Preschools struggling to meet criteria

By STUART DYE and JULIET ROWAN

Almost a quarter of early childhood centres are ill-equipped for a strict new qualifications regime that requires the people in charge to have the minimum of a teaching diploma.

The stocktake of preschool leaders by the Government's education standards watchdog, the Education Review Office, comes less than six months before the new rules have to be in place.

From next January 1, leaders will need to have a three-year diploma of teaching as a minimum qualification, as the Government tries to raise the quality of preschooling.

The Government has targeted early childhood education as a critical component in the system after years of being treated as a poor cousin. This year's Budget allocated $365 million for the sector.

But an ERO report released yesterday says 23.5 per cent of early childhood centres investigated are struggling to meet the new requirements. Of those, 6 per cent faced "considerable barriers" to meeting the requirements.

Pacific Island services and those following the Montessori or Steiner philosophies were singled out as most at risk of failing the Government demands.

The report says most early childhood services have prepared well for the introduction of the new qualification requirements, which were flagged in 2000.

During the transitional period, people who were acting as "persons responsible" in January 2002 can continue with their existing qualifications until next January.

All new appointments to the position from 2002 needed to have a diploma of teaching or equivalent qualification.

The ERO assumed that at least two people at each centre would need to hold the qualifications to allow for time off.

Early Childhood Council president Ross Penman said the new requirements were unworkable and were putting centres under enormous stress.

The problem was worst in Auckland, where the council estimates that 33 per cent of centres will not meet the requirements by January 1.

Nationwide, 700 workers in the sector would no longer qualify as persons responsible, adding to the present shortage of 1200 staff.

Mr Penman said the requirements were pushing out competent and experienced teachers who could not afford to get a diploma qualification.

He knew others with 12 to 15 years in the job who had left because they did not think it was fair that the Government was requiring them to retrain.

"They've decided they're not valued by the current Minister of Education."

The sector was also suffering from the loss of staff who had decided to do university or polytechnic courses.

"Perversely, the policy is driving down quality," Mr Penman said.

But Education Minister Trevor Mallard said numbers training to meet the requirements had increased and all centres should be able to hire qualified staff by next year.

The Government was working closely with centres, particularly in Auckland, to ensure all had one qualified person by January 1.

"I expect the ministry will work on a centre-by-centre basis in the last part of the year to ensure they are appropriately staffed."

But Mr Penman said the Government could better solve the shortage by allowing staff members who met "persons responsible" criteria to stay in the sector.

It should also loosen criteria to allow qualified schoolteachers, from here and overseas.

The ERO report says some early childhood services intend to close rather than obtain the qualifications.

Pacific Island early childhood services are most at risk of failure to comply.

Who's affected

* The new rules apply to all teacher-led early childhood services.

* They do not apply to state kindergartens, playcentres and kohanga reo.