Projects
  

Accessing Early Childhood Education and Care

Manukau is focussing on improving access to early childhood education (ECE), identified as a key priority for the city. The aim is to ensure that all children under five have the opportunity to attend high quality early childhood education and care.

Research highlights that good quality ECE benefits children, families and communities.

It is an essential investment that prepares children for starting school by helping to develop their learning, social and emotional skills; and helps them to become happier and more prosperous adults. These benefits are greatest when children attend ECE for 15-20 hours per week, for two years before starting school.

There is a diverse range of ECE provision available in Manukau, including education and care centres, home-based services, kindergartens, play centres, Kohanga Reo, licence-exempt playgroups and distance ECE through the Correspondence School.

Nevertheless, Ministry of Education information highlights that several areas of Manukau have lower ECE participation rates than other parts of Auckland and New Zealand. Within these areas it is Māori and Pacific children who participate less.

Tomorrow’s Manukau has picked up the challenge through this collaborative project, which sets out to improve access to, and participation in, quality ECE.

The project was launched with a COMET-organised Early Childhood Education summitheld at the TelstraClear Pacific Centre in April 2008. This resulted in a publication Manukau Today is New Zealand Tomorrow (PDF 1.65m), and the formation of a Taskforce comprised predominantly of those providing services.

A Project Implementation Team has been established, bringing together a number of organisations to plan and implement actions aimed at improving access in communities where participation is low.

A further three community forums have now been organised to update the community on progress and to provide further opportunities for discussion and feedback.

The announcement last year of additional pre-schools across Manukau, several of which are planned for Manurewa and Mangere is a major contribution to this project. This news followed some outstanding advocacy from MPs, the Mayor, councillors and others.

This project supports a number of education strategies and plans, including the government’s Pathways to the Future programme, which aims to give all under-fives free access to 15-20 hours of ECE by 2012.

The long-term goal is to improve educational, employment and other social outcomes by developing children’s learning and social skills ready for school, on to further learning and into the workforce.
There are two phases to this project:

Phase 1:
Scoping (Year 1) - gathering information and co-ordinating key players in order to develop a plan for increasing participation in ECE; and

Phase 2:
Implementation (Years 2 & 3) - implementing the plan to increase participation in ECE in Manukau.


This project contributes to outcomes one and four under Educated and Knowledgeable People:
  • Manukau is recognised for an effective education system that produces confident, innovative and skilled people
  • All Manukau people have access to life-long, quality education pathways that strengthen social, economic and cultural wellbeing.

It also supports the Thriving Economy outcome:
  • Manukau has a highly skilled and educated workforce which supports a thriving economy.