Are you are reading this because you want to know what an early childhood centre should (or should not) be providing?  Or maybe you want to know if something happening at your centre is actually legal?

To help you in easily finding what you need to know, we have summarised the legal stuff for ECE of most relevance to families and prepared this Guide which sets out the basic information under key topic section headings.

This Guide is a more reader-friendly version of the regulations and criteria (though if only the regulations and criteria were written in plain English we could have made this Guide a lot more reader-friendly without running the risk of inadvertently providing inaccurate information).  

We do not wish to confuse you, but we must let you know that the Ministry of Education also provides written 'Guidance' for its staff and ECE services on how the criteria and regulations can be put into operation. The Guidance gives the Ministry's interpretation of the intent behind the different criteria and regulations. Our My ECE Guide does not include or mention the Guidance, because from what we can make out the Guidance is just 'guidance' and is not legally binding.  

If you can't see in any of the topic sections shown below what you want to know, then consider if your question or issue may be covered by regulations outside of education, for example in the areas of consumer or employment law.