learner guide - vetres · education and care, and provide a measuring tool with which to assess the...

CHC Community Services Training Package Release 1.1

Learner guide

Version 1

Training and Education Support

Industry Skills Unit

Meadowbank

Product Code: 5795

CHCECE019 Facilitate compliance in an

education and care service

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CHCECE019 Facilitate compliance in and education and care service

© TAFE NSW (Training & Education Support, Industry Skills Unit Meadowbank) 2013

Acknowledgments

The TAFE NSW Training and Education Support Industry Skills Unit, Meadowbank

would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the following people in

the production of this learner resource guide:

Writers:

Tracey Redman and Lisa Wallmeyer

Teacher, Child and Family Services

TAFE NSW

Reviewer:

Jenny Jesson

Teacher, Child and Family Services

TAFE NSW

Project Manager:

Gail Horwood

A/Education Programs Manager

TAFE NSW

Enquiries:

Enquiries about this and other publications can be made to:

Training and Education Support Industry Skills Unit, Meadowbank

Meadowbank TAFE

Level 3, Building J,

See Street,

MEADOWBANK NSW 2114

Tel: 02-9942 3200 Fax: 02-9942 3257

Further acknowledgments

A considerable amount of the material in this learner resource has been

developed from the following TAFENSW resource:

CHCIC501B Manage children services workplace practice to address regulations

and quality assurance, version 2 (2012)

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ISBN 978-1-74236-503-9

© The State of New South Wales, Department of Education and

Training, TAFE NSW, Training and Education Support Industry Skills

Unit, Meadowbank, 2013.

Copyright of this material is reserved to TAFE NSW Training and Education

Support Industry Skills Unit, Meadowbank. Reproduction or transmittal in

whole or in part, other than for the purposes of private study or research, and

subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act, is prohibited without the written

authority of, TAFE NSW. Training and Education Support Industry Skills Unit,

Meadowbank.

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Table of contents

Introduction .................................................................................. 9

1. General introduction ........................................................................... 9

2. Using this learner guide ...................................................................... 9

3. Prior Knowledge and Experience ........................................................ 11

4. Unit of competency overview ............................................................. 11

5. Assessment ..................................................................................... 11

Section 1: Understanding the National Quality Framework ......... 13

Overview ............................................................................................... 13

Terminology .......................................................................................... 14

Who does the National Quality Framework apply to? ................................... 16

Approvals .............................................................................................. 16

How does the quality ratings process work? ............................................... 17

How often does a centre need to go through the assessment and rating

process? ................................................................................................ 25

What happens if a centre doesn’t meet NQS? ............................................. 26

Spot checks and unannounced visits ......................................................... 27

Other regulatory requirements ................................................................. 27

Common acronyms in education and care services ..................................... 32

Section summary ................................................................................... 33

Section 2: Managing education and care services to meet NQF requirements ............................................................................... 35

Interpreting regulations and National Quality Standards .............................. 35

Maintaining relevant records and documents .............................................. 38

Working with staff to promote understanding and compliance ...................... 41

Ensuring current knowledge ..................................................................... 43

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Seeking resources and support ................................................................ 46

Identifying and meeting professional development needs ............................ 49

Section summary ................................................................................... 51

Section 3: Managing a service self-evaluation process ............. 53

Self-evaluation and reflection ................................................................... 53

Informing and involving families and gathering feedback ............................. 53

Completing required documentation.......................................................... 56

Collecting evidence ................................................................................. 58

Section summary ................................................................................... 61

Section 4: Developing and implementing quality improvement

plans ................................................................................ 63

Identifying opportunities for service improvement ...................................... 63

Developing and implementing improvement plans and strategies ................. 64

Monitoring progress ................................................................................ 68

Section summary ................................................................................... 69

Section 5: Managing external evaluations ................................ 71

Preparing for external evaluations ............................................................ 71

Types of Visits ........................................................................................ 71

Educators and staff ................................................................................. 73

Section summary ................................................................................... 75

Section 6 - Compliance and Family Day Care ............................... 77

Requirements for FDC educators .............................................................. 77

FDC Educator assistant ........................................................................... 79

Requirements for FDC Co-ordination units ................................................. 79

Register of FDC educators and other staff .................................................. 79

Responding to breaches .......................................................................... 83

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Appendix A: ................................................................................ 95

References List ............................................................................ 97

Resource Evaluation Form ......................................................... 101

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Page 12 of 104 © TAFE NSW (TES, Industry Skills Unit Meadowbank) 2013

Your facilitator will provide you with a Student Assessment Guide that details the

requirements of the unit of competency. You will also receive the required

assessments and evidence guides and any grading criteria if relevant to the unit.

