Govt eases up on ECE providers in policy update

Outcry from the early childhood education sector has pushed the government to back down on a new condition that was set to be imposed on centres. As part of the Budget policy, the government plans to extend the 20 hours free early childhood education policy to two-year-olds, but it will no longer require providers to accept enrolments for only 20 hours a week. That's because the sector said they'd be run into the ground without any income from tamariki enrolled for just 20 hours a week. Simon Laube, the chief executive of the Early Childhood Council, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.