only briefly. The same pause has not been applied to Cyclone Gabrielle, yet. Cyclone Gabrielle The approach to Cyclone Gabrielle has been different. On the face of it, the key difference from the Government’s perspective was strong advice from Civil Defence in Auckland that meant it was a priority to get traffic off Auckland’s roads. It was a difficult message for ECE sector leaders to hear and understand – the entire education network closed down just because of roads. Especially hard for those located in Auckland communities without major roading challenges being evident. Not giving centres a direction to close with Cyclone Gabrielle has been a different kind of surprise. It has significantly disadvantaged centres affected by Cyclone Gabrielle compared to the Auckland/ Northland experience. ECC’s view is a direction to close, as a starting point, is the better option. Then centres where it is safe and possible to re-open can do so. However, without the direction to close the centres do not have the same insurance cover when closed. Government funding is provided but insurance for loss of income from fees from parents is generally not covered (excess applies). Update: as we went to print there was an update from ECC’s preferred supplier for insurance – Crombie Lockwood, removing the excess for eligible centres. Welcome news indeed. Predictions on the year ahead Before the twin disasters, we already knew that 2023 was going to be a challenging year, with the doom and gloom from COVID’s legacy expected to come home to roost with a (small) recession at the start of this year. For ECE, the Pay Parity policy would add pressure to this for centres. This is because when many centres opt-in to pay their qualified teachers the new higher minimum salary rates, they do not receive enough government funding to make it work. As a result, ECC expects more centres to need to close. Reducing teacher ratios and removing other benefits for teachers that the government don’t require is such a harmful thing to have triggered. This is why dealing with the problems from the Pay Parity policy is a top priority for ECC. Parents are paying the shortfall in some communities but not all communities can afford to do this – and is it right that we expect new parents to pay this? We have got to fix this. Keeping your message clear is so important, as is feeling like you can make a difference. Because you can. It’s all a question of time and priorities. Eventually time will run out even on unfair policies like the way pay parity is currently delivered for centres. So 2023 for centres is about “just holding on” for this to get fixed and in the meantime adapting their operations so they can survive. ECC does not want to lose more centres. Loss of centres reduces the diversity and therefore quality of choice for children and their families/whānau; fees increase and waiting lists get longer. Join ECC if you perceive this crisis - because with your support we become stronger. Eventually politicians will realise that ECE is a critical service (and that centres are actually endangered – for some though it is already too late). We need the role of ECE in our country’s economic recovery to be recognised and for children’s educational needs to get put first. Ngā mihi Simon March 2023 { 9 }
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=