Due dates for the assessments will also be discussed with you. Talk to your

facilitator if you are unsure about any of the requirements. Once you understand

the assessment requirements and what is expected you will need to sign the

Student Assessment Guide as proof of this.

This unit may be assessed in conjunction with other units of competency. Your

facilitator will advise you if this is relevant to the unit you are studying.

Check with your college or facilitator to find out the requirements associated with

the handing in of assessments. If you are studying in NSW you should refer to the

TAFENSW Assessment Policy.

About this unit

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to facilitate legislative,

regulatory and National Quality Framework compliance within an education and care

service.

This unit applies to educators working in a range of education and care services.

Underpinning this unit is knowledge of the National Quality Standard quality

areas, standards and elements, the Education and Care Services National Law

and Regulations, and the relevant learning framework.

Additionally, whilst studying this unit you will need to access a range of other

resources and documents, including;

ECA’s Code of ethics. http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Guides, fact sheets and templates, ACECQA http://www.acecqa.gov.au

Details of, and/or links to all required resources are listed in the resources section

at the rear of this Learner Resource. In some cases you will need to use a

computer and the internet to access the required resources. Sometimes internet

pages can be moved over time – if you have difficulty finding the required

resources with the link provided, try a google search, and if that fails, ask your

facilitator for assistance.

SAMPLE

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

http://www.acecqa.gov.au/


© TAFE NSW (TES, Industry Skills Unit Meadowbank) 2013 Page 13 of 104

Section 1: Understanding the National Quality

Framework

Overview

Education and care services are possibly one of the most highly regulated and

monitored industries, and rightly so. It is estimated that in June 2010, 869,770

children were being cared for in an approved education and care setting (Child

Care Update, February 2011, Department of Education, Employment and

Workplace Relations, Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care). For this

reason alone, regulations and standards are imperative in order to ensure that

children are getting the best possible quality of care and education, in a safe,

secure and caring environment. In the “History of National Childcare Accreditation

Council” document (NCAC 2006), it is stated that:

“A child can spend up to 12,000 hours in child care before starting school: that’s

only 500 hours less than the child will spend in lessons during the whole 13 years

of schooling”.

This figure is calculated by multiplying five years of early education and care, by

50 hours per week, by 50 weeks per year and while it may not be a true

reflection of the hours spent in education and care by all children, it is certainly a

figure we can’t overlook when planning to provide quality education and care.

While the debate over whether education and care is a beneficial or detrimental

option for children continues (and probably always will), it is at least accepted

that the care and education provided to a child in the early years, is crucial to

each child’s overall development, wellbeing and future outcomes, hence the need

for regulations and a National Quality Standard.

National Quality Framework

The quality assurance process was born out of the realisation that while

regulations provide the structure for education and care services, they do not

necessarily ensure the quality of a service. While regulations look at minimum

standards, the NQS places more focus on outcomes for the children, and staff

practices. The NQS process therefore aims to set standards for every aspect of

education and care, and provide a measuring tool with which to assess the level

of quality being provided.

From January 1, 2012 the National Quality Framework (NQF) was implemented in

order to apply a single national regulatory and quality system to all children’s

services within Australia. This national system replaced the ‘jurisdiction’ specific

licensing arrangements that had previously been in place.

The National Quality Framework was established under an applied law system,

which means that a host jurisdiction (in this case, Victoria) has passed a law that

other jurisdictions can adopt. This law is the Education and Care Service National

Law Act 2010.

More specifically, the NQF incorporates;

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A National body; the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality

Authority (ACECQA), set up to coordinate, guide and monitor the

implementation and running of the framework

A single national regulatory system (the Education and Care Services

National Law and Regulations)

A national approval process that replaces jurisdiction-specific licensing

arrangements

A National Quality Standard (NQS) comprising seven quality areas

A National quality assessment and rating system (applicable to the

regulations and National Quality Standards).

An approved learning framework

Participation in the NQF, which involves complying with all of the aspects listed

above, is compulsory for all services covered by the NQF.

Terminology

Before discussing the details of the National Quality Framework, it’s probably a

good idea to look at some of the terminology. The table below shows the

terminology applicable to the NQF, alongside the ‘old’ terminology that you may

still hear some people in the sector talking about for some time to come.

Terminology pertaining to all aspects of the National Quality Framework will be

used this unit.

