This annual report - Taranaki District Health Board

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONIntroductionParticipation in high quality early childhood education (ECE) has significant long termbenefits for children’s academic performance, as well as school readiness, reduced graderetention and reduced special education placement [47]. Competencies and skills thatenable children to keep learning have also been found to be associated with ECEparticipation. The benefits appear greatest for children from low income families, thosewho attend ECE regularly and those who have started ECE at a younger age (e.g. 2-3years). A number of longitudinal studies however, have suggested that the relationshipbetween ECE and subsequent outcomes may be complex and related to the age at whichthe child starts ECE, the number of hours in ECE each week, the quality of the ECEservice and the socioeconomic background from which the child comes [48].The Competent Children, Competent Learners Study, conducted in New Zealand, followeda cohort of children from preschool to age 14 years. It suggests that differences in the ECEenvironment continue to influence performance at age 14, although in general, ECEexperience made the greatest impact at the time a child started school. The contributionwas still evident, however, at 14 years, even after taking into account age-5-performanceand factors identified as being influential, such as family income and maternalqualifications. Differences between those with the highest or most of a particular aspect ofECE and those with lower or less was, on average, 9% [48].In New Zealand, early childhood education is provided by a variety of services. Theseinclude those that have been in existence for decades, such as Kindergartens and TeKōhanga Reo, and which require a degree of parent involvement, and more recentlydeveloped services that cater for the needs of working parents who will not be presentduring the care, such as home-based services and Education and Care Services. Aconsiderable increase in enrolments has been noted particularly for the latter services.The following section uses Ministry of Education data to review enrolments in earlychildhood education (ECE), as well as the proportion of new entrants who had participatedin ECE prior to school entry.Data Source and MethodsDefinitions1. Number of enrolments in licensed early childhood education services2. Average weekly hours attended by children at licensed early childhood education services3. Proportion of new entrants who had previously attended early childhood educationData SourceMinistry of Education http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/1. Number of enrolments in licensed early childhood education servicesNumerator: Total number of enrolments in licensed early childhood education servicesDenominator: Not applicable (see notes below)2. Average weekly hours attended by children at licensed early childhood education servicesThe average weekly hours of attendance of regular enrolments in ECE by service type3. Proportion of new entrants who had previously attended early childhood educationNumerator: The number of new entrants reporting participation in ECE prior to attending schoolDenominator: The number of new entrants enrolledInterpretation:Note 1: Enrolment numbers overestimate participation in ECE because of double or triple counting of thosechildren who attend more than one ECE service. This is particularly problematic for three and four year-olds,as they have fairly high rates of participation. To get a more accurate picture of the proportion of childrenparticipating in ECE, prior participation in ECE is a better indicator. Enrolment numbers however are a usefulindicator of patterns of enrolment across different service types. For a description of ECE service types seehttp://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/eceEarly Childhood Education - 109