Early childhood
New Zealand has a huge range of education and care services for young children. Some of these services are parent-led, others employ qualified teachers and are called teacher-led.
The implementation of the early childhood strategic plan and the increasing participation of young children in early childhood education in New Zealand have led to more opportunities for qualified teachers in teacher-led services.
Teacher led services
- Education and care services provide sessional and all day programmes for infants and toddlers, as well as three and four years olds. Services may be privately owned or community-based non-profit making services. Some are operated as part of an organisation – such as a hospital, university or business. These services include an increasing number of Māori immersion education and care services, and Pasifika education and care services.
- New Zealand kindergartens operate sessional education for three and four year olds. Kindergartens employ only qualified teachers.
- Family-based day care consists of networks of home-based educators operating under the supervision of qualified co-ordinators. The co-ordinator places children with educators (caregivers) in approved homes for an agreed number of hours a week.
- Qualified teachers also work for the Correspondence School providing distance education for children aged from three to five who are unable to attend a service because of isolation, illness or other special needs.
Culture and language based early childhood education services include those providing programmes in te reo and tikanga Māori or a Pasifika language for tamariki and their whanau from birth to school age. Delivery ranges from full immersion to bilingual with a strong cultural focus.
Parent-led services
Playcentres are collectively supervised and managed by parents for children up to the age of five.
Licence-exempt playgroups are community-based groups of parents and children who meet for one to three sessions a week.
Parent support and development programmes help to build parenting capability (such as Parents as First Teachers (PAFT)).