KEY POINTS:
Growing waiting lists at Auckland preschools means Government support for early childhood is bringing frustration rather than relief for parents.
Ministry of Education figures released yesterday revealed around a third of centres in the Auckland area could not meet the boom predicted under the Government's free early childhood education plan.
Wellington early childhood education centres were also feeling the strain.
Smaller regions, such as Canterbury and Otago, were better equipped to cope with the demand, with a greater proportion of preschools reporting they could "more than meet" the expected increase.
The ministry estimated a 9 per cent rise in early childhood education hours under the Government scheme.
It began this week and provides for 20 hours of free early childhood education to 3- and 4-year-olds.
Auckland had the lowest uptake in the country at launch, with only 50 per cent of centres opting in compared with the 62 per cent national average.
Avondale Community Preschool head teacher Drina Gray said parents wanting a place for their child in the preschool now faced a wait of six months, when previously they could get one almost straight away.
The centre had a roll of 70, and has a waiting list of 54. It offered the free hours plan, with a $1 an hour optional charge.
Mother Kirsty Bamford said four kindergartens within driving distance of her Mt Eden home would not take children until they were 4 because of demand. Her 3-year-old, Jack, was at a private centre instead.
On the North Shore, Gina Couper said only one of four centres she inquired at late last year had a place for her 2-year-old, Saskia.
Auckland parents writing to the Herald website described the difficulty of finding a centre that had both opted in and had spaces.
"None of the teacher-led centres in my area were participating in the scheme," wrote one. "The best I could do was Pt Chevalier kindy with a waiting list starting 3 years and 7 months. Other kindies had longer waiting lists."
A ministry spokesman said it was trying to encourage more centres to open in Auckland but the "semi-private" nature of the market complicated the issue.
The number of centres increased by 5 per cent to 3665 nationally in the four years to 2006.
In the region from Auckland to the Far North, 18 new early childhood education services were licensed in the past six months. A further two services in buildings funded by the ministry were expected to be licensed in the next year in the region, as were 24 more assisted by ministry capital grants.
New Zealand Education Institute president Irene Cooper said the strain on services meant free hours were inaccessible for some families.
She said the shortfall was worst in Auckland and called for more community based centres to be established.
Ms Cooper wanted "flexible thinking" in setting up centres, such as the involvement of local authorities or alternative accommodation.
