No screens in early childhood education, a School Start Check and staying at school until Year 11
Pitched as getting children ready for school and giving them more time learning the basics once they are there.
π National: Teaching the basics brilliantly, September 2026 β
What it does
- Ends screen and individual-device use in early childhood education, sets tight limits in Years 1 to 3 and age-appropriate limits for older primary students, and requires the writing part of twice-yearly primary assessments to be done on paper.
- Introduces a School Start Check at ECE before children move to school, which National says is not a pass/fail test and will never stop a child starting school, alongside clearer developmental milestones reported to parents and referrals to the Early Intervention Service.
- Requires students to stay at school until they complete Year 11 or turn 16, whichever is later, with leaving exemptions still available for work or further training.
- Sets consistent school start and finish dates, and continues replacing NCEA from 2028.
- Adds Learning Support Coordinators in all schools with Year 1 to 8 students and builds to two million extra teacher-aide hours a year, both from 2028.
The debate
Erica Stanford said technology still has a place in education but should enhance learning, not become the default way children learn. Labour leader Chris Hipkins called the screen proposal a solution looking for a problem and said National had been deregulating standards for ECE staff. ACT leader David Seymour said nothing stops early childhood centres doing this now and questioned why the government should require it. Green co-leader ChlΓΆe Swarbrick said her party was interested but concerned about the focus solely on young people. Kelly Seaburg of Advocates for Early Learning Excellence said the changes could help teachers track and explain children's progress, though teachers would need guidance and enough resources.
This overview is summarised by AI from public sources. It may contain errors and is a guide, not the definitive record β we welcome corrections.
Where our research raises a question the policy doesn't answer, we put it to you β these are our questions, not government policy. Your vote stays anonymous even when you sign up (we use sign-up only to send you more things to vote on that you care about), and we report aggregated results only β the country's sentiment, never how any individual voted.
Key milestones
National pledges screen limits and a School Start Check
Erica Stanford said a re-elected National Government would end screen use in early childhood education, tightly limit it in Years 1 to 3 and introduce a School Start Check before children move to primary school.
Mixed reaction from parties and the sector
Labour's Chris Hipkins called the plan a solution looking for a problem, ACT's David Seymour asked why the government should require something centres can already do, and the Greens said they were interested. Advocates for Early Learning Excellence said it could help teachers track progress.
Students to stay at school until they finish Year 11
Erica Stanford said a re-elected National Government would require students to stay at school until they complete Year 11 or turn 16, whichever is later, with leaving exemptions still available for work or training, and would set consistent school start and finish dates.
Sources
- National: Teaching the basics brilliantly (policy page) β
- Screen use to end in ECE and limits set in primary (National Party, 20 Sep 2026) β
- National vows to limit screen time in primary schools, early childhood centres (RNZ, 20 Sep 2026) β
- National will lift school leaving requirements (National Party, 11 Oct 2026) β