A+ for childhood centre

Christopher and Robin Early Childhood Centre manager Sonya Costello hangs out with Lauren Marais. Photo / John Stone

Little extras like swimming lessons and projects on bees have earned a Whangarei early childhood centre a glowing Education Review Office report.

Raumanga's Christopher and Robin Early Childhood Centre is one of only seven centres of 209 in Northland on a four-year review cycle after the report released recently.

Four year reviews are given only to centres ERO has the utmost confidence in, with the usual being three years.

Manager Sonya Costello said everyone at the centre was thrilled by the report.

"It's the biggest achievement," Ms Costello said.

It was the extra things the centre did that put them over the top, she said.

That included taking the children to swimming lessons and three month-long projects based on the children's' interests including bees, doctors and camping.

The report found children were "highly engaged" in their learning.

Manager Vikki Tanner said the projects helped children think in bigger ways, while expanding their knowledge and curiosity.

When asked what could be done to improve the sector, Ms Costello said more attention should be payed to the development of under twos.

Similarly, when a child turned two the government only required a 1:10 ratio of student to teacher, up from 1:5.

Green MP Catherine Delahunty said she had concerns about the quality of early childhood education for the past two years.

"The Government must drop its targets and stop aggressively recruiting more children for ECE until the quality problems have been sorted out."

In 2012 the government set a target of 98 per cent of children starting school with an early childhood education by 2016.

While most regions in the country were closing in on that target, as of March Northland was trailing at 91.9 per cent.