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Welcome to the Office of Early Childhood Education
National and public adviser on ECE, the OECE is a sector body representing teachers and all types of licensed services driving safer, higher‑quality education for every child
View our positions
- Provides membership support to ECE services, teachers, researchers, and community partners
- Actively contributes to sector analysis, research, and policy development
- Advances evidence-based best practices that prioritise children’s interests and wellbeing
View the Code of Conduct for ECE Services
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Teacher Member Posts
Bullying Experienced by Teachers – Personal Stories
Bullying Experienced by Teachers.
In the following accounts, teachers real names have not been used for fear of reprisals.
The stories below were told individually to us and come from people working in different parts of the early childhood sector, for different employers.
The teacher accounts are hard to read. For some teachers the bullying was so bad it broke them.
Farm Visit
Farm Visit with Children.
While the animals may not be as exotic as the ones you find in a zoo, going to a farm can still be a great day out.
It can be especially good for smaller children as they can usually get closer to the animals.
Try these ideas to increase the learning potential of your visit.
Talk about the animals you might
Eczema
Eczema is quite common among young children. Some children grow out of it but this knowledge doesn’t help children, parents and teachers who are daily coping with it. There are times when it will flare up, and when infection happens, and there may be no apparent reason for this. Learn to manage rather than letting it manage you.
A child wi
Active Supervision: Four Skills Every Adult Teaching in ECE Should Know
Active supervision is the single most effective way to prevent harm – this article explains what active supervision is and the four essential skills adults should demonstrate when working in early childhood settings.
Service Provider Member Posts
Building the Real Quality of Your ECE Service
Beyond Regulatory Standards and Expectations to Building Quality.
There seems to be so much to do in trying to provide a quality service, does there not?
Is all your work worth it or could a change in focus and method achieve better results?
To help you to think critically on this consider the following:
Who defines what quality is? A
The Difference Between a Salary and a Wage – and Work Hour Maximums
Salary and Wage Differences.
An employment contract must state the type of pay an employee will be paid.
Wage refers to the amount of money that is paid to an employee, by the hour, and it may vary from one pay period to the next depending on the number of hours the worker is employed.
Salary refers to a fixed amount of pay regardl
Head Injury Suffered by Toddler on Concrete Ground in Mid-Winter
For an outline of key facts read our article: Nelson’s fall: Parents still don’t know how their toddler hit his head on concrete and had a brain injury at childcare
We’ve reviewed the centre manager’s report of the incident, Ministry of Education communications, Worksafe report, and lawyer correspondence. The learning we’ve taken is:
Don’t take children outside until the outdoor playground safety check is completed and ticked/signed.
Using the Internet to Benefit Your Service
Ways to use the Internet for parent and staff communication, and promoting your service.
With billions of pages and more being added every day, the internet can be a great source of inspiration and ideas for activities to do with children or for improving your service.
The internet can also be a great way to communicate with staff and within
Research Library – Today’s Featured Articles
The Descriptive Quality of Kindergarten, Kōhanga Reo, Childcare, and Playcentre
Most research on early childhood programmes focuses on developmental measures, but this study takes a values‑based approach instead. By examining the unique ‘heartbeats’ of eleven diverse services, it explores what truly makes programme quality distinctive.
Creating an Early Childhood Curriculum Pathway for Sustaining Indigenous Knowledges
Practices of equality and diversity in terms of early childhood education curriculum are examined. ECE is a transmitter of Western knowledges to Indigenous Fijian people and the research participants perceived young children to be the most affected by these knowledges. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Early childhood teacher engagement with place-based education
The study followed ECE teachers who were learning to use an outdoor centre – a nature-based education space. The experience, who their beliefs, values and understandings of the pedagogical approaches that underpin learning in nature and the importance of place-based learning for tamariki and kaiako alike were affirmed. Login to view the full article. Or you can order a pdf copy of the article, go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Supporting Teaching Practices to Foster Toddlers’ Emotional Literacy
Research on helping teachers to develop teaching practices to foster toddlers’ emotional learning. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
What We Do
Resources
