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Home > Early Childhood agenda > National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care

National Quality Framework

Overview

From 1 January 2012, most long day care, family day care, preschool (or kindergarten) and outside schools hours care services will be operating under the National Quality Framework.

Why do we need a National Quality Framework?

Early childhood experts and professionals maintain that quality is critical when it comes to early childhood education and care - particularly in the first five years of a child's life.

At the moment quality standards across early childhood education and care services vary across Australia and there is often limited information available to help families choose the best service for their children.

The National Quality Framework aims to raise the quality of education and care across Australian services by introducing a National Quality Standard - this is a standard that all services will have to work to. Other changes include increasing educator to child ratio's, introducing qualification requirements and a national assessment and rating process.

These changes will provide families with information on the quality of care to help them make informed choices about which service will best meet their needs.

National Quality Standard

The National Quality Standard is divided into seven Quality Areas:

  1. Educational program and practice
  2. Children's health and safety
  3. Physical environment
  4. Staffing arrangements
  5. Relationships with children
  6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
  7. Leadership and service management.

The National Quality Standard aims to promote:

  • the safety, health and wellbeing of children
  • a focus on achieving outcomes for children through high-quality educational programs
  • families' understanding of what distinguishes a quality service.

National quality rating and assessment process

Services covered by the National Quality Framework will be assessed and rated against each of the seven Quality Areas of the National Quality Standard and the National Regulations. They will also be given an overall rating.

Assessment and rating of services will commence from mid-2012.

Rating levels

There are five ratings under the new system that a service could get against each Quality Area as well as the overall rating. The rating levels are:

  • Exceeding National Quality Standard
  • Meeting National Quality Standard
  • Working Towards National Quality Standard
  • Significant Improvement Required

Services can apply to the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority for an Excellent rating.

Time frame

The National Quality Framework starts on 1 January 2012, but the changes are being phased in gradually over a period of time.

The first changes are the ratio changes for children in the 0-24 months age range. From 1 January services will be required to have 1 educator for every 4 children in this age group. Other key staffing arrangements including ratios for other age groups and qualification requirements will be phased in between 2014 and 2020.