Early Childhood TeacherAlternative titles

Entry requirements

To become a qualified early childhood teacher you need one of the following:

• Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)
• Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)
• Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education).

You also need to be registered with the New Zealand Teachers Council.

To become a qualified kōhanga reo kaiako, you need:

• a Tino Rangatiratanga Whakapakari Tohu (kōhanga reo teaching qualification)
• a Bachelor of Education (Whakaako) Early Childhood Education Whāriki Papatipu from Victoria University in Wellington.

To enter the Tino Rangatiratanga Whakapakari Tohu, you need the National Certificate in Reo Māori (Level 4) or equivalent. The Bachelor of Education qualification is the only kōhanga reo teaching qualification that leads to registration by the New Zealand Teachers Council.

Scholarships can help you get training for the job

The Ministry of Education offers a number of scholarships for people to train as early childhood teachers.

• TeachNZ website - information about early childhood teacher training scholarships

Secondary education

To enter an early childhood teacher education programme, University Entrance (a minimum of 42 credits at NCEA Level 3 or higher) is required. Some diploma programmes have slightly lower entry requirements.

Personal requirements

Early childhood teachers need to be:

• good at communicating and relating to children and adults from a range of cultures
• good at planning and organising
• skilled at problem-solving, and able to make quick decisions
• understanding and patient
• firm but fair
• creative, imaginative and resourceful
• committed to the kōhanga reo kaupapa (Māori language nest concept), if working in a kōhanga reo.

Useful experience

Useful experience for early childhood teachers includes:

• work with people with disabilities
• school holiday programme work
• babysitting or childcare work
• work as a nanny
• work with children through groups such as Brownies and Scouts.

Physical requirements

Early childhood teachers need to have a good level of fitness and health as they may have to pick up children, and join in physical activities.

Registration

First-year early childhood teachers are provisionally registered with the New Zealand Teachers Council, and issued with a practising certificate. After two years of satisfactory work as a teacher they gain full registration.

• New Zealand Teachers Council website - information on teacher registration

Related courses

View information on courses in the course database

• Teacher Education: General (Pre-Service)
• Bilingual Early Childhood Teacher Training (Pre-Service)
• Teacher Education: Early Childhood (Pre-Service)
• Teacher Professional Development

Find out more about training

Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/New Zealand Childcare Association

0800 244 532 - enrol@nzca.ac.nz - www.nzchildcare.ac.nz/