Welcome, karakia and introduction#

• Andy Jackson chaired the meeting.
• Andrea Williams welcomed the group, and Andrea Coulston opened the meeting with a karakia.
• Apologies and member movements were noted.
• September minutes were confirmed.

Regulatory review work programme update#

Paul Scholey

• Paul updated on implementing recommendations from the regulatory review of early childhood education (relating to licensing criteria). Taking the members through the recommendations and the Ministry focus moving forward. Highlighting the key themes and timeframes, with the key that that work is currently progressing and will continue into the new year.
• He noted that there have been 335 responses to the recommendations. Public consultation feedback was around clarity, accessibility of information and keeping children’s health, safety and wellbeing at front and centre of policy decisions.
• Members discussed who else in the sector has been part of these discussions, officials explained who they have engaged with and explained the various work streams and who and where they sit.
• Paul spoke to the timeframes for the regulatory review work, explaining the timeline for the next months.
• Members discussed the difficulty for ministerial advisory group (MAG) to do their role fully without the relevant discussions (and policy decisions) around qualifications. Paul noted that there are other considerations suggested by Ministry for Regulations that the MAG can work through while the detailed policy work is underway. 

Ministerial advisory group funding review update#

Linda Meade

• Linda updated on where the ministerial advisory group (MAG) is on the funding review and the timeline of their advice, noting what the gaps are in their feedback and what the general responses were.

Funding review update:

• Programme of engagement mostly complete. Now focusing on planning and thinking for phase 3 which will include finishing the engagement and discovery phase and developing options in response to feedback. Design has been finalised, now at the stage of collating the data and producing the findings.
• Over 50 engagements have occurred, met with around 700 people, approximately 70% of engagement has been in-person and the MAG have received around 80 written submissions varying in length.
• She noted that current key topics of their engagement have included: 5-year-old issues, transport (van services), the teaching workforce, home-based education, and Family Boost-related issues.
• Linda highlighted the funding review as a unique opportunity to find out more about the ECE funding system and how to improve it.
• Members discussed the consultation document that the MAG will prepare. Linda noted that they are working alongside the Ministry’s communication team to provide their advice and options in a way that is accessible to families and the sector. The MAG hopes to provide a document which is easy to read, to understand and to respond to. 

Associate Minister of Education#

Hon. David Seymour

• Minister Seymour spoke about the funding review, the regulatory review and briefly signposted the curriculum as a topic for later in the day.

Regulatory review update:

• By June 2026 the Government will have completely revised the funding system and changing the way regulation is done.
• The goal/aim of the review is to bring consistency, with the regulator role shifting to ERO from mid-2026.
• The Minister acknowledged the financial pressures and the reprioritisation efforts which has affected the groups ECAC represents.
• Members discussed the changes occurring through the regulation review. The Minister provided clarity on timing and dates (with the intended go-live date of the first of July), noting that the practical breakdown of how changes will reach the regions is underway.
• The Minister assured that there will be communication and change management plans disseminated among ECAC colleagues. The Minister is happy with how progress is tracking and hopes to share more information in the new year. 

Hot topics, review of the funding review timeline#

Paul Scholey, Linda Meade, John Brooker, Andy Jackson

• Paul and Linda went through the funding review timelines again with members and answered questions relating to the details of the review.
• Members discussed the initial teacher education (ITE) qualification for ECE teachers and related changes and sector impact. Andy talked through current thinking and assured members that the Ministry is working through various options and nothing is decided at this stage.  
• Members also discussed how the voices from ECE providers will be included in the ITE conversation and what consultation will be sought. Ministry officials spoke of plans and noted feedback under advisement.

Curriculum update#

Hayley Welch 

• Hayley recapped her previous session with the ECAC members and updated on current curriculum work, highlighting work on the New Zealand curriculum (Te Mātaiaho) for Years 0 to 10, and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (te reo Māori curriculum), and the Ministry’s plans to update the curriculum for senior secondary learners.
• She also updated on Te Whāriki and Kōwhiti Whakapae, which is relevant to the early learning space.

