35th NQF Snapshot report shows sustained improvement in children’s education and care quality

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) today released its 35th NQF Snapshot report, summarising quality rating results for education and care services operating under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

“The proportion of services rated Meeting National Quality Standard (NQS) or above has risen markedly since the NQF was introduced, from 56% in 2013, to 69% in 2016, to 86% today,” said ACECQA CEO Gabrielle Sinclair.

“More than two-thirds of services rated Working Towards NQS (67%) improved their overall quality rating at reassessment. This shows clearly that the continuous improvement in service quality the NQF intends to foster is taking place. The concerted efforts of service providers, teachers and educators to improve their programs and practice are reaping rewards,” added Ms Sinclair.

A revised version of the NQS, which introduced a new approach to calculating the Exceeding rating level, commenced on 1 February 2018. Nearly 10,500 services have been assessed and rated against the revised version.

A significant amount of regulatory work occurs outside of quality assessment and rating. The report shows state and territory regulatory authorities have undertaken more than three times as many other types of visits as assessment and rating visits since 2017.

Other types of visits include checking and monitoring compliance with the requirements of the NQF, investigating complaints and responding to events such as serious incidents or changes of service ownership, as well as visits for educative purposes.

The NQF Snapshot provides analysis and information on the profile of the education and care sector, the quality ratings of services, and the distribution of ratings by service type, provider management type and geographic location.

In addition to detailed information about the quality of education and care services, the Snapshot and interactive Online Snapshot include data about temporary service closures related to the impact of COVID-19 and other aspects of service regulation, such as staffing waivers.