Posts Tagged ‘early childhood education’

Polity: Key in self-parody about lying (mk 2)

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, April 2nd, 2014 - 52 comments

There was an Audrey Young piece in the Herald yesterday, in which John Key talks about Labour’s plan to increase eligibility for free Early Childhood Education. So Key thinks this policy will cost at least ten times as much as Labour does. That’s a very big claim. But Andrey did not appear to ask for his sums, she just printed Key’s figures without comment. That was a pity because John Key’s figures are a bare-faced lie and are quite impossible.

ECE Taskforce report

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, June 2nd, 2011 - 16 comments

It’s great to have North Shore candidate Ben Clark writing for us here at The Standard.  This is a Guest Post from brother and Dunedin North candidate David Clark (a dynamic duo indeed!).  David writes about the just released government report on the early childhood education sector…

ECE costs increasing

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, April 21st, 2011 - 19 comments

The Nats’ attack on early childhood education (ECE) is starting to bite.  As surely as night follows day, the cuts in funding for childcare centres are showing up as increased costs for parents.

Children First

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 18th, 2011 - 67 comments

I was going to have my first post on the economy, but that will have to wait until the weekend as I’m all inspired after hearing Judy Bailey give a Brainwave Trust presentation this week.  The incredible importance of providing the best possible start to our children in those very early years was good to have reinforced…

National continues ECE assault

Written By: - Date published: 6:35 am, March 10th, 2011 - 49 comments

National are to allow battery farming style early childhood education.  From July the government will allow 75 stressed under-2 year-olds in one room, unable to form a relationship with any one teacher.

Stop ECE cuts community meeting – AKL – Thurs 4th Nov

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, November 3rd, 2010 - 4 comments

In both the 2009 and 2010 Budgets this Government has slashed funding for early childhood education, taking over $600M out of the sector.  The cuts are deep, and they are real, and the biggest ones so far took effect on Monday November 1st. This Thursday, the MPs will front up at the Kohia Teachers Centre in Epsom. Get along.

20 hours free to go?

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 33 comments

The last Labour government introduced 20 hours free early childhood education.  It’s a resource that many parents have since come to rely on, taking some pressure off household budgets as every other cost seems to keep on going up and up.  But now we have the latest in a series of indications that the Nats are going to cut the programme…

Tilly Solley

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, October 8th, 2010 - 3 comments

Hot on the heels of massive cuts to Early Childhood Education Tolley has formed a taskforce to ‘take a look at the provision of ECE services‘. That’s hot on the heels of a similar taskforce to have a gander at why the National Standards won’t work. Has the goose ever thought that maybe, just maybe, you should think before you act?

ECE cuts hurt kids & parents

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, October 3rd, 2010 - 25 comments

Early childhood education is great stuff. Those first few years shape a child’s future more than any other. Getting into learning and into socialising early on leads to huge rewards later in life. Parents can go back to work if they want or need too. For every dollar spent on ECE, society gets 13 back in benefits.

Govt ignored advice to save lives with lower drink-drive limit

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, September 21st, 2010 - 29 comments

The government was told that lowering the drink-drive limit would save 33 lives and $238 million a year. They ignored it. Why? I reckon the only money they were worried about was donations from the booze barons. These idiots don’t bother with basic cost vs benefit analyses. It’s all about pay-offs for their mates. And donation kickbacks.

Mummy! The bad man cut my pre-school’s funding!

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, July 3rd, 2010 - 9 comments

John Key had a busy day playing rodeo-clown yesterday. Before having the Air Force fly him to Ohakune for the opening of 16 whole kilometres of cycleway Key had photo-op with children. It’s is a John Key favourite. The perfect distraction from lying in the House, the weak economy, and Anne Tolley. But the clown show doesn’t always go off without a hitch 🙂

The Unkind Cuts

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, June 30th, 2010 - 9 comments

John Key can flippantly deflect media scrutiny of his Government’s unkind cuts to early childhood education by referring to the snip he himself has voluntarily undertaken, but many early childhood services are having to make hard decisions about how to deal with it all. “Saving” $419m with education cuts means writing off potential gains of $5.5 BILLION.

The Anti-Education Government

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, May 25th, 2010 - 38 comments

Last year ACE, this year ECE. What has this government got against education? Once again it’s the big loser in a National budget. It’s enough to make you believe a conspiracy theory that they want to keep us ignorant so we’ll be more likely to vote them in… The massive cut in Early Childhood Education […]

On priorities

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 21st, 2010 - 45 comments

I think the saddest part of this budget is that the government will spend $70 million building more prisons while cutting $120 million from early childhood education. It kind of sums up this Key Government’s priorities don’t you think? They’re cutting taxes for the rich while they cut health and education spending. It’s our future they are cutting, so the rich can be richer in the short-term.

Nats paving the way for ECE cuts

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, April 28th, 2010 - 19 comments

The Nats are getting ready to cut 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education, after having promised during the election campaign not only to keep it but extend it. The Nats don’t have to lie. If they want to break their promises they should just say ‘we just wanted to get elected, so we said what you wanted to hear. We’re going to break our promises and cut ECE’.

Another blow to families

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, April 28th, 2010 - 42 comments

Not content with raising the cost of living through a GST increase, the Nats are clearly planning another blow to young families. In a move that breaks yet another election promise, Bill English is preparing the ground for the axing of 20 hours free early childhood education.

Foss puts foot in it

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, August 22nd, 2008 - 58 comments

Craig Foss annoyed some students in Napier when he described early childhood teachers as “glorified babysitters”, according to a recent story in the Hawke’s Bay Today (sent in by a bemused reader). He admitted that he used the term “babysitting” yet also tried to argue he was taken out of context. Perhaps he realised his […]