Welcome

1. Welcome

2. Purpose • The purpose of these consultations is to: • Provide information about the Exposure Draft of the Education and Care Service National Regulations. • Seek feedback and allow issues to be raised and discussed. • The Regulations are open to amendment based on feedback received during the consultation process. The information provided in this session is based on the draft Regulations as they stand now but the detail is not set in stone. 2

3. Why are we moving to the National Quality Framework Why are we moving to the National Quality Framework? • High quality education and care • Uniform National System • One system to replace eight separate systems • Improved Standards for education and care • New Quality Standards focussed on outcomes for children • Revised Assessment and Rating process • Undertaken by the Regulatory Authority, not a separate body • National Consistency • Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 3

4. Where are we up to • VIC and NSW have passed legislation- • - Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 available at http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au • - Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 No 104 available at http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au • Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) being established (fully operational 1 January 2012) • National IT system contract negotiations • Trial assessment of approximately 200 services almost complete • Consultation on the Exposure Draft of the National Regulations 4

5. Who is covered • The National Quality Framework will cover what is currently known as: • Long day care • Family day care • Kindergarten (preschools in some states) • Outside school hours care services • An all-encompassing national system will take a number of years to achieve. • The initial scope reflects the decision to start with services with the largest numbers of children. • This is the start of the quality agenda and over time consideration will be given to including other types of services. • This phased approach is to ensure that issues unique to particular types of services are fully considered and analysed before decisions are made. 5

6. Approvals • A new robust but streamlined approval system comprised of three interrelated approvals • Provider Approval • Service Approval • Supervisor Certificate • Under the new system provider and supervisor approvals will be ongoing and nationally recognised 6

7. Supervisor Certificates • Supervisor Certificate– certification that a person is eligible to be placed in day to day charge of a service is required for those nominated to be in charge of approved education and care service: • Certificate is portable from service to service and nationally • Automatic if already in an existing equivalent position • Certain prescribed classes of persons can be automatically granted Supervisor Certificates, for example school principals, person in charge of a school campus • One-off $30 application fee • DET will maintain a register as part of a national register • Holder must notify the Department if there is a change in circumstances e.g. Blue Card cancelled • Nominated Supervisor – is a person who: • Is a Certified Supervisor • Nominated by Approved Provider to be the Nominated Supervisor of that service • Has consented to the nomination 7

8. Supervisor Certificates Eligibility to apply for a Supervisor Certificate • Be 18 years or above. • Fit and proper person to be the supervisor of a service. • Meet the following minimum requirements for qualifications, experience and management capability: • sufficient skills to be placed in day to day charge of a service; AND • one of the following: • at least three years experience working as an educator in an education and care service or children’s service or school; or • an approved diploma level education and care qualification; or • an approved early childhood teacher qualification • Special provisions exist for Supervisor Certificates in outside school hours care. • Some certificates may have conditions attached. 8

9. Moving into the new system • Prior to 1 January 2012: • The Regulatory Authority may start seeking information from services to support the transition to the National Quality Framework • From 1 January 2012: • Existing licensed operators will be taken to be Approved Providers; and • Existing services will be taken to be Approved Services. • Service/provider approvals will be issued by the Regulatory Authority by 30 June 2012. 9

10. Approvals process Questions & discussion • Is the information requested for Provider or Service Approval appropriate? • Should other factors be used to determine fitness and propriety for Provider Approval or Supervisor Certificates? • Should other factors be considered to determine whether a service can provide quality education and care for children? • Are the minimum requirements for Certified Supervisors appropriate? 10

11. From 1 January 2012, assessments will be against the seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard 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 Assessment and Rating against the National Quality Standard

12. Rating levels 12

13. Assessment and rating against the National Quality Standard • The NCAC will no longer exist. • Assessment and Rating will be conducted by the State/Territory Regulatory Authority. • The Regulations set out the process for undertaking assessment and rating including: • Review service information and the Quality Improvement Plan • Visit the premises (for centre-based) or one or more approved venues or residences (for FDC) • Those undertaking assessment of services will have extensive training in the assessment and rating process. • Services can seek a review or reassessment of a rating. • Services that receive a rating of High Quality/Advanced may apply to be considered for a rating of Excellent. 13

14. Assessment and ratingQuestions & discussion • Initial consultation with the sector about the terminology for the rating levels identified that there was a preference for High Quality rather than Advanced. • Another area that caused confusion was the use of Foundation (as the level below NQS level) given its use in a schooling context. • Given unsatisfactory is the lowest rating, is Satisfactory a more appropriate term for the level below NQS ? • Is there any other information a Regulatory Authority should consider when determining a rating for a service? 14

