Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia

The National Quality Standard and Framework are used in Australia to benchmark the quality of early childhood education. The legislation aims to improve education and consistency in the provision of services. The framework covers the National Quality Standard, National Regulations and National Law, assessments, and national quality rating. The legislation has had a positive impact on work practices and policy development in the early childhood sector.

Running Head: EDUCATION
Early Childhood Education and Care
Name
Affiliation
Instructor
Date

2
Education
Early Childhood Education and Care
The Current Childhood Education and Care Law and Regulations Utilised in Australia
In Australia, the National Quality Standard is the regulation currently used so that eh
quality of early childhood education is benchmarked. This regulation was formed so that it
could help in the attainment of quality standards in terms of health, safety as well as the
wellbeing of children. In addition, it aims at achieving essential outcomes in the education
sector through the provision of high and quality educational standards. By understanding
this regulation well, families are able to compel stakeholders in the education sector to
provide quality education. National Quality Standard is an important aspect and works hand
in hand with the National Quality Framework, (Littlefield et al., 2017). There are seven areas
of quality in the National Quality Standard and as such these areas have specific elements
and standards that education and child care service providers are rated and assessed
against. These areas include Educational Programs and practice, physical environment,
child’s health and safety, staffing requirements, collaborative partnerships with
communities and families, relationships with children and leadership as well as service
management.
The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Development and Care is the
system used nationally in Australia for quality assessment and regulation of care for children
in the education sector. The main aim of this legislation is to improve education in the
country as well as checking consistency in the provision of this service too. This is attained
with the help of a national legislative framework, the national Quality standard, the
Australian Children’s education, and care quality authority as well as the national quality
rating and assessment processes, (Logan, 2017).

3
Education
Overview and Description of what the National Quality Framework covers
The main aim of this legislation is to improve and raise the quality of the education
of children as well as encouraging a continuous consistency and improvement of the
education services in the country. This framework was established in 2009 by the Australian
government after all government entities mutually agreed to it. His framework has been
instrumental in the assessment of education in the country thus the high education
standards being experienced, (Corr et al., 2017). By attempting to achieve quality outcomes
for Australian children, the importance of children has to be understood and taken
seriously. This leads to the determination of how their future will b, their development and
a general wellbeing. The National Quality Framework is inclusive of the National Quality
Standard, the national Regulations and National Law, assessments and national quality
rating, regulatory authorities in all states and Australian Children’s Education and Care
Quality Authority-ACECQA which is the national body tasked with overseeing the system.
The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority is a body that works
with all government entities and the education sector so that it can provide resources,
guidance as well as services which aim at improving outcomes for Australian children. Some
of the duties of this body entail implementation of changes that children between zero and
thirteen years benefit from as well as their families, monitoring and promoting consistent
applications of education and Care Services Nationally in all territories and states and lastly,
supporting education and the care sector of children so that quality outcomes are improved,
(Fenech, 2017).

4
Education
On the other hand, the framework also consists of the National Regulations and
National Law. These two work hand in hand to set National Quality Standards and also
provide regulatory frameworks for care services and education in Australia. As such, they
provide regulations concerned with family day cares and long daycares with the inclusion of
kindergartens
Impact of the legislation on work practices in early childhood settings
The National Quality Framework has had a great positive impact in early childhood
education. For children to have a good start in life, it is essential to have the best educators
who will guide them through this phase. This legislation ensures that educators in the early
childhood sector meet the requirements and qualifications needed to become an early
childhood educator. Regulations 126, 137 and 244 stipulate that certificate 3 qualified
educators should be hired to work in this sector. This also applied to educators who have
Diplomas as per the same regulations above, (Hildenbrand et al., 2017). Early childhood
teachers with qualifications are also supposed to take charge of educating children in their
early ages. In the education sector, qualified nurses are also essential hence a stipulation for
their presence. The framework thus provides for the need for a qualification in providing
first aid whenever necessary. By adhering to these legislations, qualified educators and
caregivers will boost the targets of this framework and the education sector which aims at
providing quality education, (Phillipson & Richards, 2018).

5
Education
The framework has also improved the delivery of education service in the country. The
number of educators and caregivers has drastically increased thus providing a sufficient
workforce for the sector. In that regard, provision of quality education has improved
because children are closely monitored through the learning process. By allocating a few
numbers of children to educators, each one’s need is covered entirely.
Impact of the legislation on policy development and implementation.
Results are always the motivating factor of any legislation or policy created by a
government. By using the National Quality Framework, more policies have been formulated
not only in the education sector but in other service sectors in the country, (Jones et al.,
2017). Being a result- oriented and meeting targets are what many policymakers aim at. To
start with, quality improvement has been one of the main aims of the framework and this
has been achieved through the years as highlighted by a large number of families supporting
the education sector, (Arthur et al., 2017). There is also an increase in the number of
educational centers across the states. The quality of practices and standards has also been
impacted positively. Caregivers, educators, and stakeholders in the education sector have
endeavored to push for equal education for all and quality results in the education sector.
By improving early childhood education in the country, children are able to have a
good foundation that leads to a brighter future in the end. The education sector should thus
ensure that quality is always adhered to so that the framework acts as an example to other
sectors in the Australian government too.

6
Education
References
Logan, H. (2017). Tensions in constructions of quality in Australian early childhood education
and care policy history. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(4),
506-518.
Littlefield, L., Cavanagh, S., Knapp, R., & O’Grady, L. (2017). KidsMatter: Building the capacity
of Australian primary schools and early childhood services to foster children’s social
and emotional skills and promote children’s mental health. In Social and emotional
learning in Australia and the Asia-Pacific(pp. 293-311). Springer, Singapore.
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2017). Programming and
Planning in Early Childhood Settings with Student Resource Access 12 Months.
Cengage AU.
Hildenbrand, C., Niklas, F., Cohrssen, C., & Tayler, C. (2017). Children’s mathematical and
verbal competence in different early education and care programmes in
Australia. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(2), 144-157.
Corr, L., Cook, K., LaMontagne, A. D., Davis, E., & Waters, E. (2017). Early childhood educator
mental health: Performing the'National quality Standard'. Australasian Journal of
Early Childhood, 42(4), 97.
Fenech, M. (2017). Building parents' understandings of early learning and quality early
childhood education and care. Every Child, 23(1), 22.
Phillipson, S., Garvis, S., & Richards, G. (2018). Early childhood education and care in
Australia: a historical and current perspective for a way forward. In International
Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Care (pp. 24-37). Routledge.

7
Education
Jones, C., Hadley, F., & Johnstone, M. (2017). Retaining early childhood teachers: What
factors contribute to high job satisfaction in early childhood settings in
Australia?. New Zealand International Research in Early Childhood Education, 20(2),
1.