We at Kidopia, believe in “Child First’’ philosophy Your child Plays, Learns and Grows to imbibe essential life skills through exploration, interaction and discovery.
Integrated use of scientifically designed games, toys and technology in our curriculum makes learning fun and engaging for children.
Our emphasis on the child’s well-being and development, in close coordination with parents, makes Kidopia, one of the best centres in the country.
At Kidopia, we have innovative programs which are built on the fact that the most important years of a child’s brain development and learning patterns occur from infancy to age five. Our programs emphasise on developing the absolute potential for every child taking into account their own unique personalities and stage of development.
Contact us for more information.
Ku-ring-gai Family Day Care Scheme provides flexible, high quality care for children ages between 6 weeks to 13 years. We pride ourselves on our exceeding service, providing quality family day care since 1979.
Along with in home care our educators also have access to weekly playgroup sessions that are conducted at our Acron Road playgroup facility. This service is for children and educators to come together in a supported environment to connect with each other.
Our FDC Scheme is licensed through the Department of Education under the Education and Care Services National Regulation and has been rated as exceeding under the National Quality Standard.
What training and qualifications do educators require?
At Ku-ring-gai FDC we require all educators to obtain the following:
- A ‘Working With Children’ Check and National Police Check, including each person over 18 living in the home
- Have current First Aid & CPR Certificates
- Hold a minimum Certificate III in education and care qualification
- Hold an emergency Asthma and Anaphylaxis management certificate
- Have a current Child Protection Certificate
In addition to this our educators regularly engage in professional development training to refresh and maintain their qualifications.
How does the Ku-ring-gai Family Day Care Coordination Unit support children and their families?
Qualified, experienced and dedicated Coordination Unit staff provides additional early childhood experience and expertise to support your child’s child care arrangement, including:
• Matching your family to the right Educator
• Organising enrolment paperwork and processing child care subsidies
• Regularly visiting Educators while your child is in care
• Assessing the safety and hygiene of the Educator’s home
• Organising back-up care if your regular Educator is unavailable
• Developing and delivering larger group play sessions and excursions
• Supporting Educators in their programming and documentation of children’s learning and development
What is the procedure if my Educator is unavailable?
When your Educator is unavailable and care is still required, please contact our office to arrange for an alternate Educator. One of our child development officers will organise for another Educator to provide care for your children where possible.
What are the children to adult ratios?
An Educator may provide care for a maximum of four (4) children under school age, including their own children. In addition to the four (4) children, educators may provide care for three (3) children of school age (including their own children under the age of 13). There will be no more than 7 children care at any given time.
What are the fees and hours of operation?
- Ku-ring-gai FDC is an affordable child care option, which attracts Child Care Subsidy. Child Care Subsidy is assessed by the Department of Human Services.
- Fees vary depending on the child care environment, services offered and the qualifications and experience of the Educator.
- Each educator provides unique operating hours, with the core hours between 8:00am and 6:00pm. Your educator may be able to provide you earlier or later options to suit your needs.
Contact us for more information.
East Willoughby Preschool is a non-profit community-based organisation with almost seventy years history of servicing the preschool needs of the Willoughby City area.
The preschool is licensed for 20 children a day, aged between 3 and 5 years of age. It is a mixed learning environment and three, four and five year old children interact freely. Children attend Monday-Wednesday or Thursday-Friday.
The preschool is run by the Director who is responsible for the daily administration of the centre and who, along with the staff, develops the educational program. The overall administration of the preschool is the responsibility of the annually elected Management Committee comprised of parent representatives.
As a community-based organisation, active parent participation is an essential component of our preschool’s management.
A key part of the preschool’s philosophy is to promote an awareness and acceptance of individual differences. The preschool values multiculturalism, inclusion and integration. We also provide a service for children with additional needs within our community and every effort is made to support them and their families.
Contact us for more information.
Crows Nest Kindergarten has been caring and educating children By one family ownership since 1972 (Mother & daughter) we cater for children from 2 to 5 years of age from 8am to 5.30pm. Contact us for more information.
Learning Links
Learning Links is a not-for-profit charitable organisation with over 47 years of experience in helping kids learn. Our mission is to provide children who have difficulties learning with the skills, services and family support that enable them to reach their full potential. We work with children, parents, carers, families and professionals across Sydney and NSW.
How we can help?
Our specialist speech and occupational therapists, psychologists, teachers and early childhood professionals work with children, including those who have learning difficulties or disabilities, to address concerns with:
• Speech, language and communication
• Fine and gross motor development
• Literacy and numeracy
• Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, poor social skills and behavioural challenges
• Developmental delay, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, high functioning autism, sensory processing disorders
Our approach
We understand that every child is unique with different strengths and difficulties and that each family has their own set of challenges and goals. We tailor the best possible program for each child and offer families access to a caring and committed team of highly qualified experts across therapy, teaching and/or psychology.
