The Early Childhood Education Council says its sector is an easy target for budget cuts.
Chief executive Peter Reynolds was responding to a speech made by Education Minister Anne Tolley at the council's annual conference in Wellington on Saturday.
In her speech, Mrs Tolley outlined the higher average cost of early childhood education compared to that of primary and secondary education.
The Government subsidises every child who attends an early childhood education centre by an average of $7600 each year, compared to $6700 for an average secondary student and $5500 dollars for primary students.
Mr Reynolds says it's easy for the government to see the sector as an expensive service based on a dollar basis of what's going in without taking a broader view of what the sector puts back.
He says there's an incredible return on investing in quality early childhood services which the Government should recognise and work with the sector to ensure the quality is not diminished.
But Mrs Tolley says the Government recognises how crucial early childhood education is and it will continue to increase funding.
But she says the Government wants to ensure that all children have access to those services.
A taskforce set up by Mrs Tolley to review the sector is set to release its report next week.
