Page 1522 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 April 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
this national law contained in a schedule to the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (Victoria).
In applying the national law, the bill implements the national quality framework, which aims to raise the quality of care to children in early childhood, as well as outside school hours care services. The national quality standard will come into effect in the ACT on 1 January 2012. The new laws and regulations will introduce a new national quality assessment and rating system, which will see services assessed and rated against each of the seven quality areas of the national standard. These quality areas are:
• Educational program and practice
• Children’s health and safety
• Physical environment
• Staffing arrangements
• Relationships with children
• Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
• Leadership and service management.
The assessment and rating system will drive continual quality improvements within services and the rating will provide families with better information for making choices about their children’s education and care. These ratings will be published. The assessment and rating process will be carried out by the regulatory authority in the ACT, which will be the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services. The department will delegate some of its authority to the Department of Education and Training to support ACT government preschools.
A national body is also being established, based in New South Wales, called the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. The authority will coordinate and guide the national quality framework and ensure the consistent and effective implementation of the new system.
Mr Speaker, the new regulations will be phased in over the next 10 years to give services time to adjust to the new standards. There will be two key impacts that ACT services will need to address—namely, the educator to child ratio and the qualifications of staff. In terms of compliance, the ACT already meets the new educator to child ratio outlined in the standards for children over the age of two.
However, from 1 January next year, ACT services that deliver care for children under the age of two will need to move from a one to five to a one to four ratio of educator to child ratio. The ACT government and independent preschools will be required to move to a ratio of one educator to 11 children, to align with long day care from January 2016. The current ratio is two educators to 25. The Department of Education and Training in the ACT advise that it will be complaint by 2014, two years earlier than required.
From 1 January 2014, 50 per cent of educators will need to be qualified at diploma level or actively working towards the qualification. The remaining educators will need to have, or be working towards completing, at least a certificate III in children’s services. An early childhood teacher must also be provided in all long day care centres.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video