Education and care centre

All centre-based services other than playcentres, kōhanga reo and kindergartens are known as education and care centres. They include:

• all-day and part-day services;
• sessional services that have sessions of a few hours per day or week;
• Pacific language centres;
• privately owned centres;
• community-owned centres; and
• ancillary centres attached to a business or an organisation (for example a gym crèche).

The person responsible for operating an education and care service must be a qualified and registered teacher. There should also be enough other educators with a range of qualifications and experience to ensure a safe learning environment for children.

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Parents/whānau usually pay fees for their child to attend education and care services. Parents are sometimes involved in the management of the centre. The extent and manner of parent participation in the programme depends on the choice of service. In all types of education and care service parents should be encouraged to talk to educators, ask questions and offer information about their child.