Access to early childhood education (ECE) is often described as a universal right, yet for many families it remains conditional on income, transport, and time. Despite national participation targets, affordability continues to shape who attends, how often, and for how long. Education Counts (2023) data shows that enrolment gaps persist across high-deprivation areas, with Māori and Pacific families still facing significant barriers to consistent participation.
The ECE Funding Review (MAG 2025) is a chance to redefine equity so that affordability becomes the foundation of access, not its obstacle. When ECE is affordable, it strengthens communities, workforce participation, and lifelong wellbeing.
When affordability dictates attendance, equity becomes a slogan, not a standard.
1. The Cost of Care: Families on the Edge
ECE costs have risen faster than household incomes in many regions. Even with subsidies and the 20 Hours Free ECE scheme, gaps remain for infants, toddlers, and families needing full-day or flexible care. According to the Ministry of Education (2024), cost is now the most commonly cited reason for reduced attendance or withdrawal from services.
For families living week to week, even small increases in fees or petrol costs can mean choosing between childcare and groceries. Funding reform must stabilise fees and provide targeted support to keep children connected to consistent care.
Policy opportunity: Introduce a fee-stabilisation index tied to inflation and regional cost data (Ministry of Education, 2025).
2. The Funding Paradox: When Equity Costs More
Services serving high-deprivation or rural communities face higher operational costs yet receive less fee revenue. OECD (2021) notes that ECE systems with equity-based weighting achieve higher participation and continuity for vulnerable families. The Funding Review can embed these insights through:
- Targeted community-based funding for services in low-income areas.
- Transport and attendance allowances for whānau facing geographic isolation.
- Equity supplements linked to deprivation indices and family vulnerability data (Education Counts, 2023).
These are not optional extras; they are essential levers of fairness.
3. Beyond Enrolment: The Hidden Barriers of Stability
Access is more than enrolment; it is continuity. Frequent absences, temporary placements, and service hopping undermine children’s sense of belonging. OECD (2021) highlights that stability in attendance is directly associated with improved language and social development. Funding should therefore reward sustained engagement rather than short-term participation.
The Funding Review can pilot continuity incentives, grants or weighted payments for services that maintain consistent enrolment among priority whānau.
4. Poverty, Stress, and Learning
Poverty affects a child’s ability to learn, self-regulate, and connect. Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child (2016) links financial stress to chronic activation of the body’s stress response, affecting memory and behaviour. For kaiako, this means working with children and families who carry invisible loads every day.
Embedding wraparound supports into funding models, such as on-site social workers, health partnerships, and meal programmes, turns ECE into a protective environment. The Ministry of Education (2024) and Te Whatu Ora (2023) both advocate for integrated services that meet family needs holistically.
You cannot teach a hungry child or protect a family one bill away from crisis.
5. Measuring What Matters: Equity as a System Indicator
Traditional participation rates mask inequity. Counting enrolments alone does not reveal who is missing, who is attending irregularly, or who cannot afford to stay. The Ministry of Education (2025) suggests including affordability and stability metrics in the new funding model, a step towards measuring real equity.
Data collection should capture:
- Continuity of attendance by community group.
- Fee-to-income ratios.
- Access to transport and flexible scheduling.
When we measure what matters, we finally see who is left behind.
Closing Reflection
Affordability is not about discounts; it is about dignity. It determines whether children experience consistent care or fragmented learning. The ECE Funding Review can turn affordability into a guarantee of belonging by funding stability, access, and wraparound support where it is needed most.
Equity is not achieved when everyone pays the same; it is achieved when everyone can participate.
Reflection Prompts
- What affordability barriers most affect whānau in your community?
- How could funding better support stability over enrolment targets?
- What partnerships could strengthen wraparound support for families experiencing hardship?
Inline References
- Ministry of Education (2025). ECE Funding Review (MAG 2025). education.govt.nz.
- Ministry of Education (2024). Regulatory Review of Early Childhood Education. education.govt.nz.
- Education Counts (2023). ECE Participation Data and Programme Evaluation. educationcounts.govt.nz.
- OECD (2021). Starting Strong VI: Supporting Meaningful Access and Quality in ECEC. oecd.org.
- Harvard Center on the Developing Child (2016). From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts. developingchild.harvard.edu.
- Te Whatu Ora (2023). Early Years Health and Wellbeing Report. tewhatuora.govt.nz.