NQF (Administered by ACECQA, in partnership with state

and territory regulatory bodies

Early Years Learning

Framework of My Time, Our Place

National Law,

Regulations,

National Quality

Standards

Ratings system

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New’ NQF terminology ‘Old’ accreditation & regulations terminology

General terminology

Education and Care Service (not

so new terminology but

exclusively used under the NQF)

Centre (as in Child Care Centre)

Educator Teacher, carer, caregiver, child care worker

or staff were often interchangeably used

Staff Support staff; refers to staff members in a

centre based service who are not part of the

staff: child ratio. E.g. cook, cleaner,

gardener, administrator etc.

Terminology pertaining to the National Quality Framework

Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) Self Study Report

Assessor Validator

Quality Area Quality Area (no change)

Standards Principles

Elements Previously the division of the principle, e.g.

Principle 1.1, 1.2 etc.)

Rating Levels Accreditation results, e.g. Unsatisfactory,

Satisfactory, Good Quality and High Quality.

Approved Provider (Provider

approval)

Licensee (as stated on the licence)

Approved Service (Service

approval) Licencee

Nominated Supervisor

(Supervisor approval) Authorised supervisor (as stated on the

license)

National Quality Standard Accreditation Standards

Regulatory Authority No particular equivalent terminology but

referred to jurisdiction-specific licensing

bodies. e.g. in NSW the Regulatory Authority

will be Department of Education and

Communities (Early Childhood Education and

Care)

A list of each state/territory regulatory

authority can be found in Appendix A.

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Who does the National Quality Framework apply to?

The framework currently applies to:

Long day care centres (formerly used QIAS)

Family day care (formerly used FDCQA)

Outside school hours care (formerly used OSHCQA)

Preschools (no former accreditation system)

NOTE; In some Jurisdictions in Australia, ‘preschools’ are known as

‘kindergartens’.

Education and care services that are not currently included under the NQF (e.g.

playgroups, occasional care, and mobile services) will continue to be regulated by

any relevant jurisdiction-specific law. In NSW these are;

Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act

2011

Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions

Regulation 2004

Approvals

The initial approval process for a proposed new service is rather long and involved

and is not covered in this unit. However if you are interested in this process, you

will find excellent information at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/what-we-

offer/early-childhood-education-and-care and www.acecqa.gov.au.

It probably sounds like an obvious thing to say, but services must have current

approval in order to operate. In days gone by, services were required to renew

their licence to operate a children’s service periodically – lots of documentation

and a visit from a regulatory author officer was required. With the introduction of

the NQF many processes have been streamlined and as a consequence, services

will have to ensure they are operating with valid and current approvals.

Under the new framework there are three types of approvals;

Provider approval; replaces the ‘licensee’ licence and is nationally

recognised. Provider approval is granted to an individual or a legal entity

(such as a body corporate). It allows the provider to operate a service

anywhere in any Australian state or territory without having to apply for

further permission. Subject to conditions and fees, the provider approval

will be ongoing.

For more information on Provider Approval, see www.acecqa.gov.au.

Service approval is approval given to an approved provider to run a

specific education and care service. While the service approval is given to

an approved provider for a specific service, it can be transferred from one

approved provider to another. For example, if an approved provider buys a

service, the existing service approval for that particular service can be

transferred to him/her without having to gain a new approval.

SAMPLE

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/what-we-offer/early-childhood-education-and-care

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/what-we-offer/early-childhood-education-and-care





In the case of Family Day Care, a service approval will be issued to the

scheme rather than to individual educators.

Supervisor certificates - replace the ‘authorised supervisor’ requirement

but are not specific to a service. Individuals are able to obtain a supervisor

certificate that allows them to be placed in charge of the day to day

running of an education and care service as the Nominated Supervisor or

Certified Supervisor. The supervisor certificate ‘belongs’ to the individual

and therefore moves with the person from service to service rather than

only applying to an individual in a specific service. Note that a supervisor

certificate is NOT a qualification.

How does the quality ratings process work?

All services covered under the NQF will be required to comply with, or be working

towards complying with National Quality Standard and the Education and Care

Services National Regulations in a single, streamlined process.

Working through the steps of the process requires staff in conjunction with all

stakeholders to thoroughly look at, and evaluate how they do things. By

evaluating the quality being provided against a set of standards, they are able to

make changes or improvements in order to provide, maintain and/or improve the

quality of the service being provided.

The National Quality Standard is made up of seven Quality Areas, which are then

divided into Standards (18 standards in total), and then divided again into

Elements (a total of 58 elements, including between two and six elements within

each standard).

