ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION ACTION PLAN
for NZQA Early Childhood Education and Care
(version 3)
ACCREDITATION
For queries related to the accreditation process providers should contact the appropriate
Quality Assurance Body (QAB) or where NZQA is the accrediting QAB:
Contact
Operations Officer
Approvals, Accreditation and Audit
NZQA
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Fax:
04 382 6895
Email:
aaa@nzqa.govt.nz
For assistance in interpretation of industry requirements:
Contact
Administration Officer
National Qualifications Services
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Fax:
04 463 3112
Email:
nqs@nzqa.govt.nz
Education > Early Childhood Education and Care
Domain
Standard IDs
9302, 9306, 9308, 9312, 9314, 9325,
Early Childhood: Educational Theory and
10013, 10019-10024, 10026, 10028,
Practice
10029, 26707-26712, 27145
a
Early Childhood: Family, Whānau,
Community, and Society
9331, 9332, 9337, 20406, 20407, 27146
Early Childhood: Professional Practice
9293, 9297, 10032, 10033, 12736,
26714-26716
Accreditation Option for all unit standards
Levels 1-4
Evaluation of documentation by NZQA, industry and
teaching professional in the same field from another
provider.
Levels 5 and above
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA, industry
and teaching professional in the same field from another
provider.
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b
Areas of shared responsibility
Nil.
c
Circumstances under which industry involvement in an accreditation visit
may be waived
Nil.
d
e
Accreditation fees
i
Advising providers preparing for accreditation:
$50 per hour plus GST, plus any expenses charged at “actual and
reasonable”.
ii
Administration fee (to cover the costs of administering the process):
$50 plus GST.
iii
Participating with NZQA/NZPPC in evaluation of documentation:
$100 plus GST.
iv
Participating with NZQA/NZPPC in evaluation of documentation and an
accreditation visit of up to one day:
$300 plus GST.
v
Where additional time is required for a visit:
$100 plus GST per half day.
vi
Travel and accommodation:
Where required these expenses are additional and are charged at “actual
and reasonable” expenses. Use of a private motor vehicle is charged at
40 cents per kilometre.
Accreditation criteria
1
Development and Evaluation of Teaching Programmes:
There is a system for developing coherent teaching programmes and for
their evaluation, which should include evaluation by learners/consumers.
2
Financial, Administrative and Physical Resources:
Adequate and appropriate financial and administrative resources will be
maintained to enable all necessary activities to be carried out.
Adequate, appropriate and accessible physical resources will be available
for supporting students to meet the required standards.
3
Staff Selection, Appraisal and Development:
A teaching staff with the necessary knowledge and skills will be maintained
through staff selection, appraisal and development.
Ref: 0135
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4
Student Entry:
There is a system for establishing and clearly publicising student entry
requirements that include no unreasonable barriers.
5
Student Guidance/Support Systems:
Students have adequate access to appropriate guidance/support systems.
6
Off-site Practical/Work-Based Components:
There are arrangements for ensuring that any off-site practical/work-based
components are fully integrated into the relevant programmes.
7
Assessment:
There is a system for ensuring that assessment is fair, valid and consistent.
8
Reporting:
There is a system for providing students with fair and regular feedback on
progress and fair reporting on final achievements, with an associated
appeals procedure.
There is a reliable system for archiving information on final student
achievements.
f
Industry specific requirements
There are special requirements for accreditation on the following criteria. The
rationale for these special requirements is to ensure that the needs of the learner
are met, and that children are safe in their care.
Criterion 1
Development and Evaluation of Teaching Programmes
Policies and procedures for the development and evaluation of
teaching programmes will include consultative mechanisms with
appropriately experienced personnel, as well as learners and
consumers.
Criterion 2
Financial Administrative and Physical Resources
The provider will have policy/ies and procedures that ensure the
physical resources are adequate, accessible, and appropriate for
the numbers of students being catered for at any one time. Also,
that provision of access to library resources provides up-to-date
information through a range of media, for example, access to online
electronic databases such as the Educational Research Information
Centre (ERIC) as well as written text.
The rationale for this requirement is to ensure that learning is
informed by current research information on Early Childhood
Education and Care from the available range of sources.
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Criterion 3
Staff Selection, Appraisal and Development

For levels 3 and above the provider will have policies and
procedures which ensure that the majority of teaching staff
have a teaching qualification and a qualification in Early
Childhood Education and Care (encompassing both theory and
practice) at a higher level than the unit standards against which
they are assessing.

