Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education)

Candidates must have achieved University Entrance which is NCEA Level 3 comprised of 60 credits at NCEA Level 3 or above and 20 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above, including:

• 14 credits each at NCEA Level 3 in three approved subjects; and
• Literacy (10 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above made up of 5 credits each in reading and writing); and
• Numeracy (10 credits at NCEA Level 1 or above made up of specified achievement standards or a package of three numeracy unit standards – 26623, 26626, and 26627 – all three required); or
• An overseas school qualification equivalent to university entrance and meet the English language requirements below.

Special admission

Applicants who have not met the general admission or entry requirements for the programme but whose skills, education or work experience indicate that they have a reasonable chance of success may be eligible for special admission. Special admission will be granted at the discretion of the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Such applicants may be required to successfully complete a foundation, bridging or tertiary introductory programme as a condition of entry into higher-level programmes.

Provisional entry

Applicants who have not met the above entry criteria but who can demonstrate a reasonable chance of success through other educational attainment and/or work or life experience may be eligible for provisional entry at the discretion of the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Provisional entry places restrictions on re-enrolment to be lifted if the applicant’s performance is deemed satisfactory by the relevant Head of School/Centre Director or designated nominee. Provisionally registered candidates will be monitored closely and if they successfully complete their first semester of study, they will be able to move to full enrolment.  If they fail half or more of their enrolled modules in the first semester, they will be exited from the programme.

Selection criteria

a) Candidates must be 17 years of age at the start of the programme.
b) Candidates are required to be working (paid or voluntarily) for at least 12 hours a week in a licensed early childhood setting by the start of the programme.
c) Candidates are required to disclose whether they have been convicted of a criminal offence and police vets will be carried out on all candidates.  By signing the police vet form candidates are consenting to the police vet process being carried out. Candidates should be aware that some types of criminal conviction may limit their ability to secure practicum placements, and thus to complete the programme requirements, and/or may prevent them from gaining registration as a teacher. These include issues of trust, professionalism and misconduct or issues which impact the student’s ability to work with children’s physical, emotional, psychological or medical well-being. When determining whether an applicant’s criminal convictions impact on their ability to meet the “Good Character and Fit to be a Teacher” criteria as outlined by the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand the “severity, recency, age at offending and pattern of offending are taken into consideration”. 
d) As required by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, every candidate must participate in a selection process determined by Wintec’s Centre for Education and Foundation Pathways. This may include, but is not limited to:

1. Submit an application package including CV and written personal statement about why the applicant specifically wishes to apply for the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) Programme (word guideline - 100);
2. Provide the name and contact details of a referee who will be contacted for a confidential referee’s report;
3. Undertaking a written test on comprehension, literacy and numeracy;
4. Participating in an interview.

Safety check

In order to comply with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act, 2014 and Wintec Child Protection Policies for all ‘specified organisations’ providing a ‘regulated service’, all applicants will be subjected to safety checking.  These will include but are not limited to:

• A Formal Interview
• Referee Check
• A Police Vet Check
• A Risk Assessment

Any unsatisfactory result arising from the full safety checking process may result in the applicant/candidate being precluded/declined entry or withdrawn from the programme of study.  Furthermore, candidates must declare any pending or new convictions arising during any stage throughout the entire enrolment period. A conviction or failure to declare a conviction may also result in the candidate being immediately withdrawn from the programme. Persons who are convicted of ‘specified offences’ will not be accepted onto any programme that requires that person to work in an organisation providing a regulated service.

English language requirements

Candidates for whom English is an additional language must demonstrate their English language proficiency with a band score of 7.0 or higher for each component of the academic version of IELTS. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand has several exemptions to this requirement and candidates should check these with Wintec in case they meet one of them.