Prior to assessment by their regulatory body, centres are required to work

through the Quality Areas (shown in Step 1 below), and their underlying 18

standards that cover the various aspects of early education and care (for

example, relationships and interactions, programming, WHS and managing a

service). Standards are written as ‘high quality outcomes’. Each standard then

has a set of between two and six elements that provide further specific detail on

program features required to meet standards.

The rating system has five levels. These are:

Significant improvement required – the service is not meeting the NQS

which could be placing children at risk in regards to their health, safety,

wellbeing or development.

Working Towards NQS– the service is working towards meeting the NQS or

it is a new service that will commence operation at this level until an

assessment is carried out.

Meeting NQS – the service is meeting minimum NQS.

Exceeding NQS – the service is exceeding the NQS.

Excellent – the service demonstrates excellence and is recognised as a

sector leader.

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(Note that this is not a level achieved through the assessment process; it

must be applied for via ACECQA)

There are documents that services are required to use to work through the

process. These documents include:

The Guide to the National Quality Framework

The Guide to the National Law and National Regulations

The Guide to the National Quality Standard

The Guide to Developing a Quality Improvement Plan

The Assessment and Rating Instrument

These documents are currently available from the ACECQA Website at

www.acecqa.gov.au

Now let’s break this down and have a look at the steps involved in the

assessment process.

Step 1: Self-assessment

As the name suggests, centres are required to reflect upon their practice and

make an assessment of the standard of education and care being provided. The

Guide to Developing a Quality Improvement Plan document, in conjunction with

the Guide to the National Quality Standard should be used for the self-

assessment. Services may also refer to the Assessment and Rating Instrument.

The self-assessment process should include feedback from families, educators,

staff, service management and any other stakeholders or interested parties.

SAMPLE




Identify current practices and policies through observation,

discussion, meetings, surveys etc.

Determine the level of current practice and policies; Significant

improvement required, Working towards the NQS, Meeting NQS, or

Exceeding NQS.

Identify strengths and opportunities for the change or

improvement for each of the Quality Areas

Adapted from; NCAC, CCQA Support Document for Step 2: Self-study and

Continuing improvement.

Planning for quality improvement divides the self-assessment process into the

following seven Quality Areas:

1. Educational program and practice

2. Children’s health and safety

3. Physical environment

4. Staffing arrangements

5. Relationships with children

6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and

7. Leadership and service management.

Whilst services are not required to formally ‘rate’ themselves against quality

areas, standards and elements, services are required to identify both strengths

and areas that may require extra work. The ‘results’ of the service self-

assessment are then documented using the format contained within the Quality

Improvement Plan (QIP) template, also available on the ACECQA website.

The service must also retain a copy of the completed QIP on the premises at all

times, and will be required to submit it to the Regulatory Authority prior to a

scheduled assessment visit.

SAMPLE



Quality Improvement Plan for QA1

Summary of strengths for QA1

Strengths [Summarise strengths identified in the self-

assessment process. Delete if not required.]

Key improvements sought for QA1

Standard/element [Include the element number (left) and description

from QA1 table]

Identified Issue [Briefly summarise the issue identified during the

self-assessment process, then complete the

improvement planning table on the next page. Delete

rows not required.]

Since Quality Area 1 : Educational Program and Practice has been used as an

example of an extract from a QIP, it is worth mentioning here that under the

National Law it is a requirement to use an approved learning framework to inform

the development of programs.

The following learning frameworks have been approved for use under the

Regulations:

Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for

Australia – for Early Childhood Education and Care services, and

My Time, Our Place: A framework for School Age Care in Australia – for

OSHC services.

There are also some jurisdiction-specific learning frameworks that have been

approved for use, namely:

Victorian Early Years learning and Development Framework; For all

Children from Birth to Eight Years.

Western Australian Curriculum Framework for Kindergarten to Year 12,

Every chance to learn - Curriculum Framework for Australian Capital

Territory schools for preschool to Year 10.

The Tasmanian Curriculum (Kindergarten).

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While still on the topic of Learning Frameworks, let’s take a little time to have a

look at how the Learning Framework applicable to education and care services

relates to the NQS.

Now that you know more about the self-assessment (and have had a look at how

the standards relate to the relevant Framework), it’s time to move on to the next

step.

Activity 1.1 National Quality Standard

Go to the ACECQA website (www.acecqa.gov.au) and access the Guide to the

National Quality Standard and read pages 20-37

1. Summarise the purpose of learning frameworks

2. Give two different examples of ways educators can ensure that enhanced

learning outcomes are a priority within the service type you are studying

a)

b)

Discuss you answers with your facilitator and/or other learners.

