What do you think about the new rating system?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lulu on May 19, 2010 at 2:12pm

Is this also being applied to family day care?

Lulu.

Permalink Reply by Roxanne Elliott on May 24, 2010 at 11:40am

Hi Lulu,

Here is more information from DEEWR which maybe helpful to you at this time:

http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Docume...

Permalink Reply by Matthew Turen on July 10, 2010 at 9:37am

It looks like there won't be a substantial change in the Accreditation NQF or whatever it might be called.
The winners are Government Departments/employees anyone and everyone related to child care in some way from printers to book publishers and all the bureaucratic heavy machinery.
The looser will be Childcare Centres... All sorts, Private, Council Run, Non-Profits etc.etc. And consequently, mothers and children... The cost is going to be so high & unaffordable, they will have no choice but stay at home and look after their children themselves! These are families where both parents are working and also known as Middle Income Australians.
I am not talking about the under-priviledged, low income families... They will have no chance at all!

We have written to Julia Guillard (before PM Rudd was stabbed at the back) and they do not seem to understand the real cost impact of the changes not only NQF but also EYLF.

For the last few months I was trying to figure out the impact of the Framework and prepared a simple cost increase calculations file (an excel file) which makes the outlook SCARY to tell the least!
I am checking & checking the figures again & again and wishing that I have made a HUGE mistake somewhere in the calculations... Or I am in another planet :)

By the way, I have not touched the ECT issue yet (still lots of things are not definitively decided, I am told...)
If what I have read is correct and will become a requirement, it will be interesting to see how many ECTs will be happy to work from 6:30am to 6:30pm :)
OR, Centres have to employ TWO (2) ETCs with the same employment conditions as any other teacher (in Primary Schools) with 40mins non-contact per hour working conditions.

I have put the calculations excel file on-line at "http://www.cheeriokids.com.au/downloads.html" and would LOVE to get some feedback if my presumptions are correct & justified.

Being a Private or Public Childcare is irrelevant, I think... We are in the same boat and "The Most Comprehensive Changes in Australian History" as put by DEECD guest during our Banyule Council Network meeting, might DECIMATE Childcare in Australia.
The only difference is that Public Centres, such as Councils might absorb the cost increase as they are funded (directly or indirectly) by the taxpayers :) Non-profits, Co-ops and Private Centres will be in BIG Trouble... Especially Private Centres! As we all are going to compete against the Councils/Non-profits/Co-ops which would not have any incentive to run like a business.
Unless of course someone pays for the increase in the cost :)
Parents? Government (CCB/CTR etc)? Public/Private Centers (from their own pockets)?
Ultimately, the TAXPAYER...

Back to the NQF
We think that there has to be a categorisation of the services according their sizes.
May be, two or three categories according to the centre capacity.
• Centres 0 to 30 (SMALL)
• Centres 30 to 80 (MEDIUM)
• Centres 80 and above (LARGE)
Some of the items, especially towards the end of each principles (High Quality) are somehow unachievable, unaffordable for Small to Medium size centres.

A copy of the Validation Report (or list of all the items in the same order) items should be sent to the centres instead of Self Study Report. In other words, I would rather like to see what I will be assessed on (meaning all the items) rather than nice and cosy words/paragraphs that I would write on my Self Study Report...
In other words, one-on-one correlation so that I can prepare better to the validation Visit.

It was interesting that the most valuable tool “Parent’s Feedback” for getting a feeling if the centre is doing a good job was drooped from the NCAC requirements.
In other words you will not be able to judge/differentiate two centre with the same Validation Reports, from each other. One might have a very good Parent Satisfaction/No complaints (official and informal) and the other might have loads of complaints and very poor Parent Satisfaction...
Both would look the same on paper (and on the Validation Report)

I have not seen any comments, in terms of “Interpersonal skills / Humanitarian values / Relationship to parents / Parent satisfaction” etc. in the Validation Report!

May be they (NCAC or NQF) should adopt “Choice Magazine” system of evaluation. In other words Percentage of each Quality Principle component to the final outcome.

What is the most important indicator for a centre doing a good job?

I would say “Parent Satisfaction” AND what would be the % to the total outcome compared to all other Principles...

An Example would be:

%50 Parent Satisfaction (of the total outcome)
%10 Principle 1 (of the total outcome)
%8 Principle 2 (of the total outcome)
%7 Principle 3 (of the total outcome)
% 8 Principle 4 (of the total outcome)
% 7 Principle 5 (of the total outcome)
% 4 Principle 6 (of the total outcome)
% 6 Principle 7 (of the total outcome)

Principle % are just number does not reflect the importance... You (meaning experts!) should determine what percentage each Principle should be.

Matthew Turen
www.cheeriokids.com.au