Kindy mums reject system change

Parents of children at North Shore kindergartens are protesting against proposed changes to a 100-year-old learning structure for the sake of cutting costs.

At the end of last month, the Auckland Kindergarten Association told Northcote kindergarten parents it was looking at moving from what it calls a "sessional" system to a "kindergarten day" system.

This would mean the kindergarten would no longer have separate morning sessions for the older children and afternoon sessions for the younger ones but would run one session from 9am until 3pm.

Parents could choose to send their children to some or all of the session.

By extending its opening hours, the kindergarten's required teacher-child ratio would reduce from one teacher per 15 children to one per 10.

This would also allow the kindergarten to claim more funding.

But mothers Laurie Rands and Meredith McIlroy say the new system penalises stay-at-home mums who have chosen the kindergarten structure because it works.

"We just think, what's not broken, don't try to fix," Mrs McIlroy said.

She said she liked the way kindergarten worked with families to socialise and educate children with others their age at morning of afternoon sessions.

Ms Rands and Ms McIlroy believe this system, which has been around for 100 years, is best for their children and say they will fight to keep it going.

"We are not bullies, we are not activists, we are just mums who want what we think works," Ms McIlroy said.

Auckland Kindergarten Association head Tanya Harvey said the changes were happening in areas with declining rolls and where families were saying they wanted longer hours or more flexibility.

Because of the 20 Hours free policy, more families were opting for private child care centres because they were unable to use up all the hours over several hours of sessions a week at kindergarten.

Mrs Harvey said that in response to declining rolls and increasing financial pressures kindergartens had devised the "kindergarten day model".

"We are trying to align with school hours and getting children used to going to school."

As families increasingly opt for daycare centres, the average age of children at kindergarten has been dropping and is now about 2 or 2, and this placed pressure on teachers to provide education to all of the children all of the time, Mrs Harvey said.

The association has already successfully introduced the new model at centres in Manukau and Franklin.

Parents who spoke to the Herald said the needs of parents in Northcote were different, and claimed there were waiting lists at their kindergarten.

Parents from other kindergartens on the North Shore are also concerned their centres will be "targeted".

Jacqueline Barker, whose daughter attends morning sessions at Birkenhead kindergarten, said the new changes suggested that the "traditional values of public kindergartens have been replaced by a need to make the kindergartens financially accountable money-making businesses".

Lucy Chilberto, whose daughter attends Chelsea kindergarten, which has not yet been targeted for the changes, said she would not support a "daycare" model and did not think it was beneficial to lump all ages together.