A major law change passed last week — the Education and Training Amendment Act — is raising serious concerns across the early childhood sector. According to Kindergartens Aotearoa, the new direction puts cost-cutting and business interests ahead of children’s wellbeing and learning.
The organisation says the Act shifts the purpose of early childhood education (ECE). Instead of recognising ECE as a crucial investment in children’s development, the legislation reframes it as a support mechanism for the labour market — a place for children to be while parents work. In doing so, it weakens minimum standards, reduces accountability for public funding, and erodes the quality of early childhood education that families currently expect.
Leaders warn this will inevitably undermine the confidence of parents, whānau, and communities in the services they rely on. They argue the Act disregards long-standing research about what high-quality teaching and learning actually requires, choosing instead to prioritise the lowest cost to business.
Kindergartens Aotearoa represents 260 community-based, not-for-profit ECE services across the country, serving more than 12,000 tamariki and whānau every day. They say the evidence is clear: high-quality early childhood education pays off across a child’s entire life.
Sherryll Wilson of Kidsfirst Kindergartens puts it bluntly:
“When we treat education as a cost to minimise — or just a way to free up adults for work — we shrink our children’s potential. This takes us backwards.”
She adds that children must remain the heart of early childhood education, and their needs should always drive decision-making.
