18/08/2026
Early childhood education is about much more than providing care. It is where relationships are built, learning begins and foundations are laid that can influence a child for life.
That is why the current discussion about the future funding of early childhood education matters enormously to us.
As a kindergarten association, we had made a deliberate commitment to employing qualified, registered teachers. We do this because we believe the people teaching our youngest children should have the professional knowledge, skills and experience needed to provide exceptional early learning.
Our teachers are professionals. They plan for learning, understand child development, respond to individual needs, work alongside whānau and create environments where tamariki can develop confidence, curiosity, independence, and a strong sense of belonging.
Quality like this requires investment.
As changes to ECE funding are considered, we believe New Zealand needs to be very careful that affordability does not become the measure of a successful early childhood system. Decisions made now could influence the shape and quality of early learning for many years to come.
We also believe qualified ECE teachers should continue to be recognised and remunerated as professionals. Fair pay is important not only for the teachers working in our kindergartens today, but for our ability to attract and retain great teachers into the future.
Our position is simple:
Tamariki deserve excellence.
Teachers deserve to be valued.
And quality early childhood education deserves investment.
For generations, Dunedin Kindergartens has been part of our community, supporting tamariki and working alongside whanau to give children a strong foundation for learning and for life. We want that same opportunity to be there for generations that follow. We recognise that the ECE funding system needs to be sustainable and that change may be necessary. But sustainability and affordability should not come at the expense of educational quality.
As the government considers the future of ECE funding, we will continue to advocate for a system that supports qualified teachers, provides equitable access to high-quality early learning, and recognises the true long-term value of investing in our youngest citizens.
Because ultimately this isn't just a conversation about funding. It's a conversation about what we want early childhood education and our country to look like for our children, our whānau, and our communities into the future.
Dunedin Kindergartens will continue to speak up for a strong kindergarten network and an early childhood system that keeps quality, equity, learning, and wellbeing of tamariki at its heart.
Jane Lee
Chief Executive
