Licensing criteria for home-based ECE services

Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link) defines home-based ECE services as the provision of education or care, for gain or reward, to children who are under the age of 5 years, or who are aged 5 years but not enrolled at school, in:

  • the children’s own home; or
  • the home of the person providing the education or care; or
  • any other home nominated by a parent of the children.

These services are licensed in accordance with the Education and Training Act 2020 under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008(external link), which prescribe minimum standards that each licensed service must meet. Licensing criteria are used to assess how the services meet the minimum standards required by the regulations.

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

The publication of the criteria on its own can be downloaded as a PDF [PDF, 1.3 MB] and printed.

The licensing criteria were last updated in September 2022.

HS30 Use of alcohol and other drugs by coordinators and educators

  • Criteria
    • Criteria

      Health and Safety practices criterion 30

      Coordinators and educators must not use, or be under the influence of, alcohol or any other substance that has a detrimental effect on their functioning or behaviour while responsible for children attending the service.

      Rationale/Intent:

      The criterion aims to uphold the safety and wellbeing 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 would be beneficial for a service provider to develop clear procedures to make expectations of coordinators and educators clear. The procedure could outline the consequences of inappropriate behaviour. It is good practice to go through this procedure with both coordinators and educators during their induction process and to share this information with parents.

      The procedure should cover what action will be taken if an educator / coordinator is under the influence of alcohol or any other substance. This is a staff management issue and appropriate procedures need to be followed such as processes for managing serious misconduct. See the guidance for GMA6 - Human Resource Management.