments and business operations.

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Closures of ECE Services in 2023

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Radio NZ interview in 2021 with the Early Childhood Council on whether its centres would pass on all new funding for pay parity to teachers as the government expected – the interview suggests that the ECC’s centres did not agree to passing on all new funding for teacher pay to teachers and would use the new funding for other purposes.

In 2011 Ministry of Education advice drafted by Simon Laube (who is now the ECC’s chief executive) and colleagues recommended that government make budgetary cost savings by restricting salary cost adjustments in funding to kindergarten associations only. From 1 July 2011 education and care centres that were not kindergartens began being funded less than kindergartens – which is why we have pay parity issues today.

ECE Services with licence downgrades and closed – Annual lists