15. Fees • The Regulations set which transactions are subject to a fee - for example applications for Service Approval. • Fees collected will be reinvested in the activities of the Regulatory Authorities and ACECQA. • The annual service fee will be payable 1 July each year. • Centre based and family day care services will have different fee structures. 15

16. Fees 16

17. Fees Questions & discussion • Have we achieved the aim of balance between fairness and equity and limited cost recovery to support regulatory activities? • Is differentiating fees by size of serviceequitable? • Is a due date for the annual fee of 1 July each year the best date? 17

18. Operating an education and care service • Regulations provide more detail including: • Philosophy, policies and procedures • Educational Program • Children’s Health and Safety • Physical facilities • Staffing Arrangements • Information and records 18

19. Qualification requirements • Minimum Qualification requirements from 1 January 2014 for centre based services: • At least 50 percent of educators must have (or be actively working towards) a Diploma level education and care qualification • A service with less than 25 children ( kindergarten aged or under) – must have access to an early childhood teacher for 20% of the operating hours • A service with 25 or more children (kindergarten aged and under) on a given day – must have an early childhood teacher in attendance for at least six hours (if operating for > 50 hours) or 60% of the operating hours (if operating for 50 hours or less) • One option currently being explored is making it clear that absence of an early childhood teacher for illness or annual leave will not require a relief teacher and that relief may be provided by a Diploma qualified or above educator. • Above requirements are over-ridden where there are jurisdiction specific qualification requirements. • From 1 January 2014, all family day care educators must have (or be actively working towards) a Certificate III level qualification. 19

20. Staffing ratios – Centre based 20

21. Staffing ratios – Family day care 21

22. Mixed age groups 22

23. Educators (3) 1:4 1:5 1:11 Birth to 24 mths (3) 25 to 35 mths (5) 36 mths up to pre-school (12)

24. Approved providers that are unable to comply with a prescribed element or elements of National Quality Standard (Quality Areas 3 & 4 - physical environment and staffing arrangements) and certain provisions in the national Regulation may apply to the Regulatory Authority for a waiver: A temporary waiver: which permits a service to operate for a fixed period (of no longer than 12 months at a time); A service waiver: this provides a waiver on an ongoing basis. Permanent exemptions will be transitioned as service waivers. Waivers 24

25. Operating a serviceQuestions & discussion • Should school age children be allowed to sign themselves out? Should older children be able to sign out younger siblings? • Is the requirement to meet educator‑to‑child ratios at all times, including during staff and meal breaks, achievable in a practical way? • Is the use of state specific ratios for mixed aged groups clear? • Family day care educators may use ‘co‑carers’ (eg spouse or partner) • Should co‑carers be regulated beyond being a fit and proper person? • Should there be minimum qualification requirements for co‑carers? • Are there other practical issues that may need to be taken into account in relation to the requirements to have an early childhood teacher in attendance at the service for each day it operates? • Services need to maintain effective ratios to ensure that all children are adequately supervised and are receiving quality education and care, including for mixed age groups of children. Is the proposed approach easy to understand and implement? 25

26. Monitoring and compliance • The key aim is to work with services to drive continuous quality improvement. • This will occur through regular monitoring/spot visits/targeted campaigns and assessment and rating visits. • Responsibility for obligations outlined in the regulations sits primarily with Approved Providers or persons with day to day management or control. • Regulatory Authorities will have a range of tools to achieve compliance including: • Compliance directions and notices • Enforceable undertakings • Prohibition notices • Emergency action notices 26

27. More information for parents • Transparent easily accessible information about the quality of education and care provided • The Regulations require that services provide or display a range of information about the service including: • contact details, their education program, assessment rating info • Services will continue to be required to keep a range of information specific to each child including: • assessments of children against the education program and these assessments must be available to parents on request 27

28. Feedback on the NQF Regulations • Comment on the Information Paper and/or draft Regulations should be submitted to ececquality@deewr.gov.au by 14 April 2011. • Written feedback can also be posted to: • National Quality Framework Regulations Exposure Draft Submission Early Childhood Quality Group Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Loc C17MR2 GPO Box 9879 CANBERRA ACT 2601 • National Quality Framework Hotline - 1800 181 088 • Queensland Websitewww.education.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood 28

29. Questions and comments