Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Investing in early childhood education

Investing in early childhood education

Budget 2005 continues the government’s drive to lift the education of New Zealand’s youngest children, with a significant new investment of $152 million over the next four years, Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced today. "Our government is firmly committed to giving all young New Zealanders the opportunity to have the best possible start in education and develop a lifetime love for learning. Our goal is to make early childhood education more accessible and affordable for all New Zealand families.

"Research tells us that quality early childhood education makes a positive difference to how children learn later on. The budget allocations mean that by 2009, this government will have increased spending on early childhood education by 136 per cent, to $694 million," Trevor Mallard said.

"Our government is committed to ensuring that as the costs of running an early childhood education service increase, funding will be adjusted accordingly. The services will receive $125 million over four years to increase funding rates to meet this commitment, of which $95 million is new money. The increases will apply from 1 July and may be as high as 18 per cent in some cases.

"Since the new funding rates were announced in November last year, the key collective agreements in the early childhood education sector have changed so it now costs services more to employ registered staff.

"Increasing funding rates to meet these higher costs ensures services are compensated for cost changes and don’t pass them onto parents.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

"The new funding system includes a process where centres attest to minimum levels of pay to ensure staff members are rewarded for their qualifications and experience. I expect good centres will pay at least the minimum rate.

"The biggest increases are for teacher-led services which are required to employ registered teachers. As some 60 per cent of these services are private, they and community-based services will benefit significantly from these changes."

Other key Budget 2005 early childhood education initiatives over the next four years include: $28.4 million to further expand the early childhood Discretionary Grants Scheme. This will fund the building of 55 to 65 more community-based centres over the next four years in areas of need, in the lead-up to the introduction of free early childhood education for three and four year-olds from 1 July 2007. The additional funding takes the annual spend on Discretionary Grants to $20.8 million in 2005-06. $16 million for Foundations for Discovery, the new Information Communication Technology (ICT) framework for early childhood education launched in April this year. The framework promotes the use of ICT as a way to strengthen young children’s education, and to help early childhood education services operate efficiently.

"This budget, the Labour-Progressive Government’s total funding commitment to early childhood education has risen to about $523 million, an increase of $234 million since 1999," Trevor Mallard said.

"Since we came into government, we have invested heavily in early childhood education services and on top of this supported them with additional resources, professional development and training.

"We want to ensure the early childhood sector is supported in our drive to raise the quality and availability of early childhood education throughout New Zealand," Trevor Mallard said.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.