Choosing the Right ECE Centre for Your Tamariki - The Questions to Ask

Choosing childcare for your tamariki can be hard. First there’s the practical things to think about like location, cost, days that they'll attend. Then comes visiting centres and trying to get a real feel for whether it’s actually the right place for your tamariki.

When you get there it can feel a bit overwhelming. It’s not always easy to know what to ask, what to look for, or even what matters most to you.

Every whānau is different. We all have our own priorities, values, and hopes for our tamariki. That’s why we had a kōrero with a group of parents whose tamariki have recently attended ECE centres across Aotearoa. Here’s a summary of what they would recommend asking about, or at least thinking through, before making a decision.

What’s the teacher turnover like at the centre?

This can be a really helpful way to get a sense of the culture of the centre and whether staff enjoy working there. Do educators tend to stay long-term?

If there is a lot of turnover, it’s worth thinking about whether that matters to you. Some tamariki find it harder when teachers change, especially if they take time to build trust and connection.

What are the staff qualifications and experience like?

Many centres have a mix of qualified and unqualified teachers, with minimum requirements set by the Ministry of Education. A qualified teacher will usually hold a Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) or a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education.

For some parents, having more than the minimum number of qualified teachers is important. It can bring a sense of reassurance, especially when it comes to supporting behaviour, emotional development, and transitions to school. This can feel particularly important if your tamariki are neurodiverse or need extra support.

For others, experience matters just as much. Teachers who have been working with tamariki for many years often bring a lot of practical knowledge. Some parents also shared that knowing unqualified teachers are often parents themselves, working alongside qualified staff, felt more than enough for them.

What are your teacher to child ratios?

Ratios can get a little confusing, but in simple terms the current minimum requirements are 1:5 for tamariki under 2, and 1:10 for tamariki aged 2 and over.

That’s just the minimum. Many centres choose to have smaller ratios.

Smaller ratios can mean more attention, more support with big emotions, and more opportunities for connection, especially for younger tamariki. If this is important to you, it’s worth asking what it looks like in practice day to day.

Do you assign a primary or key teacher? How does this work?

Many centres, but not all, use a key teacher approach. This means your tamariki will have one main kaiako who supports them, especially when they are first settling in.

This can be really helpful, giving your child someone familiar to connect with in a new environment.

One question that came up in our kōrero with parents was, what happens if my child doesn’t connect with their key teacher? It can be helpful to ask how the centre responds to this, whether they support building that relationship over time, and whether they are open to making changes if needed.

Kai time, what do I provide and what do you provide?

For some whānau it’s important that their tamariki receive meals at the centre. For others it’s simply a practical consideration, whether they need to pack lunches each day or not.

If kai is provided, it can be helpful to ask about the weekly menu so you have a sense of what your child will be eating. You might also want to talk through allergies, how cross contamination is managed, and how any reactions are handled.

How much te reo Māori is used within the centre?

If you whakapapa Māori this may be really important for your whānau, wanting your tamariki to grow up connected to te reo Māori and tikanga in everyday ways.

For other whānau this might be less of a priority, and you may be comfortable with whatever level the centre offers.

Either way, it can be helpful to understand how te reo Māori is used in practice, not just what the policy says.

How do you manage challenging behaviour?

You likely already have some ideas about how you want behaviour to be supported. It can be really helpful if there is some alignment between home and ECE, giving your tamariki consistency.

Listening to how kaiako talk about tamariki, especially when they are having a hard time, can also tell you a lot about the environment. Sometimes you’ll hear something that just doesn’t sit right, and that can be helpful information too.

How do you handle separation anxiety?

Some level of separation anxiety is completely normal, especially when tamariki are first starting ECE, or if they haven’t spent much time away from you before.

With this in mind, it’s important to understand how the centre will support your tamariki, and how much they are willing to work alongside you. You might want to ask how they manage drop offs, how they communicate during the day, and how they support children who are finding it hard to settle.

How do you support the transition to school?

If your tamariki are getting closer to school age, it can be helpful to understand how the centre prepares them for that next step.

It can also be helpful to know whether they communicate with local schools, or support visits, so the transition feels a little more familiar for your child.

What happens if my child is sick?

Illness policies help keep everyone safe and healthy. These don’t tend to vary too much between centres, but it’s still helpful to understand them clearly.

Some useful questions to ask or look for are what symptoms mean your child needs to stay home, how long they need to stay home after being unwell, how minor illnesses are handled during the day, and what happens if your child becomes sick while in care.

This isn’t a perfect list, and we’re certainly not telling you what should or shouldn’t matter. It’s simply a way to help you reflect on what feels important for your whānau, and to make sure you have the information you need.

It’s also worth remembering that no centre is going to tick every box. It’s about working out what matters most to you, and finding a place that feels like a good fit for your tamariki.