MESSAGE CEO's This is not how I expected 2023 to start. Already ECC has been back into “reactivemode”. First we were supporting centres affected by the floods in Auckland and Northland (where states of emergency were declared), and again, more recently, for centres in the eastern and central parts of New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle. It was like Auckland had been returned to a lockdown of sorts – with no real warning. Disasters have a habit of catching us like that - all unawares. Auckland/Northland Emergencies The Government’s approach to the emergencies in Auckland and Northland had real strengths. However, the way the information was communicated at the start was unhelpful. People received conflicting and confusing media reports on the first day. What the Government had actually done gave centres the ability to open, but good luck getting that message through as parents thought all schools and ECEs would be closed in Auckland until after Waitangi Weekend. Not so. ECC was quick to advise our members about the best approach – advising parents to read the communications from centres and decide for themselves. I say best approach – because the fact there was flexibility means that the approach suited the way ECE centres are actually run. They are autonomous and not Crown agents. They meet regulations to be licensed and otherwise make their own decisions. This is partly why we see such a diversity of centres and what they can offer. Flexibility enables innovation. ECC did radio interviews to try to help get the message out that parents should doublecheck if their centre was closed, or actually open. A significant number of centres were not impacted at all and more than 60% of the centres we surveyed opened on Tuesday despite the confusing reports of mass closures. The real strength with Government’s approach to the Auckland emergency situation was that it enabled centres that closed to be able to qualify for insurance policy cover for loss of parent fees, as closures had been ‘directed’. Parent fees have become a necessary part of many centres’ revenue. It is no longer enough to just guarantee government funding in a disaster. Salaries and wages still need to be paid. Of course a challenge is getting clear information out to centre managers as quickly as possible. If there is an unexpected announcement and that happens late in the day – then that inherently puts great pressure on each centre manager to determine what to do the next day. And how can they communicate effectively with parents under such urgency? There’s no good option really. If they open, many parents would still not attend (rightly they think, listening to the confusing reports). It’s just not enough notice for a centre to plan changes to operating hours. Other parents have commitments they can’t change anyway – they really need more notice otherwise that childcare is essential. Closing is going to be unpopular and potentially not all parents will get the message and may turn up anyway. Teachers end up in the middle of both. Having disruptions to their work commitments and potentially faced with their own challenges at home. It’s a nightmare and with the pressure on centre managers – arguably it is our teaching teams that are forgotten. That is not ok. I was really impressed by the employers that I spoke to who were across all of this and had the courage to make difficult decisions nearly every day during the crisis, and especially those that felt confident because they were putting their people first. Government funding rules disadvantaged some centres that opened, over those that closed. If a child had been regularly absent before the floods, the government rules would reduce how much the centre could claim. If the centre had closed, they could claim funding for all the children expected to have been present. ECC’s view is that funding rules in disasters should not disadvantage centres that open over centres that have to close. During the Auckland/ Northland emergencies there were periods where this funding rule was paused – but March 2023 { 8 }
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