Almost half of New Zealand preschools are charging parents for what is supposed to be a free government-funded service, according to a Herald on Sunday investigation.

A Herald on Sunday investigation has found nearly half of all early childhood providers surveyed supplement their 20 hours Early Childhood Education with extra "optional charges".

Two views on the Government's decision to require social welfare beneficiaries with little children to arrange for them to attend preschool education centres from July next year.

Editorial: Early education has not been a priority for this Government. But having made it compulsory for beneficiaries National will find it hard to argue against wider compulsion.

Early childhood experts are in shock after a government decision to make education compulsory from the age of 3 for children of welfare beneficiaries.

Preschool pupils are teaching their teachers a thing or two with their grasp of new technology.

Someone who has done nothing but alienate large groups of teachers is a deadbeat choice for the job of Education Minister, says Dita De Boni.

Taskforce to advocate better performance reporting so carers can compare centres.

Childcare managers made false claims about where they worked that helped the country's largest daycare company boost its taxpayer funding to $60 million, documents show.