Families in Waitakere and Northland will be targeted as part of a $91.8 million funding boost to encourage more participation in early childhood education (ECE), Education Minister Anne Tolley today.
Families in Waitakere and Northland will be targeted as part of a $91.8 million funding boost to encourage more participation in early childhood education (ECE), Education Minister Anne Tolley today.
The funding, made available in this year's budget, would see an extra 3500 children gain access to ECE in areas of the highest need, Mrs Tolley said.
"This includes five intensive community-led projects, starting in Waitakere and Northland in October, with three other areas to be announced next year."
Mrs Tolley said taxpayer investment in the area had trebled in the last five years to $1.3 billion, but ECE participation had increased by less than 1 percent.
In some parts of Waitakere, 25 percent of Pasifika children and 20 percent of Maori children were missing out on ECE, while in some Northland areas a quarter of Maori children arrived at school without any previous education.
The average participation rate across the whole of New Zealand is 95 percent.
Mrs Tolley said the new programmes would build on the experience of the Counties-Manukau participation project, which placed hundreds of extra children into new ECE services.
"It involves building new services and funding supported playgroups, street-side playgroups and play days in local communities, to attract families into ECE."
Local people needed to drive the solutions and the Ministry of Education would begin work with community groups to establish the reasons for low participation and the best approach to reach the families whose children could benefit, she said.
