Cabinet is moving to simplify regulations for Early Childhood Education centres by the end of this year.
Regulation Minister David Seymour held a media briefing about the changes on Wednesday morning.
He will introduce an amendment bill in July, the result of his review into the ECE sector, which made 15 recommendations to the minister in December.
He said Cabinet had also accepted the recommendations and this meant some laws would need to be amended.
The Education and Training (Early Childhood Education Reform) Amendment Bill would merge or change several of the 98 licensing criteria for pre-schools, many of which Seymour said were “arbitrary or outdated”.
They included “requirements to maintain a constant indoor temperature of 18 degrees, when common sense says a minor deviation from 18 degrees won’t hurt anyone”, Seymour said.
ECE providers were also required to hold immunisation records for children over 15 months, a responsibility Seymour said was already covered by the Ministry of Health.
Enforcement of those rules would also be changed, with regulators able to correct pre-schools without revoking their licence entirely.
“The only enforcement tools previously available were the granting or removal of ECE licences, which is too blunt a tool for managing minor breaches and enabling early intervention,” Seymour said.
“There will no longer be high-stakes open-or-shut rules that create anxiety and strained relationships for regulators and centre operators alike.”
It meant changing from a punitive approach to promoting quality, he said.
Consultation on the bill would begin shortly, and he expected it to be passed by the end of the year.
“By the end of next year ECE providers will be governed by a regulatory system which ensures regulations are focused on what matters, child safety.
“This will encourage more providers into a thriving market with reduced operation costs and compliance headaches. For parents this will mean more safe and affordable ECE options for their children.
Seymour said his ministry was also helping the agriculture and horticulture sector implement sector review findings.
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