The Government is funding a major expansion of the New Zealand-developed ENRICH programme to help young children build the language skills they need, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
ENRICH will expand from 65 to 525 early childhood education services, supporting children aged 18 months to 5 to strengthen their language skills before they start school.
Ms Stanford says research shows it is imperative to improve teacher-toddler interactions because increasingly high levels of screen time at home are linked to lower-quality parent-child interactions, language delays, and behavioural problems in young children.
“We have seen five-year-old children arriving at school with the language skills of two-year-olds, and we needed to take action,” Ms Stanford says.
Findings from the trial of ENRICH over the past year have shown:
- Children in ENRICH show more advanced oral language in post-tests.
- Children in ENRICH show more advanced self-regulation.
- Children in ENRICH show reduced negative affect, and increased early literacy and social skills.
“Language skills are critical for later educational success. They also play a key role in developing the social and emotional skills that support positive behaviour.
The programme gives early childhood teachers practical tools and coaching to strengthen children’s language through everyday interactions, play and conversation.
“The earlier children are identified and supported, the better their outcomes are likely to be.
“This is about giving every child the strongest possible start, so they arrive at school ready to learn and ready to thrive.
“Budget 25 invested $12.4 million to ensure children in their early years receive the oral language support they need to build strong foundations for the future.”
Rollout and wider investment
The expansion builds on early delivery of ENRICH and will be rolled out in phases as provider capacity grows.
Overall, Budget 25 invests $297.7 million in the early learning sector, including:
- $216.6 million operating funding to extend the Early Intervention Service (EIS) into Year 1 and expand it to 560 specialist roles and additional Teacher Aide hours.
- $9.4 million capital funding to grow the EIS specialist workforce.
- Funding increase for EIS providers that had not had a price increase since 2019.