Countless Australian parents rely on supervised childcare to support them as they work or prepare to re-enter the workforce. In 2022, an estimated 1.275 million children aged 5 and under attended an approved childcare service, encompassing nearly 70 percent of all children aged 0 to 5 in the country.
As an approved childcare service operating within the Early Childhood sector, our responsibilities extend far beyond basic caregiving. Our approach encompasses a holistic perspective, aiming to address every facet of a child’s development. By seamlessly integrating curriculum, quality standards, and community engagement, we create an optimal learning environment for each child under our care.
The significance of learning experiences during these formative years cannot be overstated. This phase plays a pivotal role in shaping a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social development, laying the groundwork for lifelong learning, health, and behaviour. This fundamental understanding drives the Kids Club’s philosophy, rooted in the dedication of skilled Educators and unwavering support staff who are committed to providing your child with the best possible foundation for their future.
Introduced by the government in January 2012, the National Quality Framework – often referred to as the NQF – serves as a regulatory and evaluative authority overseeing the quality of early childhood education and care services in Australia.
Developed by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), an autonomous national body, this framework collaborates with Federal, State, and Territory Governments to administer its provisions.
The NQF contains the National Quality Standards (or NQS), Early Years Learning Framework (or EYLF), Rating System and Quality Improvement Plan (or QIP).
The purpose of the NQF is to provide childcare providers with invaluable guidance on delivering high-quality care and education for children to thrive, elevate the standard of Early Childhood Education and promote continuous improvement in service quality.
Within this framework sits the National Quality Standards (NQS), which includes 7 quality areas that every provider must follow to ensure they are meeting or exceeding the expected benchmark for childcare in Australia.
As an organisation that prides itself on the highest levels of care and education, Kids Club’s aligns its services with the NQS to ensure optimum provision of care for each and every child, and continuous improvement of our programs and practices.
Services are assessed and rated against the 7 quality areas of the NQS, which are:
This area focuses on ensuring the care provider’s educational program and practice is stimulating, engaging and enhances children’s learning and development.
Through child-led learning and education our warm and friendly educators deliver a stimulating and engaging education program that nurtures life skills.
All centres and staff must demonstrate their methods of protecting all children’s health, safety and well-being, which are assessed in this quality area.
Physical Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing are our top priority. Healthy food and activities are at the centre of physical and mental wellbeing for our little ones.
The approved provider must ensure that the premises and equipment used in the care facility are safe, clean and in good repair to provide a rich and diverse range of experiences that promote children’s learning and development.
Our award winning premium playscapes and learning environments encourage creative and exploratory play, drawing on the natural environment.
This area looks at the staff numbers and deployment of suitable qualified, and experienced Educators, coordinators and supervisors and their capability to develop warm, respectful relationships with the children.
We employ highly experienced educators and provide ongoing opportunities for professional development.
Here, the assessor looks at how the provider takes reasonable steps to ensure that the children being educated and cared for are given opportunities to interact and develop respectful and positive relationships with each other and with the staff members.
We focus on the foundations for building relationships in enhancing confidence and resilience in a space where children feel safe and secure.
This area examines how the provider collaborates with families and the community to build critical partnerships that achieve quality outcomes for the children.
We focus on family engagement and community collaboration by instilling a sense of belonging through community partnerships and family days.
This area looks for effective leadership and management that creates a positive organisational culture by empowering others, recognising and addressing conflict, and managing changes that improve the children’s learning and development.
Using systems and processes to create a place where staff and children thrive is at the core of effective leadership and continuous improvement.
Delivering a stimulating and engaging education program that nurtures life skills
Prioritising physical and mental wellbeing through healthy food and activities
Encouraging creative and exploratory play, drawing on the natural environment
Employing experienced Educators and providing opportunities for professional development
Enhancing confidence and resilience in a space where children feel safe and secure
Instilling a sense of belonging through community partnerships and family days
Using systems and processes to create a place where staff and children thrive
At Kids Club, the rights of a child underpin our values. By establishing secure and nurturing relationships, children gain the confidence to explore, engage in play and learning, and develop skills for meaningful communication and self-regulation. The goal is to enhance confidence and resilience, and provide the foundations needed for positive relationships.
