Complaints About ECE Services Show Parents Feel Dismissed When Raising Concerns

Complaints made via the ECE Parents’ Council’s MyECE website allege children have been the victims of horrifying injuries and harmful sexualised behaviour while attending ECE – and that their parents and caregivers have felt dismissed when they've raised concerns with ECE services.

In 2024, families made 80 anonymous complaints to the Ministry of Education using MyECE’s independent, online service. MyECE is the ECE Parents’ Council’s website. It has a form where people can complain to the Ministry of Education confidentially.

“The sheer volume of the complaints confirms that parents are afraid to come forward out of fear of consequences to their child. So the anonymity that the MyECE service is providing is making them feel safer,” ECE Parents’ Council spokesperson Michelle de Bono says.

Multiple complainants said they were worried about their child facing repercussions at the service as a result of their complaint.

Allegations of short staffing, staff yelling at or roughly handling children, infrequent nappy changing, children being repeatedly bitten by peers, and a lack of clarity over fees charged were all relatively common, with parents repeatedly raising these issues in their complaints.

de Bono describes the content of many of the complaints as “just horrifying”.

She says because the Ministry does not publicly release complaints information, many questions are left unanswered: “What was the remedy? Are those children safe now?

“How are the parents feeling now about the process, and aside from being able to get their complaint out, were they taken care of afterwards?”

In light of the complaints we’ve supported parents to make, the ECE Parents’ Council is concerned about the regulation changes approved by Cabinet, which will no longer require ECE services to prominently display information about how to make a complaint to the Ministry, as well as a copy of the regulations, the current licence certification, and the names and qualifications of staff.

de Bono says because ECE services are already not required to inform parents when they are under investigation by the Ministry, parents could be unaware if the service their child is attending is the subject of a serious complaint.

“To me, the climate is looking like it could become quite dangerous and isolating for parents in these situations. It’s really worrying.”

We encourage caregivers who are unhappy with the standard of care and/or education at their child(ren)’s ECE service to complain via MyECE’s online form. Complaining about poor quality practice can help raise the bar for ECE services for all whānau and tamariki.

© Scoop Media