Media release: 22 May 2026

Early childhood education pays off - now and in the future

“We are expecting to see an increase in funding to early childhood education (ECE) services in the budget next week” said Amanda Couslton, Kindergartens Aotearoa (KA) spokesperson. “ECE is a public good and realising the economic value of high-quality ECE is one of the smartest investments in our nation’s future the government can make.”

“Affordable, high-quality, inclusive ECE that is accessible across our diverse communities supports our tamariki and whānau to thrive.”

Increased public funding to ECE services not only realises the educational and social benefits for children but also helps ease the financial pressure on households. “Now more than ever, finding ways to reduce the costs for parents and caregivers of participating in ECE alongside ensuring services provide high-quality ECE is critical” said Amanda Coulston. “There can be no trade-off here, to do so would be false economy.”

The OECD recognises ECE as a cost-effective way of closing achievement gaps before they widen and become entrenched. “The benefits are well-known and relate directly to the outcomes this government is looking to achieve across the education system.”

The Ministry of Education cites multiple studies evidencing the benefits of participation in ECE including:

• better social and emotional skills before starting school and children performing better in maths, reading, communication and logical problem solving during their primary and adolescent years;

• for children with low socio-economic backgrounds better social interactions, emotional maturity, and better learning abilities;

• better education and vocational gains and a reduction in social inequalities in academic performance in adulthood.

“We know qualified teachers, good teacher; child ratios and appropriate group sizes are all factors in the provision
of high-quality ECE” Amanda Coulston said. 

“ECE services must be held accountable for the receipt and use of public funding, and we should expect increases to funding to directly support the provision of high-quality ECE and accessibility to services for whānau in their communities.”