Recent policy initiatives in New Zealand have prioritised increasing participation in early childhood education (ECE) settings; yet cumulative reports have outlined concerns for the quality of services available. In this paper, we argue that a focus on participation without concurrent attention to the quality of early learning experiences puts children at risk and can create inequalities that can have lasting impacts. Quality is a multi-dimensional construct, but robust evidence continually identifies the role of the teacher and nurturing relationships as fundamental to high-quality services. We propose that quality can be enhanced by understanding of and supports for intentional teaching, and offer a comparison of the guidance available to teachers to guide intentional teaching practices in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Intentional teaching is gaining increasing recognition in New Zealand and has the potential to help enhance quality and equity in ECE.