Our Policies

The National Quality Framework, Policies and Procedures

The National Quality Framework (NQF) encourages services to provide a high quality and consistent standard of early childhood education and care across Australia. The NQF includes:

• A national legislative framework that consists of the Education and Care Services National Law and Education and Care Services National Regulations
• A National Quality Standard (NQS)
• An assessment and ratings system
• A regulatory authority in each state and territory which has responsibility for the approval, monitoring and quality assessment of services
• A national body responsible for providing oversight of the new system and ensuring consistency of approach – the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

Centres are assessed and rated against seven quality areas, of the NQS. The standards cover children’s development and education as well as relationships with families, educator qualifications, and the service environment.

The seven National Quality Standard (NQS) areas are:

NQS1. Educational program and practice.
NQS 2. Children’s health and safety.
NQS 3. The physical environment.
NQS 4. Staffing arrangements.
NQS 5. Relationships with children.
NQS 6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities.
NQS 7. Governance and leadership.

Our policies and procedures cover these key seven areas. You can find more information about the NQF and NQS at acecqa.gov.au.

All centres are required to have policies and related documents in relation to certain matters under Regulation 168 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations. If you would like a copy of any centre policy please speak with your Centre Director or view at the centre.