New time series data highlights quality improvement in children’s education and care

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) today released its 26th NQF Snapshot report, summarising quality rating results for education and care services operating under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

The Snapshot and interactive Online Snapshot now provide greater detail about changes in quality ratings over time. There are new charts tracking changes over time in the proportion of services rated Working National Quality Standard (NQS), Meeting NQS and Exceeding NQS for each quality area, as well as more detailed information about waivers. There is also a new time series Excel workbook, which combines all historical Snapshot data into a single source.

“The extra detail in this Snapshot and time series workbook highlights the improvement in the quality of education and care services that has occurred since the NQF commenced in 2012,” said ACECQA CEO Gabrielle Sinclair. “Almost eight out of 10 services have an overall quality rating of Meeting NQS or above. And almost two‑thirds (65%) of services previously rated Working Towards NQS improved their rating after reassessment.”

A revised version of the NQS, which introduced a new approach to calculating the Exceeding rating level, commenced on 1 February 2018. More than 4600 services have been assessed and rated against the revised version. Under the 2018 NQS, every standard in a quality area must be rated Exceeding NQS for the quality area to be rated Exceeding NQS. As a result of these changes, it is more challenging for a service to achieve a rating of Exceeding NQS under the 2018 NQS than it was under the 2012 NQS.

The NQF Snapshot provides analysis and information on the profile of the education and care sector and the quality ratings awarded to services, including examining the distribution of ratings by service type, provider management type and geographically.

Approved education and care services include long day care, outside school hours care and family day care services, as well as most preschools and kindergartens across Australia.

Families are encouraged to visit Starting Blocks for more information about their local education and care services.