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Rules for early childhood education
All licensed services and certificated playgroups are regulated by us.
Licensing criteria are used to assess how centres meet the minimum standards set out in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
Playgroups must meet the Education (Playgroups) Regulations 2008 to be certified and receive government funding.
Education (Playgroups) Regulations 2008 – New Zealand Legislation
See the licensing criteria for each type of service below:
Research and prepare
You must understand the geographic area you want to start your service in and decide the type of service you want to establish.
To do this, you can:
- visit other services in your area to find out what types of services are already in your community
- do an assessment to understand what kind of service would best suit your community’s needs
- talk to staff at your regional office about early learning services and needs in your area.
Review regional data
Education Counts has data and information about what early learning services already exist in your area, and a forecast of population growth. This can help you decide if there is demand for another service in your area.
The Early Learning Network Dashboard – Education Counts
Education Counts also has early learning statistics such as participation, finances, staffing and language use.
Statistics New Zealand's Data Explorer includes census information, ethnicity and age.
Aotearoa data explorer – Statistics New Zealand
Commuter Waka shows regional data about how people travel for work and school.
Apply for a licence or certification
Find information on how to start early learning services or playgroups that need to be licenced or certified.
Apply for an early learning service licence
Funding
The ECE Funding Handbook sets out how we fund licensed early learning services.
The Playgroup Funding Handbook explains how playgroup funding is calculated and what conditions need to be met to receive funding.
Curriculum
Licensed early childhood education services and certified playgroups must follow the national gazetted curriculum framework for early childhood education, Te Whāriki.
Kei Tua o te Pae/Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars is a best-practice guide that will help teachers continue to improve the quality of their teaching.
