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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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It's a women's world in South
Canterbury childcare -- there are no male kindergarten teachers. Men account for less than 1 per
cent of New Zealand's pre-school teachers. Sue Wayman of the South Canterbury
Kindergartens Association said no men were working in any of the 10
kindergartens affiliated with the association. The changing face of families
meant some children had no male role models at home. Mrs Wayman said children still met
male role models through visitors to the kindergartens, but she would like to
see more men enter the industry. The report released by the New
Zealand Educational Institute removed barriers to men wanting to enter the
industry. Christine Stewart of North Haven
childcare and education centre has worked with men childcare teachers before
and would not discriminate against hiring male childcare workers. The report outlined appropriate
guidelines to physical activity. It said positive and affirming contact
provided much needed emotional support for children. Mrs Wayman supported the report,
saying it was a common sense approach to contact with children. Many men were put off from working
in childcare after the Christchurch Civic Creche abuse case involving Peter Ellis
in the 1990s. Mrs Wayman hoped kindergartens'
pay parity with primary school teachers would also entice males into the
industry. The Pareora playcentre is
desperately trying to get its hands on staff no matter what their gender. The South Canterbury PlayCentre
Association is launching a campaign asking local mums and dads to help
support its weekly play centre. Play centre liaison officer
Michelle Kelly said many centres were severely understaffed and had to rely
on parents to fill the staffing gaps. Playcentres were short staffed
because fewer parents were taking the opportunity to become educators. Every
parent had the chance to be trained by the association and become an
educator. Playcentres have a licence for up
to 20 students. Pareora playcentre's numbers had
dropped to four and it had no educator. But the centre was determined to
remain open. Playcentres were an essential
experience for children as it had better resources than home-based play
groups, said Mrs Kelly. South Canterbury had two fully
qualified educators but needed another five or six. The playcentre association is
going to deliver pamphlets around Pareora to try to find an educator. Parents could train to become
educators by completing three courses. Mrs Kelly encouraged parents to get
involved. She said courses could be done at home while playing with the
children. |
