Are you confident that every relief teacher walking into your centre has been fully vetted?

Kiya Chokshi is the Founder and Recruitment Director of Aroha Consulting, a New Zealand ECE recruitment agency she built from the ground up after arriving from India in 2015. With a background in HR and years of experience as a relief teacher herself, Kiya brings a rare perspective to recruitment: she understands what centres need, and she understands what teachers face. Since founding Aroha Consulting in 2017, she has specialised in placing quality ECE teachers and leaders across permanent, fixed-term, and relief roles.

We sat down with Kiya to talk about compliance in relief recruitment, the importance of RA7 vetting, and what it really takes to set a relief teacher up for success.

Can you tell us a bit about Aroha Consulting and how it came to be?

I came to New Zealand from India in 2015 with around 10 to 12 years of HR experience behind me. When I started looking for HR work here, I kept hearing the same thing: “You don’t have New Zealand experience.” But I always believed recruitment is recruitment. Whether you are doing it in India, Australia, the UK, or the US, the core skill is the same. You know how to talk to people, how to interview someone, how to ask the right questions.

After a lot of rejections, I started relief teaching. A teacher at my daughter’s daycare suggested it, and I joined two agencies to get started. When I became pregnant, my husband encouraged me to use everything I had learned and start something of my own. So in 2017, we established Aroha Consulting. We began with permanent placement, moved into relief staffing by 2019, and then built the Aroha Connect app in 2020 to give both centres and teachers a better, more transparent experience.

What does compliance look like in practice when you are placing relief teachers?

Compliance is the foundation of everything. When any teacher goes to work at a childcare centre, if the basics are not in order, it creates real risk for children, for centres, and for teachers themselves.

At Aroha, our compliance process covers several layers. We start with a thorough CV review, including checking for any employment gaps and understanding the reasons behind them. We follow that with proper reference checks. Reference checks are not just a formality. They give you genuine insight into how a teacher has performed, what kind of mentorship they may need, and whether there have been any incidents at previous centres.

The third area is vetting, which in New Zealand is a Ministry requirement under RA7. Our Aroha Connect app manages this automatically. If a teacher’s vetting has expired, their profile gets blocked and they cannot apply for or accept work. That automatic lock-out is there to protect everyone.

We also check health requirements. If a teacher has a physical condition that means they cannot safely work in a baby room, for example, we make sure they are not placed there. It sounds straightforward, but it requires a proper process to get right consistently.

Can you explain why RA7 vetting matters so much, for anyone who may not be familiar with it?

Think of it this way. Suppose a teacher has a history of traffic incidents on their record. Some centres run van runs, transporting children to and from school. If you have not completed a full vetting check and that person is driving a van with ten to fifteen children inside, you have a serious hazard on your hands.

RA7 is the Ministry’s safety checking requirement. It exists because working with children is not like most other jobs. The consequences of cutting corners are not administrative. They involve the safety and wellbeing of children. So whenever I take a teacher on board, completing that safety check is the first thing I do. It is not optional.

Aroha places teachers across permanent, fixed-term, and relief roles. How do you approach finding the right fit for each?

Each type of placement requires a different approach.

For permanent roles, we do a thorough needs assessment with the centre first. We ask about their culture, their ratio, whether they are an ERO review year, and what kind of environment the incoming person would be walking into. That context matters enormously. I had a client recently who decided not to use us for a centre manager role because of our fees. They hired someone themselves. Within two weeks, that person had burned out and left. The centre called us shortly after. The difference between a rushed hire and a considered placement is often the difference between a two-week tenure and someone still running that centre years later. I placed a centre manager in 2018 who is still in that role today.

For fixed-term roles, we cover situations like maternity leave cover or extended leave. For relief and day-to-day work, our Aroha Connect app allows centres to post jobs and teachers to apply quickly, while our compliance checks run in the background to make sure everyone going out the door is ready and safe to work.

What sets Aroha apart from other relief staffing agencies?

A few things. First, our relievers go through proper training modules before they start. They understand health and safety, they know what kinds of activities are appropriate, and they arrive prepared. I believe teaching is a passion. It should not just be a way to earn money. If you go into a centre not fully present, not supporting the children or the team around you, that is not good for anyone. So if a teacher is sick or unwell, I tell them clearly: stay home. Let us know. We will find your replacement. We would rather find a replacement than send someone who is not ready.

Second, we stay connected. When we send a teacher to a new centre for the first time, they receive a call from us at the end of the day. How did it go? Was there anything we should know? Our job is not over when the placement is made.

Third, we are quality-focused rather than volume-focused. The goal is not to send as many people as possible. The goal is to send the right people.

What advice would you give to a centre manager who wants to make relief teaching arrangements work well?

From the reliever’s side, the most important thing is to go in prepared and proactive. Show that you are there to contribute. If you turn up and stand in the corner waiting to be told what to do, the permanent staff will notice. But if you get involved, support the children, ask questions, and show initiative, you will be treated like part of the team. The centres I work with are genuinely welcoming of good relievers.

From the centre’s side, a warm introduction makes a big difference. When centre managers introduce our relievers properly and explain their role for the day, it sets a tone. It tells the reliever they are valued. It tells the permanent team this person is here to help. That simple act of welcome can change the whole dynamic of the day.

The underlying principle is the same on both sides: treat people well and the outcomes follow.

Kiya Chokshi is the Founder and Recruitment Director of Aroha Consulting, a New Zealand ECE recruitment agency specialising in permanent, fixed-term, and relief placements. Aroha Consulting also offers the Aroha Connect app for streamlined relief booking and compliance tracking.