in this issue: NQF LATEST news & UPDATES regulatory mess QIP: get ready Broadside community Child Care Co-operative (NSW) news update OCT/NOV 2011 NSW report card: must try harder The Hon Peter Garrett Victoria leading the nation in meeting kinder targets: report The Hon Peter Garrett Australian Capital Territory making great progress on Preschool targets The Hon Peter Garrett NSW making progress on preschool targets but more work ahead The Hon Peter Garrett Western Australia well on track to meet kinder targets The Hon Peter Garrett South Australia making progress on preschool targets The Hon Peter Garrett Tasmania well on track to meeting kindergarten targets The Hon Peter Garrett Northern Territory making progress on preschool targets If NSW was a student, this is one of those report cards it wouldn t want to take home. Whereas all the teacher s pets got comments on theirs, ranging from Victoria s leading the nation to well on track or making progress, NSW got the classic must try harder. So, what is it in relation to? Our state s progress in achieving universal access. Essentially, the NSW report card read that although New South Wales is making progress towards reaching national targets on early childhood access, there are still some areas where improvement is needed. Minister for Early Childhood Peter Garrett released state and territory annual reports for 2010 on the National Partnership agreement on Early Childhood Education a few weeks ago. The Gillard Government is investing $970 million to help provide every Australian four-year-old with 15 hours of preschool a week for 40 weeks a year, delivered by a university-trained teacher, by 2013, Mr Garrett said. Nationally, the reports confirm that more Australian children than ever before are accessing preschool or kindergarten, with four in five children enrolled last year and attending for an average of more than 14 hours a week. More than a third of children are already enrolled for 15 hours a week just two years into the five-year rollout of the universal access commitment. However, he pointed out that, NSW has experienced an increase in enrolments from 81.9 per cent in 2008 to 86.2 per cent of children by 2010, which, although this is below the 2010 target of 94.6 per cent, is still good progress. The state has also reached average weekly attendance of 13.39 hours, above the target of 12.9 hours. So what really concerns government? Charging fees for Department of Education preschools! The recent decision by the NSW Government to charge a fee for Government preschool programs from 2012 could also make it harder for children from low-income families to attend preschool. Apparently he has written to Adrian Piccoli outlining the Gillard Government s concerns and asking for further continued on page 2
NSW report card: must try harder continued from front page information on how the NSW Government plans to reach the National Partnership goals. He said that the NSW Government, needs to provide stronger support for preschools to offer parents and children more hours of service. He did talk about the state s positive progress in some areas, including a high Aboriginal and Torres Stait Islander enrolment and steady growth in the number of children from disadvantaged communities enrolling in preschool. The Commonwealth is providing more than $278 million to NSW under the National Partnership. Given more than 75 per cent of the Commonwealth funding has yet to come, I look forward to NSW s results continuing to build to the 2013 target, he said. So does Community Child Care! Hopefully the outcome of the Funding Review will include a commitment by the NSW Government to fund preschool education in line with the funding spent by other states in this area. So who s the fairy godmother, then? Recently Community Child Care received a very special email from a member: I have been going through the regs. Like us all, I am in the process of updating all policies and making sure they link to the correct clause. On the CCCC website members area I stumbled across NQF in a Box which has headings of all required policies. I thought the fairy godmother had arrived when I saw the guideline policies that relate to the NQF. Unfortunately, the headings are there but you haven t completed the policies yet. This may save us quite a few hours of work. Community Child Care members will be happy to hear that the policies are now all completed. And the forms. And lots of other NQF-related goodies. To get access, just log in to the members area of our website and hit the NQF in a Box button. Not sure if you are a member? Call Jo Walls on (02) 8922 6428. You can also contact Jo if you have forgotten your password or login details. The Community Child Care mob, like all good fairy godmothers, are now off to wave our wands and polish our wonderful shoes! Been to the new DEC website yet? The Early Childhood Education & Care Directorate of DEC are gradually moving material on to the Department of Education and Communities website. Although services are used to going to www.community.nsw.gov.au, the new DEC website at www.educationandcommunities.nsw.gov.au has the most up-to-date information. 2 Broadside October/November 2011 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)
