NATIONAL CONFERENCE - 25-27 JUNE 2004
Key Points
KidSmart Partnership
New Zealand Kindergartens and IBM announced a partnership for KidSmart, an innovative educational initiative to provide disadvantaged children aged three to six, with access to technology.
At the conference IBM announced a private-public partnership with New Zealand Kindergartens to install a further 80 KidSmart units in kindergartens and early childhood centres throughout the country by the end of 2004.
IBM had previously donated 10 KidSmart units to kindergartens in the Wellington region.
A KidSmart unit includes custom built PC-kiosks, award winning educational software and teacher training in how to use the technology.
President New Zealand Kindergartens Karen Boyes says kindergartens and early childhood centres to be selected for the programme need to provide education for children from low income families.
"Through this programme educational resources are provided to kindergartens where they will have the greatest impact," Mrs Boyes says.
"Our teachers at these kindergartens will now have access and support to introduce technology to the curriculum."
Teacher Qualification
New Zealand Kindergartens is well placed for the introduction of new requirements for teacher qualification.
Changes mean that by 2012 all early childhood teachers must be qualified. The more than 1700 qualified, registered early childhood teachers permanently employed in New Zealand Kindergartens are already at this level. Karen Boyes says "Kindergarten is strongly committed to ongoing professional development and this is demonstrated by a third of our teachers either already holding higher qualifications or planning to undertake training to obtain higher qualifications the near future.
Studies show that qualified staff are a key component in the delivery of high quality education, so Kindergarten children are already receiving maximum benefit through all our staff being qualified."
Discussion at the conference included ways the organisation's teachers could assist teachers in the rest of the early childhood sector through the teacher registration process.
Funding Changes
New Zealand Kindergartens sees the move to the new funding system in which each child between the ages of 3-5 will be entitled to 20 hours free education from community based providers such as kindergarten a week from 1 July 2007, as extremely positive for children.
At the conference delegates discussed what kindergartens currently do well and how this will fit the new environment..
"It will be necessary to carry out our own research to ensure Kindergarten continues to meet the needs of its communities" Mrs Boyes says
Several speakers at the conference acknowledged the high quality of early childhood education provided by kindergartens.
Mrs Boyes says this was reinforced with information from the soon to be released Competent Children's study showing widening learning gaps between 12 year olds who had attended high quality early childhood education centres and those who hadn't.
Supporting Families
The Children's Commissioner, Cindy Kiro gave a thought provoking address to the conference She told delegates families were the "best place for children to grow up". But New Zealanders worked some of the longest hours in the western world and children were missing out on beneficial development time with parents.
Dr Kiro supports Government moves to increase access to high quality childcare services for working parents and to provide more early childhood education, but questioned whether in fact this was a good thing for children.
"It is likely that some kindergartens will change their hours of operation to meet the needs of working parents whilst still maintaining the high quality that we are known for, but we are also conscious that parents who choose to remain at home with their children during the pre-school years should be acknowledged and valued for that decision, and Kindergarten can play a valuable role in supporting those parents and children" says Mrs Boyes
More than 200 people attended the conference in Nelson over the three days from Friday to Sunday.