- Laws and regulations for early learning services
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Licensing criteria for centre-based ECE services
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Curriculum
- C101 Curriculum consistency
- C102 Assessment
- C103 Interactions
- C104 Adults' knowledge
- C105 Acknowledgement of tangata whenua
- C106 Culture
- C107 Curriculum responsive
- C108 Language-rich environment
- C109 Range of experiences
- C110 Developing social competence
- C111 Parents' aspirations
- C112 Opportunities for parents
- C113 Seeking information
- Curriculum criteria documentation required
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Premises and facilities
- PF101 Design, layout and supervision of premises
- PF102 Building Act compliance
- PF103 Quantity and range of equipment
- PF104 Safe and suitable items, surfaces, furniture, materials and equipment
- PF105 Flooring
- PF106 Glass safety
- PF107 Storage
- PF108 Adult workspace
- PF109 Art preparation and clean up facilities
- PF110 Telephone
- PF111 Lighting, ventilation, temperature control and acoustic materials
- PF112 Outdoor activity space
- PF113 Infant toddler safe space
- PF114 Dining facilities
- PF115 Kitchen facilities
- PF116 Kitchen safety
- PF117 Toilets
- PF118 Handwashing and drying facilities
- PF119 Adult toilet, handwashing and drying facilities
- PF120 Nappy change facilities
- PF121 Body wash facilities
- PF122 Isolation area
- PF123 First aid kit
- PF124 Design of sleep provisions
- PF125 Mattress coverings and bedding
- PF126 Sessional services only: over 2 sleep space
- PF127 All-day services only: over 2 sleep space
- PF128 Sessional services only: under 2 sleep space
- PF129 All-day services: under 2 cot-to-child ratio
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Health and safety
- HS101 Premises and contents are safe and hygienic
- HS102 Laundering
- HS103 Nappy changing procedure
- HS104 Fire evacuation scheme
- HS105 Emergency plan and supplies
- HS106 Emergency drills
- HS107 Sleep monitoring
- HS108 Hazard and risk management
- HS109 Hot water taps
- HS110 Hot water cylinder temperature
- HS111 Noise levels
- HS112 Animals
- HS113 Excursions
- HS114 Travel by motor vehicle
- HS115 Food, drink and nutrition
- HS116 Supervision while eating
- HS117 Bottle feeding
- HS118 Room temperature
- HS119 First aid qualifications
- HS120 Response to infectious illnesses
- HS121 Medical assistance and incident management
- HS122 Medicine administration
- HS123 Medicine training
- HS124 Children washed when soiled
- HS125 Child protection
- HS126 Inappropriate material
- HS127 Alcohol and other substances
- HS128 Notification to the Education Review Office
- Governance, management and administration
- Glossary
- Schedule 1: Infectious diseases
- Schedule 2: Categories of medicine and written authority required from parents for criterion HS122
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Curriculum
- Certification criteria for playgroups
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Licensing criteria for home-based ECE services
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Curriculum
- C201 Curriculum consistent
- C202 Assessment
- C203 Interactions
- C204 Adults' knowledge
- C205 Acknowledgement of tangata whenua
- C206 Culture
- C207 Curriculum responsive
- C208 Language-rich environment
- C209 Range of experiences
- C210 Developing social competence
- C211 Parents' aspirations
- C212 Opportunities for parents
- C213 Seeking information
- Curriculum criteria documentation required
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Premises and facilities
- PF201 Design, layout and supervision of premises
- PF202 Building Act compliance
- PF203 Variety of equipment
- PF204 Infant toddler safe space
- PF205 Flooring
- PF206 Storage
- PF207 Art preparation and clean up facilities
- PF208 Telephone
- PF209 Lighting, ventilation, temperature control and acoustic materials
- PF210 Outdoor activity space
- PF211 Dining facilities
- PF212 Kitchen facilities
- PF213 Isolation area
- PF214 First aid kit
- PF215 Toilet and handwashing facilities
- PF216 Nappy change facilities
- PF217 Body wash facilities
- PF218 Sleep facilities
- PF219 Design of sleep provisions
- PF220 Mattress coverings and bedding
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Health and safety practices
- HS201 Premises and contents are safe and hygienic
- HS202 Laundering
- HS203 Nappy changing procedure
- HS204 Emergency plan and supplies
- HS205 Emergency drills
- HS206 Sleep monitoring
- HS207 Hazard and risk management
- HS208 Noise levels
- HS209 Animals
- HS210 Excursions
- HS211 Travel by motor vehicle
- HS212 Food, drink and nutrition
- HS213 Supervision while eating
- HS214 Bottle feeding
- HS215 Room temperature
- HS216 First aid qualifications
- HS217 Response to infectious illnesses
- HS218 Medical assistance and incident management
- HS219 Medicine administration
- HS220 Medicine training
- HS221 Children washed when soiled
- HS222 Child protection
- HS223 Inappropriate materials
- HS224 Use of alcohol and other substances by coordinators and educators
