Parents Reject ECE Deregulation: "Children’s Safety Is Not Optional"

The ECE Parents’ Council is sounding the alarm over proposed government changes to early childhood education (ECE) regulations, calling them "a direct threat to children’s wellbeing".

The ECE Parents’ Council condemns the sweeping deregulation plan endorsed by Associate Education Minister David Seymour and accepted by Cabinet, which will remove and weaken a lot of the standards designed to protect tamariki in ECE services across Aotearoa.

ECE Parents’ Council spokesperson Michelle De Bono said that it was not about red tape — it was about children’s lives.

“Removal of so much of the criteria and standards for ECE services and producing lighter touch tools for enforcement of what standards remain is a recipe for disaster.

“Parents will not be able to have trust in the regulatory system to protect their child.

"We are furious that the government is pushing ahead with dangerous changes while ignoring the overwhelming opposition from teachers, parents, and experts.

"Parents will not stay silent while standards are dismantled.

"We demand children be put first, their health, their safety and their education,” said Ms De Bono.

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