Parent involvement and information

GMA1 Display of information

Criteria

The following are prominently displayed at the service for parents and visitors:

• the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008
• the full names and qualifications of each person counting towards regulated qualification requirements
• the service's current licence certificate and
• a procedure people should follow if they wish to complain about non-compliance with the Regulations or criteria.

Documentation required

A procedure people should follow if they wish to complain about non-compliance with the Regulations or criteria. The procedure includes the option to contact the local Ministry of Education office and provides contact details.

Rationale/intent

The criterion aims to ensure that parents are aware of key regulatory information relating to the service's operation (thus providing an additional level of accountability for the service) and are given the information they need if they wish to raise concerns and be involved in the service.

Guidance

ECE centres are required to clearly display the following documents so that they are easily available to be read by anyone at the centre. These could be displayed in an entryway or on a notice board so they are clearly visible and can be read by parents/whānau, caregivers or any other visitors.

• the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008, and the Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008
• the full names and qualifications of each person counting towards regulated qualification requirements
• the service's current licence certificate and
• a procedure people should follow if they wish to complain about non-compliance with the Regulations or criteria.

The procedure for people with complaints about any instance of non-compliance must include the option for people to contact the regional Ministry of Education office, with appropriate contact details.

Good practice for any service provider is to have policies and procedures in place to deal with a range of complaints from a variety of sources. These may come from:

• a parent
• a member of the community or
• a staff member.

They may be about:

• a specific teaching practice
• routine or policy
• an event
• a particular staff member
• a member of the management team or board or
• about the service in general.

Complaints will vary from minor to major and may escalate rapidly from one to the other unless they are well managed.

For clarity, a simple summary notice about the complaints process could be displayed close to the licence. This summary notice would cover the key steps and people to contact and include details of the regional Ministry office.

Guidance for developing a complaints policy/process for an ECE Service

More guidance on developing a complaints policy and process is available, which includes a suggested template for developing a complaints policy and procedure.

GMA2 Parent access to information

Criteria

Parents are advised how to access:

• information concerning their child
• the service's operational documents (such as its philosophy, policies, and procedures and any other documents that set out how day to day operations will be conducted) and
• the most recent Education Review Office report regarding the service.

Documentation required

Written information letting parents know how to access:

• information concerning their child
• the service's operational documents and
• the most recent Education Review Office report regarding the service.

Rationale/intent

To ensure that parents know how to access information about the service’s operation and their child’s education and care

Guidance

Providing written information to parents could take a variety of forms, including:

• as part of a parent induction pack
• newsletters
• or a notice on the wall of the service.

A way of meeting the criterion could be to provide copies of the statement of philosophy and important service policies are made available to parents after a child has enrolled or all relevant documents could be kept in one place in the centre, so that these can be easily accessed by parents.

To ensure parents are well informed about the service’s operation and are supporting their children’s learning and development consider:

• Creating a portfolio for each child that is readily accessible to the child and his or her parents/caregivers. For more information on child portfolios, refer to the curriculum guidance.

  Curriculum

• Portfolios can be paper based or electronic and stored online and accessed securely by parents.
• Educators could arrange individual meetings with parents to discuss their children’s learning. The emphasis of the session could be on what each child is learning and how educators and parents can work together for the benefit of the child.
• Educators could hold workshops for parents/caregivers to share the learning experiences of their children.
• Service providers could hold meetings to convey information about the service, for example:
  • upcoming self-reviews
  • transitional procedures
  • excursions
  • and so on.

Parents/caregivers need to be made aware that reports from the Education Review Office (ERO) are free and available from the local ERO office on request.

They can also be downloaded from the Education Review Office.

Education Review Office

Things to consider

Services may want to consider how information is shared so it is culturally appropriate for the centre’s community.

Things to consider include:

• parent’s first language
• communal decision-making practices
• the topic or subject.

Resources

Kei Tua o te Pae

Kei Tua o te Pae/Assessment for learning: Early Childhood Exemplars is a best practice resource developed to help educators understand and strengthen children’s learning and to show how children and parents can contribute to this assessment and improve parental awareness of teacher intentionality around ongoing learning.

Kei Tua o te Pae – Tāhūrangi

Te Whatu Pōkeka

Te Whatu Pōkeka: Kaupapa Māori Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars is a resource that explores cultural contexts and methods that contribute significantly to nurturing all aspects of children’s growth and development. It provides guidance for the assessment of Māori children in a Māori early childhood setting.

Te Whatu Pōkeka (English and Māori) – Tāhūrangi

However, services can use other resources that may have been developed in-house for this purpose.

Professional practice regarding separated parents/guardians

If a child attending the service is from a family with separated parents, the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out the right of entry to early childhood education (ECE) services for parents and guardians.

