Key Findings

• Early learning attendance for mokopuna Māori has increased overall between 2014 and 2021. The percentage of mokopuna Māori aged 0 to 4 attending early learning increased from 51 percent in 2014 to 54 percent in 2021.
• Around 50 percent of mokopuna Māori attend early learning where te reo Māori is spoken for more than 11 percent of the teaching time.
• Since 2014, over 54 percent of mokopuna Māori attending early learning did so at education and care services, which is the largest service type in New Zealand. Attendance at education and care services by mokopuna Māori increased from 24,581 in 2014 to 28,663 in 2021 (a 17 percent increase).
• Between 2014 and 2021, the two regions with the largest increase in mokopuna attendances were Te Tai-o-Aorere/Tasman region and Waitaha/Canterbury region. Attendance for mokopuna Māori increased in Te Tai-o-Aorere by 48 percent from 252 to 373; followed by the Waitaha which increased by 25 percent (from 3,071 to 3,832).
• Overall, the percentage of mokopuna Māori attending early learning was greater in the North Island in 2018. Regionally, Te Moana-o-Toi/Bay of Plenty and Te Matau-a-Māui/Hawke's Bay regions had the greatest percentage attendance with 69 percent and 68 percent attendance respectively.

Footnotes

1. Early learning refers to licensed services including education and care, kindergarten, playcentre, home-based and kōhanga reo.
2. Māori medium early learning includes bilingual and immersion services in te reo Māori. Bilingual services refer to those services that use te reo Māori between 51 and 80 percent of their teaching time. Immersion services refers to those services that use te reo Māori for over 80 percent of their teaching time.