There has been a significant increase in pertussis cases across all ages since the beginning of May. Pertussis can be particularly severe for babies, many of whom require hospital care and some may sadly die. Pertussis outbreaks usually occur in cycles of 3 to 5 years, and the last outbreak was in 2017–2018.

Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora encourage all staff at your service to check they are up to date with immunisations (in particular pertussis and measles).

Here is some information that you can share with your community: 

Whooping cough (pertussis) – Te Whatu Ora

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities, with the support of Te Whatu Ora, has released a series of three animated videos to explain what measles is, how to protect yourself from the disease and where you can access reliable health information.

The videos are translated and voiced over into 20 different languages, including:

• Chinese (simplified) with voiceover in Mandarin
• Arabic
• Spanish.

Check out the videos at:

Health videos for ethnic communities – Ministry for Ethnic Communities

Please share these resources widely with your communities.

Associate Education Minister Hon David Seymour has introduced a Bill that includes a proposal to repeal the network approval provisions. The Bill has been referred to the Education and Workforce Committee and it will report back to the House on 5 September. 

If the proposal in the Bill is enacted, it will mean that network approval will no longer be required before services can apply for a licence.

The Select Committee has invited the public to make submissions by 17 July. Information on the Bill, including more information on how to make a submission, is available here: 

Education and Training Amendment Bill – New Zealand Parliament 

With the removal of the national statement on the network of licensed early childhood services and until the Bill is passed, we have introduced a streamlined application process for applicants who hold or have previously held network approval for another service. This reduces duplication of information to be submitted with an application and extends the timeframe for acceptable police vets. 

Guidance on the application process is available here:

Guidance for completing the network approval application form [PDF, 335 KB]

New funding rates were announced with Budget 2024. These can be found in the ECE Funding Handbook, Appendix 1:

ECE Funding Handbook: Appendix 1 – Ministry of Education

The third and final report for measuring progress towards the goals of the Early Learning Action Plan (ELAP) has been released. New measurements include: average adult-to-child ratios, teaching staff pay, 20 hours ECE, teaching staff turnover and retention and affordability.

Read about the ELAP here:

Early Learning Action Plan – Te Mahau

Read the 2023 report at:

Reporting for monitoring and evaluating the ELAP – Education Counts

These two websites have been updated and now include the lists of services whose teachers are receiving these allowances.

Waha Rumaki – Ministry of Education

Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance (PITA) – Ministry of Education

In the bulletin on 9 May we asked for your feedback on the updated curriculum licensing criteria guidance for the Te Ara Whānui pathway. Feedback closes 26 July.

Read about the survey in the 9 May bulletin:

Bulletin – 9 May

Complete the survey on our website:

Seeking sector feedback on updated guidance for curriculum criteria – Ministry of Education