Comment from the Early Childhood Development Unit

This is a response from the Early Childhood Development Unit to Leonie Pihama’s paper on policy and early childhood education. The policy for Parents as First Teachers (PAFT) programme was developed by the Ministry of Education, and the Early Childhood Development Unit was contracted to manage and co-ordinate the programmes.

We begin by looking at the philosophy of PAFT and the ways in which it reflects Māori principles. The delivery and content of the programme have evolved since its first introduction into New Zealand, and feedback from whānau, koeke and pakeke has been an important part of this process.

We then briefly look at how the programme is working in Rotorua and in West Auckland. In a survey of parents involved in PAFT, 20% of responses were from Māori parents, all of whom said they were satisfied that their involvement in the programme increased their confidence as parents. The programme has also been a catalyst for many Māori families to seek links with their own whānau or to reaffirm their tūrangawaewae.

We conclude that Ms Pihama’s paper is more a critique of what was originally envisaged, and what we have endeavoured to avoid, than what is now being universally practised.