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National Quality Standard

The National Quality Framework sets a new National Quality Standard (NQS) for early childhood education and care providers in Australia. The NQS is outlined in schedule 1 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 .

The NQS is divided into seven areas that contribute to the quality of early childhood education and care. Services will be assessed on their performance across the seven quality areas and given an overall rating. Following validation of the assessment process during 2012 services will be required to display their NQS assessment rating which will also be available online.

Services are assessed and rated against the following quality areas:

1. Educational program and practice
2. Children's health and safety
3. Physical environment
4. Staffing arrangements
5. Relationships with children
6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
7. Leadership and service management

The NQS helps services to provide the best possible level of education and care by being clear about the factors that best support a child's development. Once the service ratings are available, it will also enable parents to make consistent comparisons, in order to find a service that best meets the needs of their family.

The first assessment visits to services will commence in June 2012, with services contacted in advance of their assessment. Ratings for services are expected to be published in 2013, following the validation process. For more information see ACECQA's NQF Assessment and Rating Process fact sheet .

Visit the National quality rating system page or the Learning frameworks and guidelines page for more information.

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This page was last reviewed on 30 Apr 2012

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