Frequently asked questions
- What is defined as an early childhood education service?
- Is there legislation, regulations and criteria for early childhood services?
- I want to set up an early childhood service - where do I start and what help can I get?
- How does my organisation become a licensed early childhood education service?
- Can anyone be a service provider/contact person and/or set up a service?
- Do all staff need to be qualified and registered early childhood education teachers?
- What is the role of, and relationship between, a co-ordinator and an educator in a home-based ECE service?
- What’s the difference between the ECE Funding Subsidy (commonly known as ‘bulk funding’) and 20 Hours ECE?
- Who sets fees?
- Is there an early childhood education curriculum?
- What documentation do we need?
- Does our service need to be different if we are licensed for infants and toddlers?
- How much indoor space will we need?
- How much outdoor space will we need?
- What indoor and outdoor equipment do we need to get licensed?
All links on this page to Acts and Regulations take you to the New Zealand Legislation website.
1. What is defined as an early childhood education service?
An early childhood education service is legally defined by the Education Act 1989, Part 26 as “...premises used (exclusively, mainly, or regularly) for the education or care of 3 or more children (not being children of the persons providing the education or care) under 6 –
(a) By the day or part of a day; but
(b) Not for any continuous period of more than 7 days”.
Where a service meets this criteria it must be licensed under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 unless specifically exempt from this requirement by the Minister of Education. Refer to Section 310 of the Education Act 1989 for further information on what is an early childhood education service.
2. Is there legislation, regulations and criteria for early childhood services?
Yes, the Government has legislation, regulations and criteria covering the operation of early childhood education services. The Education Act 1989 requires all early childhood education services to be licensed by the Secretary of Education. It is illegal to operate any premises as an early childhood education service without a licence, unless specifically exempt from this requirement by the Minister of Education. Playgroups are certificated under the Education (Playgroups) Regulations 2008.
The regulations covering early childhood education services are called the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. You can access these regulations on the New Zealand Legislation website as well as buy them from any bookshop that stocks Government publications. Sections 312, 318 and 327 of the Education Act 1989 also contain education legislation that is relevant to early childhood education services.
Legislation such as the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Building Act 2004 also applies.
Read more about legislation relating to early childhood services.
3. I want to set up an early childhood education service - where do I start and what help can I get?
Setting up a licensed early childhood education service takes planning, time and money.
The Ministry of Education has resources to help both community and private groups to establish a service.
Resource: Establishing an Early Childhood Education service - this guide takes you through the process of establishing a quality early childhood education service. Presently this guide provides information for centre-based and home-based services.
You can contact your local Ministry of Education office for more information.
4. How does my centre become a licensed early childhood education service?
Licensing is a complex task and will take time. Services need to comply with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
There are two stages to the licensing process:
- The Ministry of Education grants a probationary licence for the centre’s first year of operation. A license is granted if the premises, equipment, intended programme, staffing levels, policies, and intended practices comply with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
- A full licence must be applied for within 12 months of gaining a probationary licence. If compliant, the service is granted a full licence by the Ministry of Education. The service provider is ultimately responsible for ensuring the centre complies with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 at all times.
5. Can anyone be a service provider/contact person and/or set up a service?
Regulation 8 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 describes an applicant or a service provider, as persons who are deemed to be “...fit and proper persons’.
Regulation 8 also outlines factors that may be taken into consideration by the Secretary of Education, when deciding if a person is ‘fit and proper’.
Service providers do not need to have an early childhood qualification. Also, an unqualified private operator can be a service provider to their own business.
The service provider is responsible for ensuring that all legislation, regulations and criteria are complied with.
6. Do all staff need to be qualified and registered early childhood teachers?
As a condition of licensing, staff in the position of ‘person responsible' as set out in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 are required to be appropriately qualified and registered. More information on qualifications for early childhood education teachers can be found on the TeachNZ website.
In home-based education and care, qualified and registered teachers are employed as co-ordinators to support the educators within each network.
Although the educators working with the children in home-based education and care services are not required to be qualified and registered early childhood teachers, they are required to support children as learners and provide appropriate learning opportunities for the children in their care.
7. What is the role of, and relationship between, a co-ordinator and educator in a Home-based ECE service?
In home-based education and care, qualified and registered teachers are employed as co-ordinators (the 'person responsible') to support the educators who provide the day-to-day care and education of the children attending the home-based service. The co-ordinator (sometimes called visiting teachers) role is to support both educators and families, providing advice, training, equipment, and ensuring the all practices comply with relevant legislation and health and safety considerations. The co-ordinators of the services visit each home regularly to check on children’s safety, well-being and learning. Co-ordinator should be available, at all times that children are the responsibility of the service, to give advice, information and emergency back up if required.
Educators are often self-employed and contracted by home-based education and care services, to provide education and care for children in their home. Although the educators are not required to be qualified and registered early childhood teachers, they are required to support children as learners and provide appropriate learning opportunities for the children in their care.
The educator’s role includes providing for the day-to-day needs (e.g. sleep, food, toileting) as well as providing an environment that is safe, healthy and nurturing, with stimulating activities and experiences. Educator’s interactions should extend children's thinking and learning. Appropriate documentation is required to: show ongoing planning and assessment to support learning; keep good communication with families and co-ordinators; as well as to fulfil the required record keeping for Ministry of Education support.
