Debate on child care

Press, 2 March 1984, Page 14

Debate on child care

By

OLIVER RIDDELL,

in Wellington

In three months discussioon will resume on pre-school education and child care, and on the recommendations on the State Services Commission working party on early childhood care and education.

The main recommendations of that working party’s report — known as the Cory-Wright Report after its chairman, Mrs L. J. CoryWright — aroused much public debate in 1982. As no progress was made the Minister of Social Welfare, Mr Young, deferred consideration of the report for two years, until June 8, 1984. The report made two main

recommendations — that control of funding child care should be taken from the Department of social Welfare and given to the Department of Education; and that workers in child-care centres should be subsidised by the Government. The Government has already partly implemented one of the recommendations of the report In the 1983 Budget it made a contribution towards staff salaries at child-care centres. This is still short of the equality witW kindergartens and playcentres in staffing, staff training, educational and financial support

that the Cory-Wright report sought. Much discussion has been about which consideration should carry the most weight in child care: education, or social welfare.

The Cory-Wright report urged that child-care centres be seen in the same light as kindergartens and play centres — as places where pre-school children received a preparation for school, and some early education. For that to occur, the child-care centres would need to be shifted to the control of the Department of Education.

The Govergpient is expected to plump for t® social welfare emphasis rather than for education.