Unless a court order rules otherwise, all parents and guardians are entitled to:

• Reports about their child’s participation and learning experiences in ECE.
• Participate in the opportunities provided by the ECE service to engage with parents.
• Have access to any official records held at the service about their child’s participation in that service.

Services will need to develop a process which supports staff to ascertain how a relationship between separated parents and the service may be established so that communication channels can be opened. This could include ensuring educators have a copy of the enrolment form, so they are clear what any court orders are.

GMA3 Information provided to parents

Criteria

Information is provided to parents about:

• how they can be involved in the service
• any fees charged by the service
• the amount and details of the expenditure of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service and
• any planned reviews and consultation.

Documentation required

Written information letting parents know:

• how they can be involved in the service
• any fees charged by the service
• the amount and details of the expenditure of any Ministry of Education funding received by the service and
• about any planned reviews and consultation.

Rationale/intent

To ensure parents are well informed about the service's operation and their child's education, and are made aware of the input they are able to have

Guidance

Providing information to parents could take a variety of forms. This information could be:

• included as part of a parent induction pack
• in newsletters
• a fees schedule
• annual reports
• provided at regular meetings
• notices on the wall of the service
• website
• communications in languages other than English.

Many services develop regular reporting processes including providing an annual report. Often monthly financial reports are made available. This is a good way to provide information to parents on a regular basis.

Amount and details of Ministry funding

Information provided to parents about Ministry funding must be for the individual centre, not consolidated for an association or membership body that has multiple centres.

Things to consider

Services may want to consider how information is shared so it is culturally appropriate for the centre’s community.

Things to consider include:

• parent’s first language
• communal decision-making practices
• the topic or subject.

The service should identify the best method of communicating with for each whānau | family. Written information may not be sufficient where there are language or literacy issues.

If a child attending a service is from a family with separated parents, the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out the right of entry to early childhood education (ECE) services for parents and guardians.

Unless a court order rules otherwise, all parents and guardians are entitled to:

• Reports about their child’s participation in ECE and learning experiences.
• Participate in the opportunities provided by the ECE service to engage with parents.
• Have access to any official records held at the service related to their child’s participation in that service.

Professional practice regarding separated parents/guardians

If a child attending the service is from a family with separated parents, the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out the right of entry to early childhood education (ECE) services for parents and guardians.

Unless a court order rules otherwise, all parents and guardians are entitled to:

• Reports about their child’s participation and learning experiences in ECE.
• Participate in the opportunities provided by the ECE service to engage with parents.
• Have access to any official records held at the service about their child’s participation in that service.

Services will need to develop a process which supports staff to ascertain how a relationship between separated parents and the service may be established so that communication channels can be opened. This could include ensuring educators have a copy of the enrolment form, so they are clear what any court orders are.

See the Professional practice regarding separated parents/guardians guide under GMA2 Parent access to information, above.

GMA4 Parent involvement

Criteria

Parents of children attending the service and adults providing education and care are provided with opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service's operational documents (such as philosophy, policies and procedures and any other documents that set out how day to day operations will be conducted).

Documentation required

Evidence of opportunities provided for parents and adults providing education and care to contribute to the development and review of the service's operational documents.

Rationale/intent

The criterion is underpinned by the belief that parent and whānau involvement can positively contribute to the service’s operation and quality of education and care provided to their children.

Guidance

Services are required to show evidence they have provided opportunities for parents and educators to contribute to the development and review of your centre’s operational documents.

Documentation guidance

Evidence that parents have had opportunities to contribute to the development and review of the service's operational documents could include the following:

• For meetings:
  • attendance records
  • minutes.
• Providing documents for parents to read:
  • having a sheet parents can tick and sign when they have reviewed documents.

Things to consider

If a child attending a service is from a family with separated parents, the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out the right of entry to early childhood education (ECE) services for parents and guardians.

Unless a court order rules otherwise, all parents and guardians are entitled to:

• Reports about their child’s participation in ECE and learning experiences.
• Participate in the opportunities provided by the ECE service to engage with parents.
• Have access to any official records held at the service related to their child’s participation in that service.

Professional practice regarding separated parents/guardians

If a child attending the service is from a family with separated parents, the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out the right of entry to early childhood education (ECE) services for parents and guardians.

Unless a court order rules otherwise, all parents and guardians are entitled to:

• Reports about their child’s participation and learning experiences in ECE.
• Participate in the opportunities provided by the ECE service to engage with parents.
• Have access to any official records held at the service about their child’s participation in that service.

Services will need to develop a process which supports staff to ascertain how a relationship between separated parents and the service may be established so that communication channels can be opened. This could include ensuring educators have a copy of the enrolment form, so they are clear what any court orders are.

See the Professional practice regarding separated parents/guardians guide under GMA2 Parent access to information, above.