Code of Conduct for Early Childhood Services

The Code of Early Childhood Service Conduct (see below) sets out the standards of conduct every family who enrols with a licensed early childhood education and care service can rightly expect of it.  

As part of meeting the Code of Conduct services are asked to state that they uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa/ NZ’s founding document and support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Download a copy in A3 poster size to display on your parent and staff noticeboards.

Download a copy in A4 paper size to include with parent enrolment information and employee information.

Standards of the Code of Early Childhood Service Conduct

We demonstrate a strong ethic of care and respect for children’s rights

We care about each child in our care and respect children’s rights. Caring and relationship is as an educational goal and fundamental to our service.

We make sure that:

1. All adults act to keep children safe.
2. Children experience individual attention and conversation with their teachers/ educators as well as group interaction.
3. Children’s mental health is supported, and emotions are understood and responded to with sensitivity. 
4. Children can have their parents and caregivers stay with them in the programme and parents and caregivers are never excluded or made to feel that they cannot stay.
5. Members of our team never talk negatively about a child or any adult in the presence or hearing of a child. 
6. No child is restricted from attending our service for reasons of gender, race, religion, disability and learning needs or family background.
7. Our enrolment and attendance policies can be adjusted as needed to uphold the best interests of the child and family circumstances.
8. We prominently display the Code of Children’s Rights in ECE or provide all families with a copy and regularly evaluate our performance in meeting it.

We ensure legal requirements are met  

We comply with all relevant regulations and rules as a crucial part of doing well for our community and society and by everyone in our service.

We make sure that:

1. Our service is well managed in accordance with all relevant legal requirements and rules including those pertaining to education, child protection, human rights, consumer rights, building and facilities, and employment.    
2. Every person in our team knows the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations and licensing criteria well and can say how they help to make sure our service meets these.

We act professionally

We are a professional service that operates in strongly professional ways.

We make sure that:

1. We view parents and caregivers as the experts on their child and support them in their role. 
2. Professional behaviour is always displayed by members of our team, including managers.
3. Team members are supported to develop their knowledge and skills and share their learning with each other.   
4. Our service stays informed of current developments and works to continuously improve its quality for children and families.
5. We recognise the status of tangata whenua in Aotearoa NZ and practise and develop the use of te reo and tikanga Māori.
6. We advocate for the well-being of all young children and for policies and practices that enhance the quality of early childhood education in Aotearoa NZ.

We are transparent and accountable

We are accountable to families for the safety and quality of service provided and to the public for our use of funding. We maintain a climate of openness and transparency.  

We make sure that:

1. Parents and caregivers are welcome to observe our programme in action when they wish.
2. Parents and families are regularly invited to submit their views anonymously through a parent survey.  Feedback is valued and incorporated into our assessment and quality improvement processes.
3. Parents and families can raise concerns at any time or make a complaint safely and without fear that they and their child/children may be adversely affected.
4. Should any child experience harm while in our care, we do not attempt to cover-up what happened and will accept responsibility. We act with sensitivity and kindness toward all who are affected.
5. We answer questions about the operation, fees, and finances of our service honestly and in a timely manner.
6. Current financial records showing revenue from parent fees, funding, and other sources along with details of expenditure, capital reserves and profit are available publicly on our website or are made available for anyone to read at our service.

Code of Early Childhood Service Conduct
Published by the Office of Early Childhood Education  
Last updated July 2023