NZCA members behind police vetting amendment

NZCA members behind police vetting amendment- Publication date: 24 September 2008

A survey of Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa / New Zealand Childcare Association members showed the majority of respondents supported the current amendment to the Education Act which will require all volunteers in early childhood education centres with unsupervised access to children to be police vetted.

“Nearly 40 per cent of respondents already adhere to this practice. It protects both the volunteer and the centre” says NZCA Chief Executive Nancy Bell. “What’s more our members do not believe that police-vetting volunteers will result in significantly more work. In fact, a large proportion of our surveyed members don’t have volunteers with unsupervised access. Our members believe volunteers should not be left with sole responsibility for children.”

Though the amendment bill was a surprise to most members, the survey showed that 78 per cent supported the amendment. NZCA members also thought it was unlikely to dissuade volunteers from helping out. “Three quarters of surveyed members said it wouldn’t dissuade volunteers. Most volunteers see it is a positive step for safety. Our members put children’s safety first, so having police vets for volunteers or alternatively not leaving them alone with children is good practice”, Nancy added.

Full survey results are available here