Frequently Asked Questions
Please note that most questions/queries are covered in our Stems policies and procedures which are available online once a whanau or Educator is registered and enrolled with Stems FROM HOME.
For Whanau:
Educators range in cost between $6.50-$8.00 per hour, per child. This is based on their experience, qualifications, how many children they work with, the programmes they provide.
Yes. Home based Educators must hold a minimum level 4 qualification in ECE. If they begin as an Educator before completing their training, they must enrol in their ECE certificate by 6 months within their role as an Educator, to be completed by distance learning. Some Educators hold higher qualifications in ECE and also bring many years of teaching and parenting experience to the role.
Yes, and it is updated every 2 years.
Yes, all Stems Educators are police vetted every 3 years. Anyone else residing in or regularly visiting their home who is 17 years of age or older, when the tamariki may be present, are also police vetted too. All Stems Educators must also pass an 8 point safety workers check in-line with the Children’s Act 2014 as per Stems policy and procedures.
Whanau pay their Educator’s hourly rate for their child. Whanau supply a day-bag to go to care with their child and includes spare change of clothing (we LOVE messy play!), a packed lunch and snacks, a drink bottle/milk bottle, nappies and wipes (either disposable or cloth). Any special comfort items (snuggly/dummy/teddy/sleep-sack) can also be sent along.
All Stems Educators who are driving with the tamariki, must hold a full NZ Driver’s License and a car which is warranted, registered, and insured. Car-seats are provided by the Educator or purchased by Stems and installed in the Educator’s vehicle through our ‘loan-to-buy’ scheme. All car-seats provided are professionally installed by a technician and then re-checked every 12 months to ensure all safety measures are being taken. If whanau choose to provide their own car-seat for the tamaiti, they must install this in the Educators car themselves.
Working from home means that Educators can provide a real ‘home away from home’ for your tamaiti. This means sleeps can occur in quite and restful bedrooms, in age-appropriate bedding (cot/portacot/stretcher bed/bed etc). Strict safety and hygiene measures are in place to always ensure cleanliness and comfort for tamariki.
Will my child’s sleep and feeding routines be followed in a Stems’ home?
Upon transitioning your tamaiti into Stems childcare, we ask that you complete a record of your tamaiti’s usual routines and then spend time working through this with your chosen Educator before care begins. Educators are respectful of tamariki needs and whanau aspirations for their child. We all want the best for your little one! Educators will always communicate clearly with you and be honest about your tamaitai’s needs when in care at their home.
Each Stems Educator will complete and send home a daily diary for your child including important information about their day. This includes sleep times and checks, nappy changes and toileting, food and drink consumed, outings/activities attended and a little about their day. Most Stems educators will also send regular photographs via messenger/text/whatsapp etc so you can share in your tamaiti’s day and play. You are always welcome to contact your Stems Educator during the day of care to check in and see how your little one is going.
Yes! All play and learning is underpinned by Te Whaariki at Stems. This beautiful document guides play provocations set up by your Stems Educator, outings and trips they plan, conversations they have with your tamaiti, as well as programme visits to your child by our Stems Education team and all community outings and trips facilitated by us.
There is the opportunity to chat briefly with your Educator daily on drop-offs and pick-ups about your child and their night/day and what they have been up to. Each month your visiting Stems Learning Advisor will create learning overview, individually, for your tamaiti after their visit to your Educator’s home. This will be posted on Educa, our online Learning portfolio platform. Your Stems Educator will then add a learning story for your child each month to Educa also, to give you a beautiful snapshot of their learning in the past month. These are all linked to the NZ ECE curriculum and show a wonderful progression of your tamaiti’s learning and development through play.
Availability changes regularly, due to children turning 2, children beginning school or perhaps a current family moves out of the area. New Educators are joining our team all the time also. Some individual Educators do have a waitlist and some may have part or full time care spaces available. It is best to contact the Stems Team to get the most up to date availability.
No more than 4 children at any one time, this includes no more than 2 children under the age of two years old.
Yes, as long as the total number of children does not exceed 6 under the age of fourteen years old at any one time. Most Stems Educators do not offer this service, some may be happy to help with an older sibling of a current enrolled child who has recently left to attend school.
Yes, homebased care is the only ECE sector that can genuinely practice primary caregiving. There is only ever one consistent Educator for a little one to form their attachment with and who will greet them in the morning, feed them, change them, play with them, comfort them, read to them, pop them down for a nap, awaken them, hand them back to their whanau at the end of the day.
Yes, homebased care is the only ECE sector that can genuinely practice primary caregiving. There is only ever one consistentaa Educator for a little one to form their attachment with and who will greet them in the morning, feed them, change them, play with them, comfort them, read to them, pop them down for a nap, awaken them, hand them back to their whanau at the end of the day.
Over the standard two week settling period, all visits under 3 hours are free. Visits while the parent is still present are also free.
Yes, 12 hours. This allows for a secure, consistent attachment to be formed between your child and their Educator, as well as the Stems team to do their job in supporting your Educator to build an individual programme of learning.
Yes, for 3-5 year old children for a maximum of 20 hours per week, no more than 6 hours per day.
Yes, for eligible families.
Yes, your Educator is still open and available to work.
If your Educator is closed and on holiday, no. If you are taking a family holiday and provided you have given your Educator at least two weeks’ notice, there may be a 50% holding fee for your holidays. Individual Educators will discuss this with you during your family interview/meeting with them before care begins.
Your Educator will advise you as soon as possible and then you may contact the Stems team to organise an alternative carer with Stems for the time you require back up care.
Join Us
There are many choices for child care and Home Based child care within the regions of East Auckland/Franklin and Canterbury today. Which provider you trust to really understand your needs when supporting you to choose the ideal In home educator for your young tamaiti (child), plays a huge part in the ongoing care and service your family, and the educator you select, receives. There is a remarkably big difference between homebased child care and QUALITY Home based childcare. We want you to have only the very best for your infant, toddler or young child. As an Educator, we want to receive the best support and guidance possible too.