Most Illawarra early education services score well in quality assessment, but some have work to do

Many early education providers throughout the Illawarra have gone above and beyond in their care of children, boasting quality ratings among the highest in the state, but others are yet to meet the requirements of the national framework.

With an elaborate, shaded outdoor space, STEM, sensory and art programs and even a therapy dog on staff, St Luke’s Preschool in Dapto exudes excellence from first glance, and it has the paperwork to back it up.

The early education service is one of 52 out of 150 identified in the Illawarra by Region Illawarra determined to be ‘exceeding’ the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority’s (ACECQA) National Quality Standards (NQS).

St Luke’s Preschool director Vikki Shaw said the centre constantly strived for improvement.

“We work really hard for our exceeding rating,” she said.

“We’re always taking on feedback and what our assessor was saying to us, asking what’s areas that we could still grow in when we have compliance visits.

“They’re always there to tick a box, but what can you learn and grow from as well.”

Preschools, long day care centres, out of school hours childcare and family day care schemes are assessed by the NSW Department of Education Early Childhood and Education Care Authority (ECEC) in seven quality areas.

The services are judged on educational program and practice, children’s health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, governance and leadership.

St Luke’s achieved “exceeding” status in all seven areas, as did other Illawarra preschools including KU Bulli, The Little School Preschool in Kembla Grange and Wollongong City Community Preschool.

“Our industry has high standards,” Vikki said. “To get ‘meeting’ in every area is still huge; you don’t just get it because you’re doing the basic level, you have to work hard for it too.”

A number of long day cares also recorded that achievement in all areas, including four Kids Uni centres (CBD, North, South and Innovation Campus), Balgownie Early Learning Centre, Albion Park Early Learning Centre, Early Learners Hub Albion Park, Happy Kids Daycare in Unanderra, Goodstart Early Learning in Mangerton, Port Kembla Community Preschool, Curious Kids Early Learning Centre in Flinders, and Stewart Street Community Preschool and Shining Stars Early Learning in Wollongong.

Out of School Hours Programs Bungalow OOSH as well as Peak Sports and Learning Programs at Mount Terry and Minamurra also boasted the impressive score.

“It’s important that families and communities can be confident their children are safe and thriving in early childhood education and care settings,” ECEC Regulatory Authority executive director Sharon Gudu said.

“A service that’s rated exceeding has gone over and above; it is passing those standards in multiple areas and is applying a more rigorous critical reflection approach to its quality.”

Ninety-two per cent of services across NSW received a rating of “meeting NQS” or above, but some services have more room for improvement than others.

According to the ACECQA database, at least five long day care centres and one out of school hours program in the Illawarra currently have a “working towards NQS” rating.

These include Little Peoples Early Learning Centre at Horsley, Wollongong and Berkeley, Poka Dot Kids Early Learning Centre in Oak Flats and Pioneer Road Long Day Care Centre in Bellambi.

But Ms Gudu assured that “working towards” does not mean a service is unfit to operate.

“All approved services in NSW are safe and required to comply with safety requirements, laws and regulations, so it doesn’t matter what their rating is, they do need to be safe,” she said.

“One of the things we might see for example is inconsistent practices across the service.

“Perhaps their policy documents are fine, they say the right things, but it’s not playing out in the way that they’re actually recording a child’s medical information or maybe their first aid kit is not up to date, they’ve got expired medication in there.

She said some things, such as an out-of-date Ventolin inhaler, could be fixed immediately by disposing of the medication and contacting parents for a replacement, while others required ongoing processes which services were supported in improving before they were reassessed, which would occur based on level of concern, incidents or feedback from parents.

But with demand for early education providers soaring, other needs such as availability and location may play an important role in the decision-making process.

Ms Gudu said while the quality standards should be taken into consideration, communication with a service, regardless of its rating, could help indicate whether it was suitable.

“We encourage families to talk with services about the rating or about their quality improvement plans where there is indicated room for improvement,” she said.

“I think families having that conversation with the service will give them a really good sense of the values and priorities of the service.

“We think it’s a good motivator for services when families ask those questions, and a good service will engage in those conversations. If a service is not comfortable with talking about that with families then a family may decide that service may not be a good fit for them.”

The ratings of services are available through the ACECQA website, with parents also encouraged to report any concerns or questions to the department at 1800 619 113 or [email protected].