A growing early childhood sector has prompted further calls for fair pay and the need to prioritise children's futures

Research shows the workforce has nearly doubled in the last two decades from just over 29,000 to almost 58,000.

In 2017, the median income for a qualified teacher was just over $45,000.

And next year, qualified early childhood teachers could earning up to half as much as other teachers with the same qualifications.

NZEI National Executive early childhood representative Virginia Oakly says the first thousand days are critical to shaping a child's future and we can't afford to leave the quality of their education up to chance.