NATIONAL QUALITY FRAMEWORK

The National Quality Framework is a new government body called the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). The new body has been established to raise quality within early childhood education, and drive continuous improvement and consistency within education and care services. These initiatives include:

• a National legislative framework

• a National quality standard

• a National quality rating and assessment process.

The National legislative framework took effect on 1 January 2012, with key requirements being phased in over time. Requirements such as qualification, teacher to child ratio and other key staffing arrangements will be phased in between 2012-2020. The National legislative framework is established through an applied laws system and consists of the Education and Care Services National Law, and the Education and Care Services National Regulations. A regulatory authority in each state and territory will be primarily responsible for administering the National Quality Framework, including approving, monitoring and quality assessing services. It will be the first point of contact for the services.

The National quality standard sets a new national benchmark for the quality of education and care services, and is divided into seven quality areas, these include, educational program and practice, Children’s health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, leadership and service management.

Service providers within scope of the National ECEC Collection are affected by the National Quality Framework as the framework reform which aims to deliver improved standard of care for children in receipt of an ECEC program.

For more information on the National Quality Framework, see the DEEWR website: <http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/home.aspx>

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