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 RS7 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 arrived in New Zealand from India in 2015, bringing more than a decade of HR and recruitment experience with me. But when I started applying for HR roles here, I heard the same response over and over: “You don’t have New Zealand experience.” It was frustrating — because I’ve always believed that recruitment is recruitment. Whether you’re doing it in India, Australia, the UK, or the US, the core skills are universal: knowing how to connect with people, how to conduct a strong interview, how to ask the right questions.

After countless rejections, I found my way into relief teaching. A teacher at my daughter’s daycare suggested it, and I signed up with two agencies to get started. It wasn’t the path I’d planned, but it gave me something invaluable — a deep, firsthand understanding of how ECE centres operate and what they actually need.

When I became pregnant, my husband encouraged me to back myself and use everything I’d learned to build something of my own. So in 2017, we established Aroha Consulting. We started with permanent teacher placements, expanded into relief staffing by 2019, and in 2020 we built the Aroha Connect app — a platform designed to give both centres and relief teachers a faster, more transparent experience.

What began as a response to rejection became a business built on real sector knowledge and a genuine desire to do recruitment differently.

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

Compliance is the foundation of everything we do. When a teacher walks into a childcare centre, the basics have to be in order — because if they’re not, it creates real risk for children, for centres, and for the teachers themselves.

At Aroha, our compliance process is built in layers, and each one matters. It starts with a thorough CV review. We don’t just scan for qualifications — we look at the full picture, including any gaps in employment and the reasons behind them. That level of detail matters before a teacher ever sets foot in a centre.

From there, we carry out proper reference checks. These aren’t a box-ticking exercise. A good reference check gives you genuine insight into how a teacher has performed, what kind of support or mentorship they may need, and whether there have been any concerns or incidents at previous workplaces.

The third layer is vetting, which is a Ministry requirement under RS7 in New Zealand. Our Aroha Connect app manages this automatically. If a teacher’s vetting expires, their profile is blocked — they simply cannot apply for or accept work until it’s renewed. That automatic lock-out exists to protect everyone involved.

We also assess health and placement suitability. 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 doing it consistently requires a proper, reliable process — and that’s exactly what we’ve built.

Can you explain why RS7 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.

RS7 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, and we treat them accordingly.

For permanent roles, we begin with a thorough needs assessment with the centre. We ask about their culture, their staffing ratios, whether they’re in an ERO review year, and what kind of environment the incoming teacher or leader would be stepping into. That context makes all the difference. I had a client recently who chose not to use us for a centre manager hire because of our fees. They recruited someone on their own. Within two weeks, that person had burned out and left. The centre came back to us shortly after. That’s the reality — the difference between a rushed hire and a considered placement is often the difference between a two-week tenure and someone who’s still leading that centre years later. I placed a centre manager back in 2018 who remains in that role today.

For fixed-term roles, we handle situations like maternity leave cover or extended leave, matching the right person to a defined period so centres maintain continuity without compromising on quality.

For relief and day-to-day placements, our Aroha Connect app streamlines the entire process. Centres can post jobs, teachers can apply quickly, and our compliance checks run automatically in the background — so every teacher heading out the door is verified, vetted, and ready to work.

What sets Aroha apart from other relief staffing agencies?

Beyond compliance and placement, there are a few things that define how we operate day to day.

First, every reliever goes through proper training modules before they start. They understand health and safety requirements, they know what kinds of activities are appropriate for different age groups, and they arrive at a centre prepared — not figuring it out as they go. I believe teaching is a passion. It should never be treated as just a way to earn money. If you walk into a centre and you’re not fully present, not supporting the children or the team around you, that’s not good for anyone. So if a teacher is feeling unwell, I tell them clearly: stay home. Let us know. We will find a replacement. We would always rather send someone who is ready than fill a spot with someone who isn’t.

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 that day. How did it go? Was there anything we should know? Did the centre feel like a good fit? Our job doesn’t end when the placement is made — it carries on well beyond that.

Third, we are quality-focused, not volume-focused. The goal has never been to send as many people as possible. The goal is to send the right people — teachers who are prepared, present, and genuinely suited to the centre they’re walking into.

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

Good placements work both ways, and I always share this with both sides.

From the reliever’s perspective, the most important thing is to arrive 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 — and not in a good way. But if you get involved, support the children, ask questions, and show initiative, you’ll be treated like part of the team. The centres I work with are genuinely welcoming of good relievers, and that reputation is earned through effort.

From the centre’s side, a warm introduction makes more difference than people realise. When a centre manager takes a moment to introduce our reliever properly — their name, their background, their role for the day — it sets the tone for everything that follows. It tells the reliever they are valued. It tells the permanent team that this person is here to help, not to be managed. That simple act of welcome can change the entire 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.