Kindergartens Aotearoa Supports Government Move To Pay Teacher Registration Fees

Kindergartens Aotearoa commends the government for its announcement that it will back teachers by funding registration and practising certificate fees.

Education Minister Erica Stanford announced that $53 million in budget 2025 will pay Teaching Council fees for early childhood, primary and secondary teachers through to 2028.

Kindergartens Aotearoa also welcomes Minister Erica Stanford’s commitment to the teaching profession and her acknowledgement of the importance of early childhood teachers in outcomes for children.

In making the announcement, the minister said the government is committed to closing the equity gap so all children can thrive.

Kindergartens Aotearoa calls on the government to assure the early childhood sector that this commitment will not be undermined by reducing teacher qualification requirements in the early childhood sector, as recommended by the Associate minister’s regulatory review.

Kindergartens Aotearoa’s Amanda Coulston says it is well recognised that the early years are the most important, and the Minister herself has reiterated this.

Erica Stanford is on record as saying that “it is absolutely essential that we have qualified teachers in the room if we want to get outcomes for children before they come to school.”

Amanda Coulston says it’s really important that the government maintains qualified teachers and the funding to support them. “We should actually be increasing the proportion of qualified teachers in the sector, in line with all the evidence from national and international research.”

Kindergartens Aotearoa represents six regional kindergarten associations around the country that operate more than 260 of New Zealand’s kindergartens, catering for 12,000 children each day, from Auckland’s North Shore to South Otago.

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