A new report on the assessment and rating process under the NQF has revealed the areas where most services are doing well and where more work may be required.

The primary objective of the report was to ascertain whether the assessment and rating process under the NQF is a valid and reliable way of assessing child care services and the researchers concluded that it was.

The Evaluation of the Assessment and Rating Process under the National Quality Standard for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Age Care was commissioned by the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood and was conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research. It examined 491 child care services rated before 15 October 2012.

The report shows that distinctions between three of the four rating levels – Working Towards National Quality Standard, Meeting National Quality Standard and Exceeding National Quality Standard – are meaningful. It was not possible to report on the rating of Significant Improvement Required, as only two services were given an overall rating at this level.
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With the Greens pushing for a Productivity Commission inquiry into child care funding and a widely held belief that early childhood education and care workers aren’t paid enough we asked for your views last month.

The overall impression we got is that Australia is fortunate to have many extraordinarily talented, committed and qualified ECEC professionals who are doing their job for more than just the money.

When we asked you: How much should child care workers earn? and Will a wage increase improve staff retention rates? We received some very impassioned responses including those you can see below:

"I'm an ECT and work as a room leader in a long day care centre. I hold the exact same qualification as a teacher working in primary education. My pay should match that of a primary school teacher. I work longer hours and have fewer holidays. Where is the incentive for me and other teachers to remain in the industry and not pursue a career in primary teaching instead? Equal pay" – Briony
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Did you know you can publicise your service's National Quality Standard rating before ACECQA starts publishing all available ratings in April/May this year… let us know.

This is a great opportunity to promote your service's achievements and Quality Improvement Plan.