| Critical Need to Know and Action |
Consultation on items being considered for an education bill
The Minister of Education has asked us to consult with the education sector on six proposed changes to education legislation. For some items, the consultation will indicate if a law change is necessary, for others it will indicate which option is preferred by those who provide feedback to us. The consultation closes on Friday 13 April.
If it is decided that law change is necessary, some of these changes would need to be in place before the next school year so that early learning services, schools, parents and students are clear on the law on matters such as cohort entry and communities of online learning (COOL).
One of the proposed changes is potential improvements to safety and police vetting requirements. We want to hear your views on:
- What kind of checking or vetting should be required for non-children’s workers in early learning services, such as contractors and tradespeople, and
- Whether adults living in a home where home-based early learning takes place should be subject to broader checking than just a police vet.
More information about the consultation and how to make a submission can be found on education.govt.nz.
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Kōrero Mātauranga - Education Conversation
The Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins, has started a national Education Conversation to set the direction of travel and agree shared priorities across the whole system – from early learning, schooling and tertiary through to lifelong learning.
This will include two Education Summit events with representatives invited by the Minister from across the sector and community – in Christchurch (5-6 May) and Auckland (12-13 May).
The first opportunity for the early learning community to have input is through a simple online public survey – have your say at conversation.education.govt.nz. The government wants everyone with an interest in education to have their say, so please share this link with your parent and whanau community.
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Financial reporting due 30 June 2018
If your early learning service was open for a full financial year in 2017 and received over $80,000 (including GST) from the Ministry of Education, you need to submit your audited financial statements by 30 June 2018.
If your service operated for only part of the financial year and/or you received less than $80,000 (including GST) from the Ministry of Education, you need to complete and submit a Declaration Form by 30 June 2018.
You can read more on financial reporting requirements in the February issue of He Pānui Kōhungahunga – the Early Learning Bulletin.
All services submitting audited financial statements are required to follow new reporting standards for the financial year 2016/2017.
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| General Information Updates |
Publication of the 2016 ECE Complaints and Incidents Report
The Ministry of Education will soon publish information on early childhood education (ECE) complaints and incident notifications received in 2016, due for release this week.
This is the fourth annual summary of complaints information that gives parents and whānau assurance that complaints are followed up and proper action is taken.
The summary details the number, content and nature of complaints received by the Ministry, as well as the level of action taken in response to complaints.
This year’s release also includes information on the number of notifications made to the Ministry about incidents at early learning services for the first time.
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Results from the June 2016 and June 2017 annual census of early learning services now available
The results provide statistics on key aspects of the early learning sector and trends over the previous years. Topics include participation, number of services, staffing and language use in early learning.
For further information about the results and key statistics from the data, see our website.
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Reminder: Is your centre required to register under the Food Act 2014?
The Food Act 2014 and its regulations apply to early learning services and ngā kōhanga reo that provide food to children.
If you are providing food at your service or kōhanga reo, you may need to register under the Food Act by 31 March 2018. If you do not charge fees, you won’t have to register but just make sure the food is safe and suitable.
To find out if the Act applies to you and how to start your registration on education.govt.nz.
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Guidelines for outdoor activities involving soil
You might have seen some recent media coverage about soil toxicity in regions around the country. This is a timely reminder to ensure that your early learning service is following best practice guidelines for any outdoor activities involving soil.
Advice from public health officials is that negative effects on health from soil are very rare in urban and residential areas. Read more about what steps early learning services can take to ensure safe outdoor play on our website.
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What’s new on Te Whāriki online?
CORE Education are continuing to provide professional learning and development to kaiako to support the implementation of Te Whāriki. The curriculum champions have now established 69 networks of pedagogical leaders who are exploring a range of curriculum inquiry areas.
Find out more about the curriculum champions and what new content is now available on Te Whāriki online on education.govt.nz.
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Early Childhood Advisory Committee
The Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) last met on Wednesday 7 March.
ECAC meets 4 times a year with senior Ministry of Education staff to share information, provide feedback on proposals, and discuss strategic challenges and opportunities for the early learning sector.
Find out more about ECAC, including minutes from recent meetings, on our website.
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Judges and experts announced for the 2018 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins has announced the Panel of Education Experts and Judging Panel for the 2018 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards.
You can find out more about the panel on the Prime Minister’s Awards website.
Entries have now closed for this year’s awards and the finalists will be announced in May. Keep an eye on the website to find out if there are any finalists in your area.
If you have any questions, please email info@pmawards.education.govt.nz or call 0800 PM AWARDS (0800 762 927).
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Education Sector Logon upgrade update
During the upgrade the ESL will remain available apart from a short outage during the evening of Thursday 29 March. The expected schedule is:
- Friday 23 March, 5.30pm – the upgrade is scheduled to begin
- Tuesday 3 April (after Easter) – the upgrade will be complete.
Users will see an updated logon screen and self-service option. There will be no change to the username, password or security questions.
Provisioning requests will not be processed for 4 business days while we transition between systems from Monday 26 March to Good Friday 30 March.
The contact details for ELI provisioning and ESL queries are:
Email: ELI.transition@education.govt.nz
Phone: 0800 ECE ECE (0800 323 323)
For all notifications relating to the ESL, and to see an overview of the changes, please go to: www.services.education.govt.nz/education-sector-logon.
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Calling for Playgroup story ideas
Do you have a story that you would like to share with other playgroups? The Ministry welcomes contributions from the early learning sector for He Pānui Kōhungahunga – The Early Learning Bulletin. To find out more about how to submit an article, contact us at earlylearning.bulletin@education.govt.nz.
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| Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako |
Kāhui Ako news from around the country
Please see the Regional News section for stories about Kāhui Ako in the following regions:
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| Our Community: Stories and Successes |
Calling all story ideas
Do you have a story you want to share with other early childhood education services or schools? Get in touch with the team at the Education Gazette Tukutuku Kōrero. We aim to inspire teaching and learning, as well as celebrate success and innovation. Email your story ideas to: reporter@edgazette.govt.nz.
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Contribute to He Pānui Kōhungahunga - the Early Learning Bulletin
The Ministry welcomes contributions from the Early Learning sector for He Pānui Kōhungahunga – the Early Learning Bulletin. To find out more about how to submit content, contact us at earlylearning.bulletin@education.govt.nz.
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Issue no. 35 | 26 March 2018
