What we offer

Te Wāhanga Mātauranga | Playcentre Education offers the NZ Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 4).

This an NZQA-approved programme and Playcentre Education is a NZQA-registered Private Training Establishment (PTE). We are a Zero Fees provider – there is no cost to participate in the programme.

This qualification is nationally recognised both within and outside of Playcentre and provides career opportunities in the early learning sector as well as a pathway to further study.

The Playcentre Education programme has been designed to accommodate study to fit around the lives of our typical ākonga (learners) – multi-tasking parents, grandparents and caregivers who have responsibilities on top of being a learner. The programme is available as part-time study, with practical experience comprising a significant portion of the learning hours. This means attending Playcentre alongside your tamariki, contributing to the planning and running of sessions and reflecting on your role as a kaiako.

The certificate is made up of ten small modules, between 5 and 8 credits each, which make it easy for ākonga to start and stop study as suits them. We realise that Playcentre ākonga may want to take breaks to care for whānau, have babies or undertake work commitments so ākonga have the option of studying continuously or doing a module at a time as it suits them. It is possible to complete the certificate with five months; however most ākonga spread it out over 1-2 years.

The programme delivery uses blended delivery. It is a mix of kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) and webinar workshops, self-paced online modules and independent reading. A large part of the programme hours are being involved in supporting children’s learning through Playcentre sessions.

For more information see below:

 Playcentre Education Fact Sheet 

Programme Outline

Playcentre Education Overview Video

Playcentre Education Sample Timelines  

Playcentre Education is Playcentre Aotearoa’s Private Training Establishment and the most recent NZQA rating is given below.

Playcentre Education, Private Training Establishment (PTE) #8809  is a Category 3 tertiary education provider accredited by NZQA to deliver the New Zealand Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 4) to domestic students.

You can read NZQA’s 2021 External Evaluation Review (EER) here.

The EER recommends some actions for Playcentre Education, PTE to do to better meet our requirements to operate as a PTE with a proud tradition in adult education.  In Feb 2023, NZQA confirmed that Playcentre Education met all monitoring and compliance actions as part of the 2021 EER.

Playcentre Education carries out regular self-review, evaluation and planning.  The 2023 Self-Review Report for NZQA is available here