Kids ‘at risk’ at preschool

Parents are sold the idea their children are safe and happy in early childhood education centres – but that’s not always the case, some teachers say.

The Ministry of Education downgraded more than 300 services from full to provisional licences in 2017 and 2018 after identifying problems, data released under the Official Information Act shows.

But those in the sector say this is the tip of the iceberg, and issues often exist long before the ministry gets involved.

Early childhood centres provide education and care for children under 6 years of age. Early childhood teacher Helen Van Der Merwe worked in three Auckland centres over four years.

It was the same story in all of them, she said: ‘‘No regard for children, teachers, or the families. All it is, is about bums on seats.’’ Centres might look fine on paper but in reality there’s ‘‘not enough hands’’, she said. There would be a room with 25 babies, which should have five teachers, she said. But one would be called to another room, another would be putting two infants down for a nap and another would be changing a nappy.

‘‘Suddenly, you’ve got two teachers trying to care for 22 babies.’’ This was common, she said, and it was not safe – physically nor emotionally – for children.

Accidents were common and babies would be left to cry for prolonged periods.

Overworked teachers passed their stress on to children, Van Der Merwe said, and there was no time for infants to form attachments or build emotional trust, especially with high staff turnover.

Dr Sarah Alexander, from ChildForum, said problems like these could go undetected for ‘‘years’’. She called for the ministry to carry out annual checks ‘‘instead of leaving children’s safety to chance’’. Currently, centres are reviewed every three years.

Kelly Adams (name changed to protect identity) worked in a centre where the licence was downgraded to provisional and it was subject to a Ministry of Education investigation. You could see the problems in the centre in the children’s behaviour, she said. Children would be clingy and cry a lot, or hit out and bite, and often had development delays.

When a licence is downgraded, the centre is required to display the licence. Adams said this wasn’t done adequately in her centre – and even if it had been, most families used the bus service and rarely came inside. ‘‘All they know is, their kids get picked up in the morning, go to childcare, their children come home, they’re none the wiser.’’

But Early Childhood Council chief executive Peter Reynolds expressed confidence in the current regulations and complaints process.

Parents ‘‘vote with their feet’’, he said, and wouldn’t stay at a centre that put their child’s safety at risk.

The Early Learning 10-Year Strategic Plan is currently open for public consultation.