Manawatū Rural Early Childhood Centre licence cancelled

A rural Manawatū early childhood centre is under threat of closure, meaning 22 children will have to move elsewhere.

Country Kindy School, located between Feilding and Palmerston North, will have its licence cancelled by the Department of Education from 5pm on Monday.

The Early Years Council, which represents more than 1,300 early years centres, criticised the move – due to alleged curriculum violations – as too authoritarian, and its chief executive, Simon Laube, said they were working frantically to extend the deadline.

The ministry, however, said the centre had been granted a provisional licence last year but had failed to comply with some of its conditions.

Laube said their children came from all over the Manawatū region and they now had to look for somewhere else to go.

“Even if there was a case to be settled regarding the curriculum – we would challenge it – you would not close a center for violating the curriculum,” Laube said.

If such problems arise, the centre should be supported to overcome them.

“A good reason to close a centre is that children are in danger or there is a health and safety issue. That kind of situation seems to be a pretty compelling reason to close a centre.

” That is not the case here. “

Laube said the centre received overwhelming support from parents and the wider community at a public meeting Thursday night.

He said the children who attend Country Kindy are happy and would not be able to find a similar place in the area. The department is not considering the harm that cancelling the centre’s licence could cause to these children.

The council became involved in the matter in March and, despite a letter to the ministry seeking clarification, remained in the dark about the alleged program violations.

Such a far-reaching decision could also put other private early childhood education providers at risk, Laube said.

It was the job of the Education Review Office to deal with curriculum issues, not the ministry.

The office would come in every two or three years to take a close look at what a center was doing, he said.

Jocelyn Mikaere, deputy secretary of the Department of Education for Te Tai Whenua-Central, said Country Kindy was granted a provisional licence in September due to “17 non-compliances with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and the Early Childhood Education and Care Services Licensing Criteria 2008”.

The provisional licence includes special conditions such as demonstrating through written evidence that the centre is effectively managed; demonstrating that staff engage in positive and meaningful interactions to enhance children’s learning; and having a curriculum informed by assessment, planning and evaluation.

Mikaere said Country Kindy had received support since the provisional licence was issued, including ministry-funded professional development to improve teaching practice.

Regular meetings were held and ministry staff provided support, and deadlines for complying with licensing requirements were extended twice.

“The Department has completed an assessment of all information provided to us by Country Kindy Ltd up to 5 April 2024.

“The outcome of this assessment was that Country Kindy Ltd failed to comply with seven of the conditions of the provisional licence, including ‘program and governance’ and ‘management criteria and regulations’.

“This failure resulted in the cancellation of their license,” Mikaere said.

“We have offered our assistance to affected families to help them identify alternative early learning opportunities for their children.”

Country Kindy’s website says it has a large outdoor play area and a working farm, which its children, aged 2 to 5, visit every afternoon.

“This allows your child to contribute to the nutrition and well-being of our pets and livestock,” the website says.

Country Kindy owner Fiona Zwart said in a statement that the situation was heartbreaking.

“I have families who travel up to an hour a day for the opportunity to experience rural life, the fresh air and space we offer.”

Michelle Webb, who has a child at the center, said in a statement that families were caught off guard by the closure.

“How can the ministry close this centre without even talking to the parents? If you had to make a decision as important as closing a centre, wouldn’t you talk to the people concerned?”

The latest Country Kindy Education Evaluation Office report in 2022 indicated that children benefited from the centre’s routines and rituals.

“Children benefit from a responsive curriculum, enriched by enjoyable experiences within the farm setting.

“Their holistic learning is regularly assessed and evaluated.”

The office also said that “the affirmation of children’s individual culture, language and identity is not yet systematically reflected in the school curriculum.”

“Learning partnerships with tamariki and Māori whānau are not clearly evident, and the service has not yet made clear progress in line with previous ERO recommendations in this area.”

The office listed three “improvement actions” for the center.

They were to establish “culturally appropriate practices across the centre’s curriculum”; ensure te reo and tikanga Māori were valued and integral to the curriculum; and develop an understanding of effective internal assessment.

The centre had previously faced non-compliance issues with hazard management, such as cleaning products and medication dispensing.