Contact our Customer Care Team on 1300 003 900 to make an appointment or for more information about how we can support your family.
PARENT INFORMATION
Below is a brief guide to the Assessment and Rating process under which Child Care services are rated
What are the ratings criteria?
Early childhood education and care services (long day care, family day care, preschool/kindergarten, outside school hours care) are assessed and rated against the National Quality Standard (NQS) to:
- promote continuous improvement in the provision of quality education and care
- improve knowledge and access to information about the quality of services to help families make informed decisions about their child’s education and care.
The NQS is part of the National Regulations and includes 7 quality areas that are important to children’s learning and developmental outcomes.
- Educational program and practice
- Children's health and safety
- Physical environment
- Staffing arrangements
- Relationships with children
- Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
- Governance and leadership
Who rates services?
Services are assessed and rated against the NQS by the state or territory regulatory authority (RA) and given a rating for each of the seven quality areas and an overall rating based on these results. The quality ratings are published on the national registers on the ACECQA website and on the Starting Blocks website.
What does it mean if a service is rated Significant Improvement Required?
If a service has been rated as Significant Improvement Required, the regulatory authority has determined that there are identified risks to the safety, health and wellbeing of children. The approved provider is required to take immediate action to rectify these risks, and the RA will monitor the service closely to ensure those improvements are made.
Continuous Improvement
It may take time for new services to meet each element required in the standards, which can result in a Working Towards NQS or Meeting NQS rating. To find out more about how your child’s service is striving to achieve quality, you can ask to see the service’s Quality Improvement Plan (QIP).
A QIP is the document which records the service’s self-assessment of the quality of its practices against the NQS and National Regulations. It also identifies any areas for improvement and contains their statement of philosophy. Educators, children, families and the community should all be involved in the development and maintenance of the service’s QIP.
Why are services with no ratings operating?
Services that have not had an assessment and rating visit hold a rating of “Provisional – Not Yet Assessed”.
Education and care services must undergo many processes and approvals in order to be approved and operate under the National Quality Framework (NQF). This is also a way of ensuring quality and compliance prior to their assessment and rating.
The service will receive a rating when it is assessed and rated by the RA.
If you would like to know when the service will be assessed and rated, please contact the service directly. The RA in your state or territory, responsible for assessment and rating, may also be able to assist you.
You may also like to ask the service for their QIP and their family handbook. This will help you to make a more detailed assessment of the service’s strengths and could also help with identifying the criteria you wish to find in a service.
How often are services assessed and rated?
When regulatory authorities schedule quality rating assessments, the goal is to assess and rate the quality of services, drive continuous improvement and keep information for families and communities accurate and up to date.
To focus resources on services most in need of service improvement, the actions of the RA are responsive and risk-based. Services with a lower quality rating will be re-rated more frequently. Services with higher quality ratings will generally have a longer period of time between assessment and rating visits in recognition of their ability to meet the NQS.
RA’s consider the following factors when managing assessment and rating schedules:
- The previous quality rating of the service, including results against the quality areas, standards and at the element level.
- A change in service attributes that could be reasonably considered to affect the service’s quality – for example, changes in approved provider or service management team.
- Events that occur at the service – for example, serious incidents, complaints or non-compliance with the National Law can indicate a change in quality and a higher scheduling priority.
- The length of time since the last assessment – for example, over time a quality rating can lose its currency and value for families.
Each RA manages its assessment schedule in a responsive manner, making adjustments to the schedule as new information emerges and making best use of their available resources.
It usually takes a regulatory authority 10 weeks to assess and rate a service. The rating report or rating certificate should be made available to families.
How do RAs ensure that services keep delivering quality after receiving their rating?
RAs make unscheduled and scheduled visits to services in addition to assessment and rating visits. These include monitoring, spot check and compliance visits to ensure the service is operating within the national legislation.
Summary of the steps in the Assessment and Rating process
- Self-assessment and quality improvement
Approved provider conducts a self-assessment to determine the quality of current practices against the NQS and linked regulatory requirements.
Approved provider identifies strengths and where improvements can be made which is documented in a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP).
- Notice of visit
Regulatory authority provides written notice to approved provider that the assessment and rating process has commenced. The QIP is submitted to the regulatory authority prior to the visit, along with any additional information requested by the regulatory authority.
- Assessment and rating visit takes place at the service.
- Draft report
Regulatory authority provides the approved provider with a draft assessment and rating report.
- Feedback on draft report
Provider can give feedback on any factual inaccuracies in the report and evidence to support feedback.
- Final report and notice of final ratings is issued to the provider
Feedback considered before final report is finalised and issued.
- Final report
Approved provider may choose to apply for a review of final ratings within the set review period.
- Ratings published on national registers
Once the review period has ended, the final ratings are published on the national registers on the ACECQA website and on the Starting Blocks website.
https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/other-resources/factsheets/assessment-and-rating-process/