NQS Quality Area 5: Relationships with Children
Kids Club values family involvement in their child’s learning journey and has an open-door policy that respects and includes cultural values and beliefs. Collaborative partnerships with local communities and specialists are also developed to promote social awareness, health investment, and a sense of belonging in the wider community.
NQS Quality Area 6: Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities
Kids Club implements a system of continuous improvement, overseen by a central support office, to ensure quality services and education are provided in all centres. This structure allows centre Directors to focus on providing excellent care for children. The children are always the priority in the Kids Club philosophy.
NQS Quality Area 7: Governance and Leadership
Programming and planning at Kids Club forms the cornerstone of your child’s early learning journey.
Each of our centre Directors, working in conjunction with our Educational Leaders and Educators, implement strategies that are designed to specifically help each child grow and develop towards the first steps of their educational life. That is why we have implemented a School Readiness Program that outlines the core framework of how we tailor our learning environments to actively engage each child in their learning journey.
At Kids Club we support and guide your child throughout their first five years of education. We understand that all children have different educational needs. We also offer additional help to children with higher needs for support in education and care. At Kids Club your child will be supported and educated in a way which meets their needs. We can assist in providing speciality support services for children with disabilities, behavioural concerns, speech delays and autism. If you have concerns about your child, our early childhood teachers are qualified and experienced to assist in moving forward and implementing unique programs and plans.
Childcare plays a critical role in early years development. As such, it is essential that service providers adhere to a certain quality standard in terms of their provision of service. The NQF was introduced to ensure every provider meets the minimum standards expected in the industry, providing much more than basic care for children but an exceptional learning experience delivered by trained Educators in a safe environment.
The primary objectives of the NQF are: to ensure children receive high-quality education and care; support children’s development and well-being; encourage positive relationships between children and Educators; and improve professional development within the childcare sector.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) is a set of regulations all childcare providers in Australia are expected to meet. Within the framework sits the National Quality Standards (NQS), a series of seven quality areas each provider must demonstrate they are following in order to operate. In summary, the National Quality Framework acts as a guide to the National Quality Standards; they are different and yet intrinsic to the childcare quality assurance process.
A series of 7 standards make up the National Quality Standards, which underpin the NQF. Childcare providers must demonstrate they are meeting each standard to remain operational. In turn, they receive a quality rating and guidance on how to improve their rating to achieve a higher one if this is applicable (for example, an Excellent rating is the highest available and cannot be improved).
The regulatory authority for the NQF is the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). Approved education and care services and providers are assessed and rated by their regulatory authority against the NQS and given an overall rating (from each of the 7 quality areas) based on their results.
To assess each education and care services an ACECQA member attends the facility to complete their review. The process involves an observational and visual assessment, plus a discussion with staff members about the learning environment, equipment, team structure and the educational care programme delivered.
Prior to their visit, the assessor gives a notice period of attending, generally within the next week, during which time the care provider submits a Quality Improvement Plan – an ongoing document detailing the quality measures already in place. The assessor reads and refers to this document during their visit.
The assessment commonly takes place over two days. Once completed, the assessor sends their draft report to the care provider within 3-5 weeks. The provider has ten working days to provide feedback on any inaccuracies within the report before it becomes final.
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The assessment process provides valuable external feedback to early childhood services, including areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
Ratings for the entire sector are available at startingblocks.gov.au or from the ACEQCA website.
The Early Years Learning Framework describes the principles, practice and outcomes essential to support and enhance young children's learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school.
Kids Club is continuously working towards excellence in Education and Care.
Belonging, Being and Becoming : The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, also known as EYLF is an approved learning framework from the NQF.
The EYLF outlines principles, practices and learning outcomes that guide Educational Leaders and Educators on their curriculum decision-making and assist them in planning, delivering and evaluating quality programs in early childhood settings.
Kids Club work tirelessly on providing the best possible support, care and opportunities for growth for your child by aiming to exceed the criteria as outlined in the NQS, supported by the EYLF. Each of our Kids Club centres does this by ensuring that our core values are aligned directly with each quality area and that our staff are continually trained and internally audited to ensure that this exceeding level of care is being applied.
You can also learn more about the EYLF by visiting https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf
The Kids Club Enrolments Team can answer any of your questions or queries you might have in regards to enrolling, wait-listing, Childcare Subsidy and more.
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