The Australian Government, in partnership with all state and territory governments, is making important changes to early childhood education and care in Australia. This is being done through the introduction of a National Quality Framework which has been agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The framework will be implemented progressively from 1 July 2010 with formal implementation from 1 January 2012.
The National Quality Framework will put in place a new National Quality Standard to ensure high quality and consistent early childhood education and care across Australia.
The new National Quality Standard is divided into seven areas that contribute to the quality of early childhood education and care. These areas have been identified by research and are:
- Educational program and practice
- Children’s health and safety
- Physical environment
- Staffing arrangements (including the number of staff looking after children)
- Relationships with children
- Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
- Leadership and service management
Under each of these areas more detail is provided about what a service can do to provide the highest quality early childhood education and care for a child.
These changes will help providers to improve their services in the areas that impact on a child’s development and empower families to make informed choices about which service is best for their child.