Story perspectives

Early childhood centres end individual device use

By Drooid · Sep 20, 2026, 2:20 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Education spokesperson Erica Stanford announced ending individual-device use in early childhood education centres.
The policy also limits screen and device use for Years 1-3 primary students.
A School Start Check will assess children’s readiness before moving from ECE to primary school.
Teachers say many new entrants lack basic skills such as toilet training, dressing, and pencil use.
Twice-yearly primary assessments will require the writing component to be completed on paper.

History

Historical Context

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Rudd government launched the Building the Education Revolution, a A$16.2 billion stimulus that poured $14.2 billion into primary-school facilities and ICT upgrades. Subsequent state programmes, such as New South Wales’ 2009-2013 laptop rollout, sparked criticism over student readiness. Those debates inform New Zealand’s new early-learning screen-restriction policy.

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Story summary

Education spokesperson Erica Stanford announced ending individual-device use in early childhood education centres.
The policy also limits screen and device use for Years 1-3 primary students.
A School Start Check will assess children’s readiness before moving from ECE to primary school.
Teachers say many new entrants lack basic skills such as toilet training, dressing, and pencil use.
Twice-yearly primary assessments will require the writing component to be completed on paper.

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