Participation has long been the headline indicator of early childhood education (ECE) success. Yet, as the Ministry of Education (2025) notes, participation alone cannot measure quality or protection. A child can be present and still be unsafe; a service can meet participation targets while struggling to meet protective obligations.
The ECE Funding Review (MAG 2025) is an opportunity to rebalance how success is defined. Attendance numbers must be matched with indicators of wellbeing, stability, and safety. Only then can participation reflect true inclusion.
If it does not make children safer, it must be redesigned or removed.
1. Participation Does Not Equal Quality
OECD (2021) research from Starting Strong VI highlights that “process quality” (the day-to-day interactions and emotional climate of learning) drives developmental outcomes more than enrolment figures. In other words, what happens inside the service matters more than how many children attend.
Funding models should therefore invest in protective factors such as supervision, observation time, and safe ratios. When funding follows protective practice rather than attendance alone, participation becomes meaningful.
2. Equity Hidden in the Data
National participation gains can disguise deep inequities. Education Counts (2023) data shows that Māori and Pacific children have lower rates of sustained attendance due to cost, transport, and cultural accessibility. Without continuity, participation loses its protective value.
The Funding Review can correct this by pairing participation data with stability metrics such as average enrolment length, attendance consistency, and relationships with key teachers. Equity reporting should reflect who stays, not just who starts.
3. Compliance Is Not Protection
The Ministry of Education’s (2024) Regulatory Review of ECE acknowledges that compliance tasks have grown faster than quality outcomes. Attendance coding and paperwork consume hours that could be used for protective observation. If compliance does not reduce risk or build trust, it should not take time.
Policy opportunity: Replace redundant paperwork with risk-based digital tools that track safety, wellbeing, and engagement indicators. Fund reflective supervision and safeguarding PLD as part of quality assurance, not as optional extras.
4. Closing the Policy Gap
ECE services must have a child protection policy, yet not all adults within them are mandated to report harm. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa NZ (2024) requires mandatory employer reports for registered teachers under the Education and Training Act 2020, while the Oranga Tamariki Act (1989, updated 2024) allows any person to report concerns under Section 15 but does not require it for all staff.
This leaves an inconsistent safety net. A universal safeguarding qualification linked to simple registration and mandatory reporting could close the gap. When every adult in ECE carries a shared duty of care, participation and protection finally align.
Participation without protection is performance, not progress.
5. A New Measure of Success
Success in ECE should no longer be defined by attendance alone. The Funding Review can establish a balanced set of indicators that measure protection, stability, and connection alongside participation. These might include:
- Time to escalation for safety concerns.
- Staff access to safeguarding training.
- Reflective supervision hours.
- Child and whānau satisfaction with relationships and trust.
According to OECD (2021) and the Education Review Office (2024), systems that measure safety and wellbeing alongside access achieve higher levels of public confidence and long-term educational benefit.
Closing Reflection
Counting heads will never tell us who is truly thriving. The 2025 ECE Funding Review can shift us from measuring attendance to measuring belonging, from ticking boxes to building trust.
Participation opens the door, but protection keeps it safe.
Reflection Prompts
- How could your service measure protection and participation together?
- What data would help you track belonging and trust, not just attendance?
- How might your systems change if participation funding rewarded protection?
Inline References
- Ministry of Education (2025). ECE Funding Review (MAG 2025). education.govt.nz.
- OECD (2021). Starting Strong VI: Supporting Meaningful Access and Quality in ECEC. oecd.org.
- Education Counts (2023). ECE Participation and Equity Data. educationcounts.govt.nz.
- Ministry of Education (2024). Regulatory Review of Early Childhood Education. education.govt.nz.
- Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (2024). Our Code, Our Standards; Education and Training Act 2020. teachingcouncil.nz.
- Oranga Tamariki (1989, updated 2024). Oranga Tamariki Act, Section 15: Reporting Concerns. orangatamariki.govt.nz.
- Education Review Office (2024). Indicators of Quality for Early Childhood Education: Te Ara Poutama. ero.govt.nz.