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70 – CHAPTER 7: MONITORING QUALITY IN PEDAGOGYNew Zealand. Quality also reflects a pedagogical perspective, because, as Smith (2012) has noted,certain aspects of quality, such as process and structural quality, have greater influence onpedagogical practice than others.Though aspects of quality in each country can be linked to one or more of the threeperspectives, the evidence is insufficient to link quality perspectives to particular pedagogicaloutcomes or practices.Monitoring quality in ECEC settingsAs a result of the different notions of pedagogy and quality, and because this is rarelyexplicitly defined at national or state level, little information is available on what countries regardas good pedagogy and good quality. Monitoring practices and in particular, what countriesmonitor for quality (and hence process quality) can partially fill this gap, because this providesinformation on what aspects within (process) quality are deemed important or, at least, mostimportant to assess.This section reviews how quality in pedagogy in ECEC settings is monitored in England(United Kingdom) in comparison with France, Germany, Japan and New Zealand. The sectionstarts with a general view of which ECEC settings are monitored in each country and by whom,and consequently, what is monitored. It then looks at the reasons for monitoring.Who monitors?Table 7.1 provides an overview of the ECEC settings in each of the case-study countries(OECD, 2014a). In England, France and New Zealand, monitoring quality is legally mandated, asit is in Japan, but only for nursery centres (OECD, 2014a). Only in England and France are allECEC settings monitored by the government or a government-related agency. In England, this isthe task of an independent agency, Ofsted, while in France, the responsibility is divided betweendifferent government agencies. Crèches collectives are monitored by mother and child protectionservices (known as the PMI in French) at the department level of the General Council, but thedirector of the crèche also has some responsibility for monitoring. Assistants maternels are alsomonitored by the PMI. Ecole maternelles (preschools), classified under the education sector, aremonitored by Ministry of Education inspections (ibid.).In New Zealand, both the Education Review Office (ERO), the designated governmentagency, and the ECEC settings themselves conduct the monitoring. In Japan, monitoring of ECECsettings is carried out by both local government and ECEC staff and management in publickindergartens, but not in all private ones. In kindergartens, monitoring is undertaken by parents,local stakeholders and specially trained staff from each administrative district. Nursery centres arealso subject to monitoring, which is conducted by administrative district staff and prefectures(local authorities). Prefectures check compliance with child welfare facility standards, and theadministration of the childcare/nursery centres under their jurisdiction, and then undertake anonsite investigation in order to provide the required advice and guidance or corrective measures.This is mandated under the Child Welfare Act of 1947. In Germany, day-care centres use selfassessmenttools, while family day-care centres are only monitored to the extent that the LocalYouth Welfare Offices control the operating licences given to childminders.EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PEDAGOGY REVIEW: ENGLAND © OECD 2015