Why early childhood education matters

the first 1000 days are the most important

Aotearoa should be the best place in the world to raise our children. The early years play a key role in children's brain development, and early childhood teachers greet children at the beginning of a lifelong education journey.

There’s a lot of important stuff happening in the brain during the first 1000 days. The future of our physical, cognitive, emotional and social development is deeply affected by our early experiences. At the heart of these experiences are the relationships children form with their parents, their first teachers and their Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings.

ece teachers deserve more

Right now, there’s a crisis in ECE. Low pay and underfunding mean thousands of teachers are leaving the profession every year. There’s a critical shortage of qualified ECE teachers. We’ve got more of our children in ECE than ever before, but there are 55% fewer people training to be ECE teachers than 10 years ago. We aren’t keeping and attracting great teachers.

Despite being just as qualified, ECE teachers are paid up to 31.8% less than their colleagues in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. ECE teachers are asking the Government to urgently invest in our youngest children. We urgently need to fix the pay gap and fund services to provide quality care and education.

Investing in ECE means investing in our future

Every child, no matter where they live or how much their parents earn should have access to quality ECE services that suit their needs and community. Every teacher, no matter what age children they work with, is a teacher.

Parents need access to affordable quality care. Investing in ECE is the best investment we can make to ensure the future success of Aotearoa. Our children are the future.