NQS - National Quality Standard

Learn more about how our campuses are rated under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

Exceeding National Quality Standard

At Only About Children, we are very proud to have a number of campuses with the coveted Exceeding NQS rating.  These campuses include:

NQS Exceeding logo

How is childcare rated in Australia?

In January 2012 the National Quality Framework (NQF) came into effect across Australia.

The purpose of the NQF is to improve and standardise the quality of child care through a range of measures including better staff to child ratios, higher staff qualifications and an assessment and rating system designed to promote continuous improvement.

Under the NQF, child care services are assessed and rated against the National Quality Standards (NQS).

Objectives of the National Quality Standards (NQS)?

The National Quality Standard (NQS) measures the quality of early childhood education and care in Australia.

The NQS assesses and rates child care services against 7 quality areas:

  • Educational program and practice
  • Children’s health and safety
  • Physical environment
  • Staffing arrangements
  • Relationships with children
  • Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

For more information please visit: www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf

What are the 7 National Quality Standards & what do they mean?

Once a campus has been assessed against the 7 quality areas, they are awarded one of the following ratings:

Excellent – The Excellent rating is the highest possible rating and can only be awarded by ACECQA (effective from May 2013).

Exceeding NQS – A service that receives an overall rating of Exceeding will have exceeded the NQS in at least four or more of the seven quality areas, including two of the ‘key’ areas.

Meeting NQS –  An overall rating of Meeting means that a service has met all of the elements in the NQS and may have exceeded the standards in some quality areas.

Working Towards NQS – If a service receives an overall rating of Working Towards it means the service has not met at least one of the 58 elements in the NQS. It may have a mix of higher and lower ratings across the seven quality areas.

It may take time for some services to meet each element in these standards, which is why the Working Towards rating is important.  Working Towards does not mean that the service has failed to meet any of the requirements that pose a risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of children.

At Only About Children we More Than Childcare. We’re a place to grow (and learn and make friends and explore the world and become school-ready!). What sets us apart are more programs and inclusions, immersed throughout your child’s day, every single day.

Find out more about our unique, holistic approach to childcare which goes beyond education to encompass the health and total wellbeing of every child.

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