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Disadvantaged By Early Childhood Equity Funding

5 March 2002
Kids Disadvantaged By Early Childhood Equity Funding


The Early Childhood Council is deeply concerned at the way that equity funding is being allocated to early childhood services, so that only community-based services receive the support, even if a privately owned service has the same student profile.

“Targeted funding is a great idea, but the way it is being delivered disadvantages too many kids. Children from exactly the same background will get different subsidies depending upon what building they go to,” said Sue Thorne, ECC CEO.

The ECC is the largest organisation representing education and care centres. Of the 1600 centres, over 700 belong to the ECC. Members enrol over 35,000 children.

The ECC has a 60:40 balance of private and community centres as members – about the same as for education and care centres as a whole.

“We are happy for the children that will receive the extra funds, but other children with the same needs will miss out entirely. Trevor Mallard has said that the funding will make a difference to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but his funding policy will only reach some of those children.”

“This is an ideological policy that could have easily been inclusive of all parents and children. It could have been based on the existing childcare subsidy delivered through WINZ.”

“Many of our privately owned members work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds. How will they explain to their parents that this extra funding won’t be available to the centre?”

Contact Sue Thorne at office 09 449 1327

The ECC can provide the contact details for early childhood centres who are providing services to children from disadvantaged backgrounds

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