Early Learning Bulletin

Need-to-know | Me mātua mōhio#

Budget 2026 provides a 1.5% cost adjustment #

Budget 2026 invests $164.8 million over four years to support a 1.5% increase to funding rates for most ECE services. This increase will apply to both ECE subsidy rates and equity funding streams.

The increase will take effect from 1 July and services will receive the higher rates as part of the July advance funding payment. Targeted Funding for Disadvantaged will increase in March 2027 as usual.

Kindergartens will receive a lower cost adjustment (0.48%) to reflect additional support for staffing costs they receive under the Kindergarten Teachers, Head Teachers and Senior Teachers’ Collective Agreement (KTCA).

Updated rates are published in the ECE Funding Handbook at:

Appendix 1

More information about Budget 2026 is available at:

Budget 2026

Preparing for the ECE Census 2026#

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Census week this year is 22 June to 28 June.
All early childhood services need to submit their completed ECE Census to us by 16 July.

The ECE Census collects information on children’s enrolment and attendance, staff, teaching languages and wait times at each early childhood service.This information contributes to a comprehensive information base on ECE in New Zealand; we use it to monitor and forecast ECE expenditure and design new policies.

Find more information about the ECE Census 2026 and a link to the ECE Census guidelines at:

Annual ECE Census return week – Education Counts

ECE Census Guidelines – Education Counts

Thank you to everyone who completed last year’s ECE Census. You can find the published information on Education Counts.

Statistics – Education Counts

Proposed transfer of functions to Education Review Office#

The transfer of core early childhood education (ECE) regulatory functions to the Education Review Office (ERO) has progressed through its addition to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill at its second reading in Parliament on 14 May.

Subject to legislation completing the third reading and the progress needed to transfer these functions, ERO would deliver ECE regulation by no later than 1 November.

Existing licensing, monitoring and compliance processes remain in place through our regional offices. We are working with ERO to provide information and support through the change and will be in touch as we move forward.

Heads-up | He kupu puaki#

New online learning for mentors and provisional teachers#

Te Poipoi Kaiako Mentor Support Programme has 12 new online learning modules supporting the practice of Mentors and Provisional Teachers.

For any questions or support, contact [email protected].

New visual guides: Continuity of learning from early childhood to school#

Four new visual guides are now live on Tāhūrangi. These visuals show how teaching in oral language, reading, writing and maths progresses from early childhood into the first six months of school. These visuals highlight the clear connections across Te Whāriki, Kōwhiti Whakapae and the updated New Zealand Curriculum.

The visuals were created in response to your feedback calling for simple, easy to use tools that help early learning kaiako see what teaching and learning looks like when children start school. They also support school teachers to better understand the rich learning foundations built in early childhood.

These tools are designed to support professional conversations and help discuss children’s learning journeys more confidently with parents and whānau. This is the first set of a wider suite of resources that will be released throughout this year. Future resources include two eLearn modules and a resource to support phonemic awareness within play-based curriculum design.

You can view and download the visuals on Tāhūrangi:

Continuity of teaching from early learning to school – Tāhūrangi