more NQF LATEST NEWS & updates Rah, rah, the Regs are here! So we have them. The Regulations. The National Regulations. The final bit in the NQF mix that we have been waiting for. All the possibles are now definites, all the things that were still to be decided, have been. Now comes the hard bit ensuring your service is regulatory compliant! And that s where community Child Care Co-operative (NSW) comes in... Presents in the mail The festive season is coming, and although they may be things you need rather than want, look out for these handy items in your mail box soon. CCCC s Really Simple Guide to the Regulations This Guide will be sent to all LDCs and preschools who are in scope for the NQF, and will be available to download free from www.ccccnsw.org.au/changes. Funded by the Department of Education and Communities, this 20-page guide summarises the main points services need to know about the Regulations (with pretty pictures!) ACECQA s Package DEEWR and ACECQA will be sending each in scope service a copy of each of their Help Guides and a CD with the Regulations and Law on it. The Help Guides are: 1. Guide to the National Quality Framework. 2. Guide to the National Law and National Regulations 3. Guide to the National Quality Standard. 4. Guide to Developing your Quality Improvement Plan. The Guide to the National Quality Framework provides an overview of the key elements of the new framework and how to navigate the supporting resources. The Guide to the National Law and Regulations will assist the sector to understand the National Law and the National Regulations and provides examples of how regulatory requirements may be met. The Guide to the National Quality Standard outlines each Quality Areas and how each underlying Standard contributes to quality outcomes for children. The Guide to Developing your Quality Improvement Plan explains how to undertake a self-assessment, complete a Quality Improvement Plan and provides an outline of the assessment process. There is also a Quality Improvement Plan proforma. Really Simple Regulations Information Sessions Community Child Care is presenting 2.5-hour sessions on the new Education and Care Services National Regulations for long day care services and preschools across NSW to ensure access for all. Funded by DEC, all sessions are free but booking is essential and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Some sessions are in November 2011 and some in February 2012. Book at: www.ccccnsw.org.au/regs Early Childhood Teachers, Diplomas, Childcare Professionals & Trainees Wanted Northmead Early Education Centre is a brand new beautifully designed, modern and child focused 79 place Child Care and Education Centre. NEEC will cater for children aged 0-6 years and includes a 40 place separate Preschool for the 3-6 year old children. We are currently looking for dedicated and professional staff to fill the following positions: Early Childhood Teachers (soon-to-be graduates are welcome to apply) Diplomas Qualified and experienced childcare workers Childcare trainees Cook Hours Preschool: 8.30am-4.30pm Childcare centre: 7am-6.30pm If you would like to be part of this centre of excellence - please send your resume to manager@educhildcare.com.au Visit our website for more information: www.educhildcare.com.au OPENING SOON! 3 Broadside October/November 2011 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)
NQF certified structure supervisors Administrative train wreck From 1 January 2012, under the new regulations, all services within scope of the NQF need a responsible person present at all times. This person can be a Nominated Supervisor, a Certified Supervisor or Approved Provider. We have known this was going to be the case since the draft regulations were released way back when. Obviously, there would need to be a system in place to deal with the influx of applications from people wanting to be Certified Supervisors so their services were not breaking the law come January. Seeing this on the horizon does not seem to be a big ask. But it seems that anticipating the influx was so difficult for the Department of Education and Communities that they could not easily establish a system to address it. First, services were told not to worry: DEC would take a pragmatic view of policing the requirement come January. At the DEC-run information sessions, various answers were given to this question when raised. Of course, the issue was further complicated by the already huge backlog of Authorised Supervisor applications. The current advice from DEC is that they can t cope if people fill out Approved Supervisor applications because the criteria for a Certified Supervisor is different, and they will get a new form up on their website by the end of November. Other states appear to have simple systems in place to ensure services do not break the law come 1 January. Under the regulations, DEC has 60 days from receipt to make a decision on an application. To be a responsible person, a Certified Supervisor must have completed child protection training. DEC has a list of approved courses on its website: http://preview.tinyurl. com/child-pro1 Community Child Care suggests services put in as many Certified Supervisor applications as they will need once the new form is up. If you do it in 2011 you may not have to pay the $30 fee! We also suggest two options for people who need to do child protection training: The first is, do the course via distance education through Community Child Care s RTO. It costs $120 and it takes 20 hours. This involves a course of study and passing an assessment. The second option is to get Community Child Care to run the session at your service or group of services. Contact training@ccccnsw.org.au for either option. Of course, a range of other organisations offer child protection courses as well. For sale Childcare Resting Beds Blue childcare beds (88 in total). Originally used for 18 months. Have been stored for 2 years. In good condition. Six beds are slightly damaged but still very useable. These beds sell for between $77 to $95 brand new. Beds measure 130 x 51.5 x 14cm. $3000 or near offer. Inspection welcome Contact Max on 02 9773 4828 or 0412 476 750 Qualifications for children s services professionals Community Child Care Co-operative offers Nationally Recognised (Accredited) training courses for people working in children s services. Community Child Care offers Certificate III and Diploma courses in Children s Services, in small Business Management and in Training and Assessment and short courses in food handling and child protection. Call 8922 6424 OR GO TO: www.ccccnsw.org.au/rto Make 2012 the year you or your staff acquire more qualifications! 4 Broadside October/November 2011 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)