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Step 2: Improvement Plan

Now that you have assessed the current level of practice within your service it’s

time to use that information to create a Quality Improvement Plan. This is a brief

overview as Section 4: Developing and implementing a Quality Improvement Plan

in this unit, looks at this topic in greater detail.

Below you will find the second half of the cycle from the NCAC that we looked at

in Step 1;

Develop plans for making improvements or changes to practices or

policies for each Quality Area.

Prioritise tasks for improvement and set a realistic timeframe for their

completion.

Implement improvements

Review the effectiveness of the improvements by re-evaluating the

service’s practices and policies.

Continue through cycle.

A Guide to Developing a Quality Improvement Plan along with a QIP template is

available on the ACECQA website; http://www.acecqa.gov.au.

An excerpt from the template has been used in the example below;

SAMPLE




Improvement Plan Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice

Standard/

Element

What

outcome

or goal do

we seek?

Priority

(L/M/H)

How will

we get this

outcome?

(Steps)

Success

measure

By when? Progress

notes

Step 3: Submission of the QIP

Once complete, the QIP must be submitted to the regulatory authority. At this

time the regulatory authority will;

Send an email to the Approved Provider acknowledging receipt of the QIP

Review the service history, including previous accreditation history,

regulatory compliance history, previous or current complaints registered

against the service and any other relevant history.

Review the service’s submitted QIP

Contact the Nominated Supervisor to organise an assessment visit.

Note; all centre-based services will receive a visit, however for Family Day

Care, a small number of Family Day Care residences will be selected within

each scheme for a visit.

Step 4: Assessment and rating visit

Now it’s time for a qualified assessor from the regulatory authority to visit the

service to conduct the assessment and ratings assessment. This is an external

evaluation of the centre on its performance against the NQS and the Regulations.

The visit will be a minimum of 6 hours, and for larger services may span 2 or

even 3 days (there’s a lot they have to look at!). Prior to the visit, the service will

be advised of the proposed date and time.

The nominated supervisor and approved provider will need to be available on the

day of the visit. Since the date of the visit has already been advised, this is rarely

a problem.

On the day of the visit the assessor will observe the environment and typical

practice, as well as inspecting all relevant records, documents and evidence.

Aspects of the centre and operations that will be observed and/or inspected

include:

Programs – including checking that they incorporate the appropriate

learning framework

Facilities – including adequate spaces and health and safety aspects of the

environment

Equipment – including maintenance, serviceability, suitability and safety

SAMPLE



The provision of general health and safety requirements for children –

including lighting, heating/cooling, fencing, glass, electrical outlets and

balance of indoor/outdoor activities

Staffing – including qualifications, First Aid training, rosters and staff:child

ratios

Operational matters – including group sizes, number of children and

interactions

Health and hygiene matters – including nutrition, food handling,

medications and dangerous chemicals

Child records – including enrolment forms, developmental records,

attendance and access

Excursions – including authorisation, permission forms, transport

arrangements and hazards

Emergency policies and procedures

Management records – including systems, processes and policies

Whilst this list is long, it is not exhaustive!

As well as observing, inspecting and examining written documents, the assessor

will also want to talk to the nominated supervisor, approved provider and the

educators. They may be asked questions about programming or policies and

procedures, or any aspects as listed in the Quality Areas, Standards and

Elements.

Step 5: Assessment and rating decision

Following the visit, the NQS Assessment and Rating Instrument is used by the

assessor to prepare a report and determine the quality levels to be awarded for

each standard which is then used to determine an overall rating.

In determining the level to be awarded for each standard, the rating for each

element is used. If not all elements of a standard have been deemed to be met,

the assessor will then determine if the rating for that standard will be

Unsatisfactory or Working towards NQS level. If all elements are deemed to have

been met or exceeded, the assessor determines the level for that standard to be

Meeting NQS or Exceeding NQS, depending on the evidence gathered during the

visit.

If a service is rated at as Unsatisfactory for any element, it will be rated

Unsatisfactory for that particular Standard, which in turn will lead to an

Unsatisfactory rating for the Quality Area. This will therefore lead to an overall

rating of Unsatisfactory.

In addition to the above, a Working towards the NQS level (service not assessed)

rating will be given to new services who were required to be assessed against

some elements of the NQS prior to commencing operations but have been given

approval to operate.

You may recall reading about the Excellent level and are now wondering why it

hasn’t been mentioned here! The Excellent rating is not awarded through the

assessment and rating visit, but must be applied for. Services that have received

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