Early learning service health assessments

We carry out health assessments of early learning services:

• as part of licensing or re-licensing
• if the Ministry of Education has raised a concern.

Your early learning service needs to have a health assessment before the Ministry of Education will issue a license to operate. The main things we will look at during a health assessment are:

• illness policies and methods of controlling the spread of diseases
• nappy changing procedures and bathroom hygiene
• general cleaning schedules and upkeep of the service
• checking that ventilation is up to standard
• checking that noise levels are safe.

Health assessments are:

• based on requirements under the relevant licensing criteria
• completed in accordance with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.

Apply for an early learning service licence or certification - Ministry of Educationexternal link

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 - New Zealand Legislationexternal link

When establishing or re-licencing a new early learning service, contact the national public health service (NPHS) in your region.

They will schedule a time for your health assessment visit and request any documentation required, like health policies and procedures. The health assessment will take place before opening day. Before the assessment, make sure that:

• all building work and renovations are completed
• all equipment is operating
• fixtures, fittings and furniture are in place
• health and safety policies and procedures are available for review.

We recommend that someone with detailed knowledge of the early learning service, such as a manager, is available during the assessment.

National Public Health Serviceexternal link

We recommend that health and hygiene policies have 2 parts:

• a policy statement that outlines a reason or need for the policy
• practices or procedures that will take place at your early learning service to make sure the policy is met.