Simon Laube: Early Childhood Council chief executive on the Government announcing a regulatory refresh for the sector

The wait continues for the Early Childhood Education sector - which has long called for a regulatory refresh. 

Cabinet has agreed to 15 changes intended to improve child safety, access to care and centre viability.

Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube says it's hard not to get excited about the prospect of changes.

"The only thing that's difficult is - we've got to wait another 18 months to get that actually done, but it's great to have a timeline."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cabinet has agreed to loosen some of the regulations around
the early childhood education. David Seymour's Ministry of Regulation has
done a report on the sector and made fifteen recommendations
for change. That Cabinet has accepted Simon Lobber as the
CEO of the Early Childhood Council with us. Now, hey, Simon, hi,
ever any in particular that you're stoked about or all
of them.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, peeling away things that aren't working and haven't been
working for many, many years is actually really really good news,
and it's hard not to get excited about it. And
the only thing that's difficult is we've got to wait
another eighteen months to get that actually done. But it's
great to have a timeline.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
So, I mean, can you explain something to me?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
It was.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
One of the things that's going to be repealed is
the requirement for the ECE centers to hold immunization records
for every child of fifteen months. Why are they doing
that anyway.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Well, there was a time where there was a gap
in health records and nobody actually knew put it onto
the ECE providers.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Well, you say nobody knew whether my child, let's say
at three was completely vaccinated, So the ECU guys had
to do it.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, that's right, a long time ago. Though health records
have improved.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Zeeland has it nowadays, don't they.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
That's right, yep, it's completely.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Unnecessary thing for them to be doing.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, anything that sits outside of Ministry of Education tends
to be forgotten forever. So the health. There's lots of
health things that are just random and pointless.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Why did we require them to maintain a temperature indoors
of eighteen degrees on the dot?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
There was some research done that suggested eighteen degrees was
a good minimum, and I think eighteen degrees is definitely
a good thing to aim for. But as I you said,
it as an absolute limit, it's completely impractical.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh so it's not. So it's a minimum, not a
constant temperature. It doesn't have to persisit in eighteen So.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
That's eighteen degrees in Auckland, and it's eighteen degrees and
in Vicago, And it doesn't matter what time of year
it is. So it does drive some pretty crazy behaviors.
I've been into centers with giant air curtains and they
have to heat the place so hot it's just unbearable
for the adults.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
What's an air cursion, So.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
That's where you can still have a door open. You
see them in mauls and.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, I know what you're
talking about. Yeah. Now, the NZDI doesn't love it, says
qualified teacher requirements being watered down, safety criterias being withdrawn,
and this will be a bad idea.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
What do you say, Well, that's not that's not what's
being said. So that's not in the report and that's
not what we're expecting to happen. We expect, yes, they'll
remove some things, but they'll put in more effective things
in child safety will be enhanced.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Good stuff. Hey, Simon, thanks so much, appreciate it. Simon Love,
the Early Childhood Council CEO.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
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