'20 free hours' won't 'help the most disadvantaged'

New Zealand's most disadvantaged children will continue to miss out on early childhood education if Labour's '20 free hours a week' policy is not modified, says research released in January.

A New Zealand Institute of Economic Research report says the 20 free hours policy will waste millions of dollars on those already in preschool, while continuing to fail the most disadvantaged who are not currently participating.

The report assesses Labour's election promise of free early childhood education for all three and four year olds at teacher-led centres.

It says disadvantaged children are most likely to benefit from early childhood education, but are most likely also to miss out under Labour's plan.

The report recommends using the existing Work and Income childcare subsidy to fund 20 free hours for the most disadvantaged, and 'actively seeking out and recruiting' children not yet participating in early childhood education.

The report was commissioned by the Early Childhood Council (ECC).

ECC chief executive Sue Thorne said the policy, if unmodified, would give more than $100 million a year to children who, for the most part, already received early childhood education, and very little to those in most need.

"If we focus even a part of this money on ensuring disadvantaged children have access to preschool education we will change the lives of thousands."

Mrs Thorne said low-income children benefited much more from early childhood education than the better off.

Children from low-income families who received quality early childhood education were more likely to go on to tertiary education and get high-skilled jobs, she said.

They were also less likely to drop out of high school, be in special education, be arrested as a juvenile and be repeat offenders as adults.

The Government's proposed policy gives 20 hours per week free early childhood education to three and four year olds at teacher-led centres. It is scheduled for introduction in 2007.

The ECC report, "Early childhood participation: Is '20 free hours' the answer?" is at this web page.

The Early Childhood Council released an earlier NZIER report on the '20 free hours' policy in July last year. Information on that report is at this web page.

A Subtext story on the Labour party policy is at this web page.

Education Forum member appointed to govt advisory group on '20 free hours' policy

The government last month appointed an advisory group to help ensure that its policy for 20 hours free ECE was as "practical and workable as possible."

Education Forum member and ECC chief executive Sue Thorne is one of the eight members of the group.

Mrs Thorne said her aim would be to ensure that the implementation of the policy would be as straightforward as possible and that it would be simple for centres to administer.

The group's first meeting is in February, and it will continue to meet until October next year.