Parents’ Guide: ECE Options, Choosing Well & Your Rights
Choosing childcare brings many questions, and clear guidance helps. This section explains your ECE options, what quality looks like, and your rights – so you can choose well and know what to do if a service isn’t meeting your expectations or legal standards.
Making a Complaint, the Complaints Process, Steps and Your Rights
Licensed early childhood services must meet minimum legal standards and are expected to exceed these and operate transparently. Complaints are an essential part of keeping…
Smart Lunch‑Box Ideas for Children attending ECE Services
Packing a lunch‑box can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to meet ECE food‑safety rules and still send food your child will happily eat. This guide…
The 7 Essential Skills for Children to Have Before Starting School
Parents and teachers will discover the seven essential skills children need before starting school. This article shows how everyday experiences help children build the confidence,…
Six Signs of Quality Early Childhood Education
Six Signs of Quality Early Childhood Education. What is quality? Actual quality is about what a parent and child experiences and how they see their…
The Best Person to Trust your Child’s Care To
The personal characteristics of the person or people you are leaving your child with are important to consider when making your choice. Are you returning…
The Breastfeeding‑Friendly Early Childhood Service Checklist
A checklist to help parents assess whether an ECE service supports breastfeeding, nurtures infant wellbeing, and creates a truly family‑friendly environment. A supportive ECE environment…
Childcare – What to Look for When Choosing Care
Childcare. When you leave your child with another person/s this is childcare. Nearly every family at some time uses some form of care for their child. Childcare is what…
Differences between Montessori, Rudolf Steiner and Kindergarten
Montessori Rudolf-Steiner and Kindergarten. By Dr Sarah Alexander. Montessori Montessori early childhood centres or schools are different to walk into from most kindergartens and other…
Home-based, In-home Care, and Nannies
Home-based. By Dr Sarah Alexander. Home-based childcare is also known as In-home care and as family daycare. Home-based ECE is when someone looks after up to 4 children at…
Teacher-Led Centres: Childcare, Kindergarten, Preschool, Daycare and Creche
Teacher-led Centres. By Dr Sarah Alexander. Professionally staffed, teacher-led centres are those that you can leave your child at - these centres are both childcare…
Parent-Led Centres and Whānau based Services: Playcentre, Kohanga Reo and Pacific Island Family Centres, Nga Puna Kōhangahunga, and Playgroups
Parent-led centre means a licensed centre at which parents are involved in caring for and teaching children. Parents are also involved in the management and…
Space and Overcrowding – Avoiding Stress and an Environment in Which Learning is Difficult for Children
Space and Overcrowding. By Sarah Alexander. When you walk into an early childhood centre or home-based education setting you are likely to feel either one…
Arranging Childcare: Family and Personal Solutions
Arranging childcare. By Dr Sarah Alexander. Most families at some time make personal childcare arrangements. It is actually very common for families to combine personal…
The Best Age for a Child to Start at an Early Childhood Education Service
Many parents wonder when the best time is for their child to start early childhood education. We explain why starting later doesn’t disadvantage children and…