- HS225 Use of alcohol and other substances by other people at the home
- HS226 Smoking
- HS227 Notification to the Education Review Office
- HS228 Supervision plan
- Governance, management and administration
- Glossary
- Schedule: Categories of medicine and written authority required from parents for criterion HS219
- More home-based regulatory guidance
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Curriculum
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Licensing criteria for hospital-based ECE services
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Curriculum
- C301 Curriculum consistent
- C302 Assessment
- C303 Interactions
- C304 Adults' knowledge
- C305 Acknowledgement of tangata whenua
- C306 Culture
- C307 Curriculum responsive
- C308 Language-rich environment
- C309 Range of experiences
- C310 Behaviour management
- C311 Parents’ aspirations
- C312 Opportunities for parents
- C313 Seeking information
- Curriculum criteria documentation required
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Premises and facilities
- PF301 Hospital legislation compliance
- PF302 Quantity and variety of equipment
- PF303 Safe and suitable items, surfaces, furniture and equipment
- PF304 Storage
- PF305 Adult workspace
- PF306 Art preparation and clean up facilities
- PF307 Design, layout and supervision of premises
- PF308 Infant toddler safe space
- PF309 Flooring
- PF310 Telephone
- PF311 Handwashing and drying facilities
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Health and safety practices
- HS301 Hospital legislation compliance
- HS302 Premises and contents are safe and hygienic
- HS303 Safe assembly areas
- HS304 Emergency drills
- HS305 Animals
- HS306 Excursions
- HS307 Travel by motor vehicle
- HS308 Room temperature
- HS309 Hazard and risk management
- HS310 Noise levels
- HS311 Medicine administration
- HS312 Child protection
- HS313 Inappropriate material
- HS314 Alcohol
- HS315 Alcohol and other substances at the service
- Governance, management and administration
- Glossary
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Curriculum
- Licensing criteria for kōhanga reo
- Providing out-of-school care at a home-based early learning service
Criterion HS109
# The temperature of warm water delivered from taps that children can access independently is not higher than 40°C, and comfortable for children at the centre to use.
Guidance
How to show you are complying
You must be able to show that the warm water flowing from taps accessed by children is comfortable and does not exceed 40°C.
We consider warm water between 25°C and 40°C to be a comfortable temperature. There are many ways to demonstrate compliance with this requirement. It largely depends on your context, including whether you use a hot water cylinder, continuous hot water, or a water heater.
Tempering valves and thermostatic mixing valves
If you use a hot water cylinder to store hot water, you could use a tempering valve to make sure the water temperature does not exceed 40°C.
A tempering valve is a safety device fitted by a plumber to provide water to taps at a consistently controlled temperature. It works by mixing hot and cold water between the hot water source and the outlet.
You could also use a thermostatic mixing valve to regulate water temperature. A thermostatic mixer will need to be installed by a plumber. It automatically blends hot and cold water to deliver water at a safe, consistent temperature of typically between 38°C and 50°C.
Continuous hot water systems
If you have a continuous flow gas hot water system, you could set the thermostat to deliver water between 37°C and 40°C for taps that children can access.
These systems are electronically controlled and can be installed with up to 3 temperature controllers for different water outlets. They are normally factory set to 55°C, so you will need to change the setting to 40°C or less.
When assessing whether you comply with HS109
Questions we are likely to ask
How do you make sure the temperature of water at children’s taps is less than 40°C?
We are likely to look at, measure or count
Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water flowing from different taps children access in your service to make sure it is comfortable and no hotter than 40°C.
We are likely to request
The hash symbol # indicates that we might ask for a report from the National Public Health Service, under Regulation 55 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. This report would help check if the temperature of water available to children is comfortable and no higher than 40°C.
It is important to control the temperature of water young children use because hot water can cause serious burns.
Doing more than the minimum can shape better outcomes for children. Here are some ideas or examples you might like to consider:
You may find it useful to keep a daily record of the temperature emanating from children’s taps, at full flow. Over time, this may help you determine that the technology supporting the taps is malfunctioning.
Before opening each day, you could check the temperature of the water flowing from these taps. You could keep a written or digital record of these checks.