Certification criteria for playgroups

Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link) defines a playgroup as a group that meets on a regular basis to facilitate children's play and in respect of which—

  1. no child attends for more than 4 hours on any day; and
  2. more than half the children attending on any occasion have a parent or caregiver present in the same play area at the same time; and
  3. the total number of children attending on any occasion is not greater than 4 times the number of parents and caregivers present in the same play area at the same time.

Playgroups include Puna Kōhungahunga, cultural playgroups and community language playgroups.

Playgroups are certificated in accordance with the Education and Training Act 2020 under the Education (Playgroups) Regulations 2008(external link), which prescribe minimum standards that each certificated playgroup must meet. Certification criteria are used to assess how playgroups meet the minimum standards required by the regulations.

For each criterion there is guidance to help playgroups meet the required standards.

The publication of the criteria on its own can be downloaded as a PDF [PDF, 1.1 MB] and printed.

The certification criteria were last updated in September 2022.

HS9 Alcohol and other substances

  • Criteria

    • Criteria

      Health and safety criterion 9

      No person on the premises uses, or is under the influence of alcohol or any other substance that has a detrimental effect on their functioning or behaviour during the playgroups’ hours of operation.

      Rationale/Intent

      This criteria aims to uphold the safety and well being of children.

       

  • Guidance

    • Guidance

      Any examples in the guidance are provided as a starting point to show how services can meet (or exceed) the requirement. Services may choose to use other approaches better suited to their needs as long as they comply with the criteria.

      It is a good idea to have a policy and process in regard to alcohol and other substances for volunteers, parents and visitors to the playgroup.

      Your policy should be developed in conjunction with your community so there is a shared understanding of what actions a service may take. Your agreed process should be included in a parent information pack.

      Your policy should cover:

      • What would your playgroup community do if a parent or caregiver arrived to drop off or collect a child or they intend to stay and they were under the influence of alcohol or any other substance?
      • What would you do if a visitor arrived and they were under the influence of alcohol or any other substance?