news Three-year trained teachers get ministerial reprieve All those three-year trained teachers concerned about the requirement to be four-year trained to deliver a preschool program under universal access can breathe a deep sigh of relief. Minister Peter Garrett has announced that education ministers had recently agreed to recognise existing threeyear trained early childhood teachers for the purposes of delivering a preschool program. This means that all new teachers will need to be 4YT, but existing 3YT teachers can continue to deliver preschool programs. Research shows that the higher the qualifications held by educators in early education and care programs, the better the quality of early education and care that is provided. Preschool capital works Community Child Care has an ongoing role monitoring capital works projects and assisting preschools to complete their works and ensure additional preschool places are achieved. Our aim is to ensure that all capital projects are monitored closely and assistance is given where needed. Community Child Care staff member Helen Thornton is undertaking this work. If you are in receipt of capital works funding, Helen will be in touch with your service in the near future to see how you are progressing. Preschools and Growth Funding Community Child Care would like to hear from you if you have questions or concerns about your ongoing funding from DEC for additional places achieved under the Preschool Growth Program. Please email: helenthornton@ccccnsw.org.au More people in health and community services choose HESTA than any other fund Your super fund can make a lifetime of difference 3 Run only to benefit members 3 No commissions 3 Low fees hesta.com.au/super 7 Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Limited (HESTA) ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL 235 249 Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA Super Fund) ABN 64 971 749 321. Consider a Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision about HESTA s products - call 1800 813 327 or visit our website for copies. 807.HESTA_Childcare_180x125.indd 1 5 Broadside October/November 2011 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) 26/07/11 11:38 AM
ABN 81 174 903 921 Broadside Editor Lisa Bryant Production ARMEDIA ISSN 0819-9728 2011 Published by Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) CEO Leanne Gibbs Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) is a non-profit, non-government organisation set up to lobby for and provide information on children s services in New South Wales. It is funded by the NSW Department of Community Services. Community Child Care gratefully acknowledges the support of Microsoft Corporation in providing Community Child Care with free software under their Community Assistance Initiative. Registered Australia Post Publication No. 255003/04732. Photocopying is permitted in part however, acknowledgement must be given. Building 21, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204 T: (02) 8922 6444 FreeCall: 1800 157 818 F: (02) 8922 6445 E: info@ccccnsw.org.au W: www.ccccnsw.org.au Quality Improvement Plan Services need to complete a selfassessment and quality improvement planning process as part of the NQF. Although you need to assess your service against all 7 quality areas, you only enter the areas you have assessed as needing improvement in the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). ACECQA has developed a template for the Plan. You need to do a self-assessment to develop the QIP, but it is only the plan that is submitted. You need to prepare your plan by 30 April 2012. You only need to send it to DEC upon request. This will generally be in the lead-up to an assessment visit. They can request to view your QIP whenever they visit your service. The Quality Improvement Plan must include: Your service details; The philosophy of your service; A summary of strengths and areas for improvement for those of the 7 Quality Areas you have assessed as needing improvement; How you plan to improve your goals, priorities, steps and measures of success. Children s Services Central will have calendared training on QIP development on our new Calendar for 2012. Keep an eye out for it in the mail at the beginning of next year. Finding the best NQF information With NQF information everywhere one looks, it can be hard to know what the best sources are. Community Child Care suggests the following: www.acecqa.gov.au as well as having links to the Regulations and Law and PDF copies of the Help Guides, the Australian Children s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) website has a range of updated information sheets and a small FAQ section. www.ccccnsw.org.au our big yellow button is still one of your best bets. We reorganise it regularly so that the most relevant information is easily accessible. Members will soon get access to the CCCC NQF in a Box website with lots of NQF goodies such as policies and forms. Not sure if you are a member? Call Jo Walls on (02) 8922 6428. Celebrate the launch of & Win an ipad2! Visit www.ectarc.com.au and complete the registration form to enter the draw to win one of three ipad2 prizes. Competition closes 12 December 2011 at 5pm. Entry open to all ECTARC students and anyone employed in the early childhood sector. Enter today! ECTARC LIVE OFFICIAL LAUNCH 23 NOV 2011 LIVE INTERACTIVE ONLINE STUDY SESSIONS & WORKSHOPS ECTARC is taking student support, training and professional development opportunities to a whole new level! For more information visit www.ectarc.com.au 6 Broadside October/November 2011 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)