Finding a quality childcare centre requires a little effort, and Australia is one place that makes it easier for parents compared to most other places in the world. Australia has a National Quality Standard that provides parents with a tangible framework to compare and evaluate childcare centres in Australia, ranging from the quality and expertise of educators to safety standards in centres. Seven quality areas are assessed and rated in Australia, and this rating is made available to parents. This is a significant advantage for parents seeking to know where to start when it comes to finding a quality childcare centre for their kid.
1. A Safe and Healthy Environment
If you were to walk into any childcare centre, the first thing you would notice, even though you may not realise you are noticing it, is the level of safety in the environment. Clean floors, neat play areas, secure front door, etc. These are the first things you notice, and they are important.
Then there are the less obvious aspects, like the health practices in the centre. Any centre that is worth its salt will have very clear health exclusion practices, handwashing stations, and risk management practices in place. This is important, as it shows you the level of commitment the centre has towards the health and safety of the children in its care.
Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard deals with the health and safety of children in particular. It is used as a basis for assessment, and the current ratings of the centres are available on the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority website.
2. Qualified and Supportive Educators
There are certainly rules around educators’ qualifications in Australia, and they are not fuzzy rules. For example, long day care services must meet specific ratios and qualification requirements under the Education and Care Services National Law. Services that provide a programme to preschool-aged children must have at least one educator who has an approved early childhood teaching degree.
But this is just a starting point, and it does not measure what really matters inside those walls. Is an educator crouching down to talk to kids at their level? Is an educator playing with kids instead of standing over them? Does an educator notice that a child is having trouble before it becomes a problem? When you walk into a long day care centre, look at how educators interact with kids. That is more important than any certificate on a wall.
3. Staff-to-Child Ratios That Support Individual Attention
Australia’s Education and Care Services National Regulations have clearly defined requirements around staffing ratios. For services caring for children between birth and 24 months, there is a requirement of one educator to every 4 children. For services caring for children between 24 months and 36 months, there is again one educator to every 4 children. Finally, for services caring for 36 months up to school age, there is one educator to every 11 children.
Services may operate at lower staffing levels, especially in rooms where there are younger children, and this is where these services really make a difference. If you’re considering childcare services in your area, you can visit Belmont Childcare to get a sense of how these services operate, especially across different age groups. When you visit any childcare, you can ask them how their staffing ratios operate, not just during peak hours.
4. Engaging, Play-Based Learning Programmes
Here is something worth understanding early: for young kids, play is not the opposite of learning. It is the method.
Australia’s “Early Years Learning Framework”, officially “Belonging, Being and Becoming”, is the basis for early learning programmes across Australia. It is based on five learning outcomes in the areas of identity, community, health and wellbeing, communication, and learning. Play is central to how learning is achieved in these areas. Children learn to communicate, develop problem-solving abilities, and even begin to learn literacy and numeracy basics through play.
What this means in a quality centre is educators who are participating in play, not observing it from the sidelines. A programme that varies in structure and child-led play. A written curriculum that does not simply list the framework but also references it – or at least lists it on their website.
5. A Stimulating and Child-Friendly Environment
The physical space in which a child spends their time is more important than it might initially seem. This is supported by all research in the area of early childhood education. A stimulating and child-friendly environment is a good indicator of a well-designed space. A stimulating and child-friendly environment means there is a lot of natural light, distinct areas for different kinds of play, and play materials accessible to the children without the need to ask an adult. A good play space will allow children to move freely while at the same time having quiet play areas. When it comes to the outdoors, it is not just a matter of having space. A good outdoor area will have:
- Sensory play opportunities like sand, water, or gardens
- Physical challenges suited to the age group
- Space for imaginative and open-ended play
A centre that has genuinely thought through its environment has usually applied that same thinking to everything else.
6. Positive Social and Emotional Development
This is another area that doesn’t always get as much attention as it should, but it’s clearly a foundation upon which the Early Years Learning Framework is built. Outcome 1 addresses children’s concept of their own identity and a sense of belonging. Outcome 3 addresses their overall well-being. Both of these are at the heart of what quality education at this age is supposed to achieve.
Social and emotional development really comes down to whether educators are actively engaging in helping children through the process of learning to co-exist in this world. Helping them through conflicts with each other. Modelling appropriate forms of communication between people. Ensuring every child in the room is included. Children who are more socially and emotionally developed tend to make the transition to school more easily, as well as have more positive relationships throughout their lives.
7. Strong Communication between Educators and Families
Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Standard has a strong focus on building partnerships with families and communities. This is a reflection of something that has long been known in terms of research into young children’s learning: children thrive when the adults in their lives are connected and pulling in the same direction.
Centres are increasingly using technology to communicate through apps, which allow them to share photos, daily observations, and updates on a child’s development. This constant flow of information is important to parents being kept informed and is worth asking about. However, it is just as important to make time to talk to parents, rather than just give a brief wave as a child is being collected from the centre. Families who feel informed and included have a much more positive experience overall, and this child is likely to reflect this.
Making the Right Choice for Your Family
Centres may not tick all the boxes perfectly, and that is okay. What matters is finding a centre that is a good fit for your child and your family and instils confidence in the quality of care your child is receiving.
Ratings, ratios, and curriculum are all useful guides. But the thing that matters most is the kids. The way they look as if they are enjoying themselves. The way they move around. The way they respond to the people around them. That’s the reality. That’s the thing no checklist can ever show.
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