Cap on fees is 'a cap on quality'

Quality will be restricted by a daily cap on the weekly 20 free hours of early childhood education (ECE), which is set to come in next year, a sector leader argues.

Education Minister Steve Maharey last month announced the weekly 20 free hours would have a cap of six hours a day.

Sue Thorne, chief executive of the Early Childhood Council (ECC), said there was no clear rationale for limiting the hours per day that a child could access free ECE.

"The potential negative impact on quality of what is essentially a fee cap at a national average rate is of considerable concern. A cap on fees will mean a cap on quality."

Mr Maharey has said that services could not charge fees for the 20 free hours, but they could ask parents for donations for extra costs.

In a speech to the ECC's annual conference in Rotorua last month, Mrs Thorne said the daily cap and ban on seeking top-up fees from parents for the 20 free hours raised questions about how well the policy would meet its objective of increasing participation in ECE.

Many working parents would be penalised by the 'surprise' six-hour daily cap on the 20-hour scheme, the Dominion Post reported.

The Budget, announced on 18 May, contained $128.2 million over the next four years for the 20 free hours policy.

Meanwhile, a leading OECD researcher visiting New Zealand recently said New Zealand should move from passive to more active childcare support.

Willem Adema, who recently headed up the review of work and family policies in 13 OECD countries, said active support meant policies that saw results for the job market, such as childcare subsidies.

Mrs Thorne's speech to the ECC conference can be dowloaded as a PDF file by clicking here.

Mr Maharey's speech to the ECC conference is at this web page.

The Dominion Post story is at this web page.

A presentation Dr Adema gave at an Education Forum event in Wellington this month can be downloaded in PowerPoint format by clicking here.