8. What’s the difference between the ECE Funding Subsidy (commonly known as 'bulk funding’) and 20 Hours ECE?
ECE Funding Subsidy
The ECE Funding Subsidy is the primary form of Government funding for early childhood education (ECE) services.
Early childhood education services include both parent-led services (e.g. Playcentres, kōhanga reo) and teacher-led services (e.g., education and care services, kindergartens and home-based ECE services).
The ECE Funding Subsidy rates are determined by service type (because the costs faced by different service types vary).
Licensed services are grouped into the following types:
- Education and care services; teacher-led services and parent/whānau-led centre based services.
- Home-based education and care services.
- Hospital-based education and care services.
Within each group there are separate funding rates for:
- children aged under two
- children aged two and over
- the qualification levels of the adults working with the children (for teacher-led services, the percentage of registered teachers).
All early childhood education services receiving the ECE Funding Subsidy must meet certain eligibility and funding conditions.
All early childhood education services are eligible for up to six hours each day and 30 hours each week of ECE Funding Subsidy for each licensed child place. This funding offsets the cost of providing early childhood education, so that parents do not need to pay the full amount. Early childhood education services receive this funding directly from the Ministry of Education.
20 Hours ECE
The Government’s policy of 20 Hours ECE was implemented in July 2007. All three, four and five year old children attending a teacher-led service, kōhanga reo or Playcentre that offers 20 Hours ECE can get up to six hours each day, up to 20 hours each week, of early childhood education with no compulsory fees.
20 Hours ECE funding rates are based on 100 percent of the average cost of early childhood education provision to the regulated standard. Early childhood education services cannot require parents to pay fees for the 20 hours a child receives as part of this programme; however, services can require parents to pay fees for a child’s additional hours of enrolment.
As with the ECE Funding Subsidy, the rate a service is eligible for depends on the type of service it is and the percentage of registered teachers working with the children.
Where a child is eligible to receive 20 Hours ECE and is attending a participating 20 Hours ECE service, the service will receive the higher funding rate instead of the ECE Funding Subsidy rate.
ECE Funding will be paid for any additional hours a child attends over and above the 20 Hours ECE hours. The maximum claiming eligibility of up to 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week still applies.
9. Who sets fees?
The centre management is responsible for setting any fees for hours outside of 20 Hours ECE.
The centre management is required by Regulation 47 Education (Early Childhood Centres) Regulations 2008; Licensing Criteria GMA2 (Centres and Home-based), to provide parents with information about any fees charged by the service.
10. Is there an early childhood education curriculum?
A quality early childhood education service will have a planned programme that both cares for and educates children.
Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Matauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa (1996) is New Zealand’s early childhood education curriculum document. It was developed by the Ministry of Education and is available from Wickliffe, phone 0800 660 662.
Te Whāriki sets out the learning experience goals for children from birth up to school age. It identifies what a child needs to know and use later in life.
The 2008 regulations gave the Minister of Education the ability to prescribe a national curriculum framework for early childhood education. The Curriculum Framework contains the principles/Ngā Kaupapa Whakahaere and strands/Ngā Taumata Whakahirahira of Te Whāriki.
The purpose of the Curriculum Framework is to provide the basis and context for specific curriculum regulatory requirements in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 or the Education (Playgroups) Regulations 2008 relating to the standards of education and care and to the associated curriculum criteria.
Each service will develop its own programmes to implement Te Whāriki. The Licensing Criteria for each type of early childhood education service clearly outlines how licensed providers must comply with the standards. For example; documented programme planning (including assessment, planning and evaluation) is required (Regulation 43, (C2)). Parents/whānau should also have opportunities to share programme information and give input into the planning for their child (Regulation 43, Licensing Criteria C12 (Centres and Home-based).
11. What documentation do we need?
Prior to a licence being granted to an early childhood education service, some compulsory documentation is required by the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. This documentation is clearly outlined in the criteria that is relevant to your service type and in the service-specific probationary licence application forms.
Preparing policies, procedures and processes for your type of service will assist you with the preparation of this documentation (Refer to Establishing a Home-based education and care service and Establishing a Centre-based ECE service).
12. Does our service need to be different if we are licensed for infants and toddlers?
Yes, some requirements are different, especially in relation to nappy changing areas, sleeping arrangements and equipment. Refer to the Criteria for your particular service type for more specific information.
All services are required under Regulation 46 Health and Safety practices: standard of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 to take all reasonable steps to promote the good health and safety of children enrolled at the service.
13. How much indoor space will we need?
Schedule 4 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 specifies the minimum amount of indoor activity space that ECE centres, Home-based services and Hospital-based services are required to have.
14. How much outdoor space will we need?
Requirements in relation to outdoor activity space for ECE centres, Home-based services and Hospital-based services are also listed in Schedule 4 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
15. What indoor and outdoor equipment do we need to get licensed?
Regulation 45 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 requires every service provider to whom this regulation applies to "… provide ... equipment to support appropriate curriculum implementation by the service provider". Licensing Criteria PF4 for both centre-based ECE services and Home-based services makes reference to the amount and variety of equipment required.