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.

HS22 First aid qualifications

  • Criteria

    • Criteria

      Health and safety practices criterion 22

      There is an adult present, at all times while children are attending, who:

      • holds a current First Aid qualification gained from a New Zealand Qualification Authority accredited first aid training provider; or 
      • is a registered medical practitioner or nurse with a current practising certificate; or 
      • is a qualified ambulance officer or paramedic.

      If access to first aid training is limited due to circumstances beyond the service provider’s control, the service provider must ensure that educators have knowledge of first aid, and gain a first aid qualification within 4 months of starting work at the service.

      If a child is injured, any required first aid is administered or supervised by an adult meeting these requirements.

      Documentation required:

      1. Copies of current first aid (or medical practising) certificates for adults counting towards this requirement.
      2. Where access to first aid training for an educator is limited, a record of the actions taken by the service provider to ensure the educator has knowledge of first aid and achieves a first aid qualification within 4 months of starting work at the service.
      Rationale/Intent:

      The criterion aims to uphold the safety of children by ensuring adults with the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with injuries and illness are present at all times and readily available.

      Amended May 2016

  • Guidance

    • Guidance

      First Aid Qualifications

      Information on the required first aid qualifications is available of the First Aid page of this website.

      This includes information on who to contact to have an international first aid qualification assessed to see if it meets requirements.

      If access to first aid training is limited due to circumstances beyond the service provider’s control, the service provider must ensure that educators have knowledge of first aid, and gain a first aid qualification within 4 months of starting work at the service.

      To help services correctly apply this condition clause, operational guidelines are available.

      Documentation guidance:

      Where access to first aid training is limited, the service provider must record their decision to apply the condition, including:

      • their assessment of the educator’s interim first aid knowledge; and
      • the date of booked first aid training.

      There is a template [DOCX, 24 KB] that services can use to record the required information.

      The service provider must keep a copy of the educator’s first aid certificate and ensure the certificate is kept up to date.