All early childhood services across Australia are required to engage in processes of continuous quality improvement to ensure all aspects of practice meet a benchmark of quality to ensure positive outcomes for children.
About the National Quality Standard (NQS)
The National Quality Standard is used to assess quality practices in early education and care. The National Quality Standard is one important element of the overarching framework called: The National Quality Framework (NQF).
The National Quality Framework which came into effect in 2012, was introduced to provide better educational and developmental outcomes for children as well as promote continuous improvement in the provision of quality education and care, improve knowledge and access to information about the quality of services and to help families make informed decisions about their child’s education and care.
Complex Requirements
It’s important to recognise that meeting the requirements of the National Quality Framework are complex and that quality improvement has no end point and is part of an ongoing and continuous cycle.
This cycle can be thought of as combining processes of:
- Reflection: where educators examine and evaluate current teaching, learning and care practices)
- Identifying and Investigation: where decisions about practices, issues and ideas can be researched to enable positive change.
- Implementation: where developments to a programme or decisions about a new way of practicing are enacted and then evaluated to ensure an ongoing cycle of improvement.
Tailored supports to help educators
Our consultancy services at Gowrie NSW aim to provide tailored support to help educators engage in continuous quality improvement. This support looks different from service to service and from educator to educator. For some, it may involve mentoring discussions to help articulate quality practices and for others it could be a workshop or webinar to reflect on the requirements of the National Quality Standard (NQS).
While a consultancy visit assists centres to prepare for an upcoming assessment and rating visit and involves a consultant visiting a service over one or two days to observe practices and provide feedback on how the service is meeting the requirements of the National Quality Standard.
Guidance based on innovation, research and experience
By working in collaboration with teams, we provide guidance based on innovation, research, and experience. Our intention is to ensure early childhood professionals are empowered with the skills they need for quality teaching and learning practices.
For more information or to book a consultation email: educationhub@gowriensw.com.au
Learn More about Gowrie NSW Education Hub Consultancy Services
Topics: Learning Theories and Approaches
