ACECQA Newsletter Issue 16 2014

There is a traditional African proverb that suggests “It takes a village to raise a child”. Modern research supports that what children need is for families, educators and communities to collectively support their healthy development and well being.

In this month’s We Hear You blog, ACECQA’s National Education Leader, Rhonda Livingstone, explores how genuine partnerships with families and communities contribute to positive learning outcomes for children. We also hear from one family day care service about its programs and activities in place to engage families in children's learning. 

Read more on ACECQA's We Hear You blog. 

Educators, providers, families and the community are encouraged to have their say on proposed options for changes to the NQF, as outlined in the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement.

Feedback provided will help the Australian and state and territory governments determine which options have sector support, as well as provide insight on any issues that might not have been considered. 

Public consultation sessions have finished but you can give written submissions and online comments or answer an online survey until 5pm Friday 16 January 2014.

For more information visit the NQF Consultation RIS website.

Amendments to the Education and Care Services Regulations (WA) came into effect on Monday 1 December 2014. 

The amendments, introduced in all other states and territories in June this year, address operational matters identified by various jurisdictions since the national education and care legislation first commenced. The amendments streamline processes, reduce paperwork and provide greater flexibility to providers, educators and regulatory authorities.

Minor amendments requested by WA’s Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation are also included as part of WA’s amendments to its regulations.

Read more about the WA specific amendments as well as all other states and territories.

• Advise families of any planned closure period. 

• If your nominated supervisor is taking leave and wants to remain the nominated supervisor, the approved provider or a certified supervisor placed in day-to-day charge may be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the service during this time. See sections 162 and 164 of the Education and Care Services Regulations. If the nominated supervisor does not want to retain that responsibility and remain the nominated supervisor, the approved provider must designate another person to be the nominated supervisor for the service. Information about the requirements and important things to consider when designating a nominated supervisor is available in the information sheets Changes to supervisor certificate application requirements and Nominated supervisors. 

• With staff taking leave and changes to the number of children attending during the holiday period, make sure you check the correct educator to child ratios are followed (section 169). 

• Except in the case of an emergency, a child can only leave the premises (regulation 99) 

  • with their parent

  • with an authorised nominee named in the child’s enrolment record 

  • with another person or in another way authorised by a parent or authorised nominee, or 

  • when going on an authorised excursion. 

The ACECQA office will be closed from Thursday 25 December 2014 – Thursday 1 January 2015. We will be back on Friday 2 January 2015. 

ACECQA’s workshops supporting services in Quality Area 1 have been well received in Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, with more than 550 educators attending.

Preparations are underway for the 2015 workshops in the remaining states.

Led by ACECQA’s National Education Leader, Rhonda Livingstone, the workshops are practical, hands-on sessions supported by local Professional Support Coordinators and regulatory authority staff.

The workshops are open to all educators and providers, but are particularly targeted at services that have received a rating of Working Towards the NQS or have not yet been rated.

We recently ran a survey to find out what you thought about our newsletter and how we can improve.

ACECQA’s annual report for 2013-14 shows how we have worked collaboratively with the sector to continue to deliver on key priorities – educating and informing the community; reducing administrative burden and improving consistency in the implementation of the NQF; conducting research to inform improvements to the national system; and enhancing the National IT system for providers and governments.

Download ACECQA’s 2013-14 Annual Report.