Kōwhiti Whakapae update: 

• Heard from the sector that the online nature of this resource can be difficult to use, is needed in physical form to be able to accessible.
• From this week, the hard copy resource will be delivered out to all 3,000 centres (with the goal of having all copies delivered before Christmas).
• Online resources and assessments available to go alongside the hard copies. 

Te Whāriki update: 

• Supporting and investing in oral language is a strong focus this year.
• Through a budget bid there has been high investment in this and there is more upcoming in this space.
• This will be supported through resources and PLD for kaiako. 

Other updates of note included: 

• 525 services will receive ENRICH. There will be a scaling up on PLD and delivery Te Ueupu Māori working across puna reo and kōhanga reo to make sure there are resources that are fit for purpose in the context of Māori learners.
• Phonemic awareness resources will come out next year – providing the building blocks for learners to help set them up well for schooling.
• Hayley talked the members through the phonics checks data, noting the check points and benchmarks for learners at the various levels. She also provided an infographic on Pacific and bilingual immersion settings, and spoke about the timeline of the curriculum roll out, signalling more support and resources coming in 2026.
• Hayley thanked members for their feedback to various curriculum items, noting that in one instance they had four times the amount of feedback they were expecting.
• Members discussed the need for curriculum work to support non-verbal learners. Hayley updated that braille checks for phonics are currently ready, work is under development for Ko Taku Reo, and work will continue for other learners who need extra curriculum support.

Starting Strong survey#

Rachel Borthwick

• Rachel explained the results of the Starting Strong survey, explaining how the data was collected, recorded and displayed. She also noted who and who was missing from the data and highlighted specific results which may have caused variations in the New Zealand data, in comparison with international counterparts.
• Rachel noted some key gaps – for example no participants from kōhanga reo. 

Learning support update#

Rachael Vink

• Rachael gave an update on the learning support programme which helped deliver on the significant investment through Budget 2025.
• She updated on the Early Intervention Service, the learning support coordinator roles and the digitisation project.

Learning support coordinator update:

• Schools receiving support in the years 2026, 2027 or 2028 have been announced.
• Recruitment is underway for schools who will be gaining their own FTTE.
• A survey of relevant schools found that there is a high confidence level that staffing will be confirmed from the start of the year. 

Early Intervention Service update: 

• EIS went live (both internally and externally) in October.
• Confirmed continuation of EIS until the end of Year 1.
• 127 of 173 roles have currently been filled – PLD and induction is currently underway.

Digitisation Project update: 

• By April, the request for support process will be digital.
• Aims to reduce duplication and provide a smoother service for all those involved.
• Rachael noted that ECE providers should expect to see faster better services, continuity of support, shared resourcing and data to save family’s time.

Members discussed further conversations around high needs, in particular what is defined as high need from the sector verses what the Ministry classes as high need. 

Minister of Education#

Erica Stanford

• Minister Stanford spoke about her pride of Budget 2025 and the positive impact services have had on early education – namely reducing the wait times to intervention services and the ENRICH programme.
• Members noted the need for better pathway solutions for tamariki in puna reo and kōhanga reo. The Minister noted that the Ministry is working on networking solutions in this area.
• Members discussed a range of questions around moving the functions of initial teacher education (ITE), and what that means for the ECE sector and ECE teachers. 

Members discussed questions around curriculum changes, Minister noted that they are not looking to make any changes at this stage.

Reflections and wrap-up#

Andy Jackson

• Andy thanked members for their engagement and participation throughout the day.

Suggestions for future agenda: 

• hosting in the regions
• more of an advisory focus.

Amanda Coulston closed with a karakia.

Actions#

Actioned #

1. We can confirm that the Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1995 have been revoked with effect from 8 January 2026.

   Health (Immunisation) Regulations Revocation Order 2025 – New Zealand Legislation

2. For a small number of students, it may not be appropriate for them to undertake a phonics check at the 20-week and 40-week timepoints. 

   This information will be recorded in the phonics check, and more appropriate forms of assessing their literacy and communication learning progress should be used as agreed in their support plan (for example, an individual education plan (IEP), collaborative action plan (CAP).

   We are looking to develop an Augmentative and Alternative Communication Check in 2026 to support non-verbal students to demonstrate their phonics knowledge and skills.

Attendees#