About upcoming changes to hospital-based service reviews
ERO is exploring how reviews of hospital-based early childhood services may evolve in the future. This work is still in its early stages, and no changes to current review approaches have been confirmed.
As part of this work, ERO is considering how we can continue to strengthen our understanding of quality, compliance, leadership and continuous improvement in these unique service settings. We know that hospital-based services operate differently from centre-based services, and any future review approaches will need to reflect the distinctive ways these services support children's learning, development, wellbeing and safety.
We are at the beginning of this work and will continue to engage with the sector as our thinking develops. Any future changes will be informed by feedback from providers, leaders, educators, teachers, kaiako, parents and whānau, alongside ERO's experience reviewing and evaluating early childhood services.
What can services expect?
At this stage, there is no change to how ERO reviews hospital-based services.
As we develop and test future approaches, services can expect ERO to:
Work with the sector to better understand the unique features hospital-based education and care.
Explore how review approaches can continue to support quality improvement, regulatory compliance and positive outcomes for children and mokopuna.
Develop and test potential tools, resources and guidance to support services and review officers.
Share information and seek feedback before any new approaches are implemented more widely.
What can parents and whānau expect?
For parents and whānau, there is nothing you need to do differently.
ERO will continue to review hospital-based services and publish review findings. If any future changes to review approaches are introduced, our focus will remain the same: understanding how effectively services support children's learning, development, wellbeing and safety, and providing clear information to families about the quality of education and care.
We encourage you to:
Check this page regularly for updates, resources and answers to frequently asked questions as the new review approach continues to be developed and implemented.
Read ERO newsletters, and updates from review teams and our Director of Regulation and ECE.
Send your questions through to info@ero.govt.nz