29 Jan 2020

Ministry targets dodgy early childhood education providers

From Morning Report, 8:13 am on 29 January 2020

A special squad in the Education Ministry targeting substandard early childhood services has found multiple breaches of health and safety rules and put more than 14 poor performers out of business in the past two years.

Documents provided under the Official Information Act show the Provider Assessment Group has investigated 18 home-based providers and a company that owns 13 early childhood centres.

Early childhood insiders say they didn't know about the group, which claims to have saved more than $5 million in government subsidies since it was set up in late 2017.

Here's RNZ education correspondent, John Gerritsen.