After four weeks in the South Island and five weeks in the North, the colourful campervan of the NZEI Heartland Tour will visit the Bay of Plenty this week.

The tour by members of the primary school teachers' union involves driving around the country with principals, teachers, teacher aides and school administration staff and urging local parents and families to come and support the call for better funding for education.

Every day around 200 signatures are collected on a national petition, and the same number of signed postcards are bundled and posted to members of parliament as the campaign gets the message out.

The Better Funding, Better Learning Heartland Tour was launched on February 8. It is the next phase in the historic, joint campaign by educators from both the PPTA and Te Riu Roa NZEI, which last year defeated plans to introduce bulk funding in schools.

'People in this area have a fantastic opportunity to use their vote this year to ensure every child has the best start in life through a world class education,” says NZEI president Lynda Stuart.

'We know our young people deserve the best education, and we are convinced that most New Zealanders value education over tax cuts. This election year we need every political party to make education their top priority.”

The Heartland campaign campervan will have visited almost every corner of the by the time the tour finishes at parliament at the end of June.

'Last year, thousands of educators from throughout the primary, early childhood and secondary sectors came together with their communities to win the battle against bulk funding in schools," says Lynda.

"This year, we're coming together again to fight to restore funding for early childhood and increase funding for schools, so every young New Zealander has the best start in life."

NZEI says early childhood funding has been frozen for the past seven years, on a per child basis, and core funding for many schools has been frozen this year, leaving millions of dollars less for children's education when inflation is taken into account.

Already schools are planning to cut back on teacher aide and support staff hours this year, or to increase parent donations to cope with the funding crunch.

"We want to take the call for better funding for education out to small towns all over New Zealand and hear how whanau, children, and educators are coping.

"New Zealand can afford to provide every child with the best education in the world. Our message to heartland New Zealand is, if you want better funding for better learning, demand action from politicians and make this election about education."

The tour will be at Greerton Village School and Gate Pa Shopping Centre this morning, before heading to Papamoa Kindergarten this afternoon.

Later in the week they will head east to visit Te Puke, Kawerau, and Whakatane.