Early Childcare Education needs action, not debate
Thursday, 14 November 2019, 9:51 am
Press Release: Early Childhood Council
The Early Childhood Council is calling on the government to
not take their eye off the ball while working on the future
of education.
“With an Early Childcare Education
teacher shortage and widening pay disparity facing our
sector today, it’s time for action, not words. You can’t
pay teachers in glossy brochures,” said ECC CEO Peter
Reynolds.
“It’s great to see ECE issues being taken
seriously in the Tomorrow’s Schools review and in
National’s Education discussion paper. Our sector has been
neglected for too long and slipped behind where it should be
and wants to be to deliver first-class early childhood
education for our youngest learners.
“Teachers and
centre owners are hurting. We need more than just signals of
what might happen in the future - we need action in key
areas like teacher pay parity now,” said Peter Reynolds.
The ECE sector’s voice has been heard since the first
draft of the Tomorrow’s Schools review was released. The
second draft is much less disruptive for ECE, while
presenting a number of opportunities. However, ECE is not an
intentional part of this review, despite its direct impact
on our sector. If the child is indeed at the centre of the
government’s thinking, we need to seize opportunities to
collaborate.
While several areas of National’s
discussion paper echo current government policy (such as
increased monitoring and spot checks), others signal a
reversal in policy from their last term in government (like
the return of support for provisionally certificated
teachers). Centres will welcome many of the proposals, but
will be keen to see the detail and the commitment to support
our vital sector.
“There’s a lot of detail to go
through and we look forward to representing our members’
views in this debate,” said Peter Reynolds.
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