What is Quality?  What should you look for?  How can you evaluate the quality of an early childhood service?  Here is some beginning information to get you started and on this website we provide further guides and resources.

In this particular article you will find out what ChildForum's 'six signs of quality' are.  

Also, the standards NZ legislates for that are to key to quality are listed.  This will give you an idea for what the minimum conditions are and what NZ early childhood regulations might not necessarily guarantee to be present in an early childhood service.  

ChildForum's "Six Signs of Quality" to Look for are:

1. The child’s learning is supported and enriched (that is, the child is exposed to learning and experiences beyond what the child already knows and experiences at home and in other settings).
2. The child is happy about being in the service and shows this (lots of laughter, friendships, hugs, getting ready to go before its time to get ready to go the service) .
3. Potential risks to the child’ safety and health are carefully managed but not totally eliminated (for example, you would expect to see a 4 year-old being encouraged to climb a low tree with supervision and support from an adult). 
4. The physical environment suits the child and is challenging (there are lots of things which the child is interested in to keep the child busy and occupied. What is provided at the service for the child to do, gives the child a sense of being able to push oneself towards doing things at a higher level of difficulty and to try new things).
5. The values, beliefs and language of the child’s family are truly supported (there is good consistency between what the parents and family value and their aspirations for their child and the views, expectations and practices of the people caring for the child in the early childhood programme).
6. Parents' needs are fully met (parents don't feel grumpy about anything that happens or is expected at the programme -  instead parents feel delighted that they have enrolled with the service and feel like shouting from the roof-tops about how great it is for them and their child).

The signs are inter-related because weakness or strengths in the presence of any one sign will influence one or more of the other signs.  For example, if a child is not always happy then the child is not likely to learn much.

A service should fully meet expectations for:

• children’s happiness, and
• safety and health.

If a service has some deficiencies in the areas of children’s learning, physical environment, supporting family culture and language, and parents’ needs – and if these deficiencies are considered minor and they can be made-up for within the family at home or in another setting the child attends, then the service may be acceptable or still considered quality for the child and family. 

The NZ Standards to Look for and Expect (as minimum provision) are:

In terms of standards - at minimum there is an expectation that in developed countries state governments legislate for at least four things:

(1) GROUP SIZE- Unfortunately for NZ's reputation and sadly for our children NZ does not legislate for this.  We allow for up to 150 children (0- 6 years) or 75 babies to be placed together in the same facility.  This goes against good common sense, international best evidence on the indicators of quality ECE, and early childhood pedagogy.  A baby for example may be cared for more than 3 and even up to 20 different adults.  Look for an early childhood service that implements small group sizes in accordance with international research evidence on what is important to help to ensure responsive and stimulating interactions, and good health for children.  Ideally children should not be with more than 25 others for more than a few hours a day and babies/toddlers with with no more than 8 to 10 others.  Click here for more discussion on group size.

(2) TRAINED STAFF - NZ regulations focus on recognising the qualification as opposed to recognising the training undertaken (i.e. a person's skills, abilities, and qualities).  We have a fairly high standard of qualification at Level 7 on the NZ Qualification framework, and require a minimum of half of the people counted in the adult-child ratio to have a qualification recognised by the NZ Teachers Council or equivalent (i.e. a teaching diploma or degree) as suitable for working in early childhood.  However, 50% of adults do not have to hold any qualification, and other qualifications that may be recognised overseas e.g. in infant care or in Montessori teaching for example, are not recognised in NZ.   Also, qualified teachers may be spread throughout a centre or concentrated with a particular group of children, and thus a concern commonly expressed is that qualified teachers tend to be employed for older children whereas unqualified teachers are employed to work with babies because the ratios are higher and they are cheaper to employ.  Thus a parent may be told that the centre employs qualified teachers but their child may have little or no contact with a qualified teacher.  Click here for viewpoints on the employment of non-qualified teachers.   For opinion on overseas training reconition click here.  For more about what a registered teacher is click here.

(3) ADULT-CHILD RATIO -NZ regulations specify 4 children to 1 adult in home-based licensed ECE.  In centres operating for more than four hours a day the ratios are: 5 infants to 1 adult;  up to 6 over-2 yr olds to 1 adult for the first 6 children and 2 adults for up to the first 20 children and then a further adult for each additional 10 children (e.g. 3 adults for up to 30 children, 15 adults for up to 150 children).   There is concern amongst early childhood professionals and researchers that the ratio of 5 infants to 1 adult is much to high, and internationally movement has been toward ratios of a maximum of 3 or 4 infants to 1 adult as best. 

(4) SPACE- NZ  regulations specify minimum space requirements for licensed centres as 2.5 meters² per child indoors and 5 meters² a child outdoors.  In licensed home-based services the minimum indoors is 10 meters² and there is no stated minimum for outdoors apart from needing to have "some" outdoor space.   The minimum amount of space regulated for is very small, especially in a country like NZ that has space and prides itself on not having cramped conditions and allowing children to have a childhood of exploration, discovery and physical movement.  In an official report, the Commissioner for Children (2011) argued that the regulated minimum indoor space for under-2-year-olds should be increased to at least 3 m^2.  Read more about the issue of space and overcrowding (click here).

Further Reading 

For more discussion and information on how to tell good childcare from bad childcare click here.

For access to research on the quality of ECE programmes and philosophical discussion about the concept of quality click here.