The provider will have policies and procedures that provide
opportunities for staff to seek higher qualifications in Early
Childhood Education and Care as part of on-going professional
development.
The rationale for this requirement is to ensure that learners receive
quality education, and are assessed by staff with appropriate levels
of knowledge, skills and experience in early childhood education
and care.
Criterion 4
Criterion 6
Student Entry

The provider will need to show policies and procedures for
ensuring that students are suitable for working with young
children.

The provider will have policies and procedures for carrying out
a police check on prospective students where the provider
plans to place these students in practicums in early childhood
settings. Student entry will be provisional until police checks
have been completed. Providers must be able to show records
of provisional entry and the outcome of each police check.
Off-site Practical/Work-Based Components
The provider will have policies and procedures to identify criteria for
selection of off-site Early Childhood Centres, and that there is a
written contract between a provider and the Early Childhood
Centres at which practicums take place. It is required that the
contract, amongst other things, addresses the following:



the role and responsibilities of the practicum supervisor in
relation to the trainee, including skills, knowledge, and
attributes to be applied, and reporting in relation to the
provider’s gathering of assessment evidence against unit
standards;
the provider’s policy and procedures for ensuring the suitability
of the trainee to be placed in an Early Childhood Centre;
procedures for dealing with any difficulties that may arise.
Ref: 0135
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g
Approval and implementation
NZQA will ensure that sufficient personnel will be available to undertake
accreditation visits and evaluate documentation. Personnel for accreditation visits
will be briefed on the nature and process of accreditation and trained for their role
in the process.
MODERATION
NZQA manages moderation systems for schools and tertiary providers1 assessing against
the standards covered by this plan.
Accredited schools and tertiary providers intending to assess against these standards
need to make contact as below so that external moderation of assessments can be
arranged.
Secondary Providers Contact
Operations Officer
NZQA Assessment
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Fax:
04 463 3113
Internet:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/acrp/
Tertiary Providers Contact
Operations Officer
Tertiary Assessment and Moderation
NZQA
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Fax:
04 463 3114
Email:
tam@nzqa.govt.nz
System Structure
A centrally established and directed national moderation system has been set up by
NZQA.
Moderation is post-event, ie approval of assessment material and verification of assessor
judgements are completed simultaneously after assessment has occurred.
1 Tertiary Provider means a New Zealand polytechnic, college of education, wananga, private training
establishment, industry training organisation or government training establishment.
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Coverage and Intensity of Moderation
The level of moderation required and selection of standards, which forms the moderation
plan, depends on a combination of:
 the amount of assessment being carried out
 the number of standards used
 the moderation history of the organisation
 NQF assessment and other moderation commitments, and
 any other contributing quality assurance factors or requirements
and will focus on:
 the highest level at which assessment is occurring
 newly registered standards and/or areas of accreditation
 high ‘risk’ standards
 targeted moderation systems, if applicable.
Material required for Moderation
Assessment material (assessment activities and assessment schedules) and a sample of
assessed candidate work will be required to be submitted for moderation.
Outline of Responsibilities and Reporting
Each school and tertiary provider should have a named person for moderation contact
with NZQA.
NZQA will confirm standards for moderation and allocate moderator(s) to the school or
tertiary provider.
The school and tertiary provider are required to submit materials to the moderator(s) by
the due date in the moderation plan.
Moderators complete moderation reports and send them to the school or tertiary provider,
and a copy to NZQA.
A final annual report, summarising moderation outcomes, is provided to the school or
tertiary provider at the conclusion of each complete moderation cycle, ie when all
moderation requirements within the moderation plan have been met.
Comprehensive details
Comprehensive details of the Moderation System and relevant documentation can be
accessed through the following links:
Secondary Providers:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/acrp/
(This link is also for Tertiary Providers assessing against achievement standards)
Tertiary Providers:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/for-providers/moderation/tertiary.html
Review and Evaluation
NZQA reviews all moderation systems on an annual basis.
NZQA reports annually to the NZQA Board on the moderation systems it manages.
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Disputes
NZQA has a disputes procedure in place for situations where differences concerning
moderation decisions cannot be resolved in the first instance.
Non Compliance
Schools and tertiary providers not meeting moderation requirements, that are ongoing and
unresolved, will be referred to the relevant Quality Assurance Body.
Ref: 0135