Early childhood education and care is poised for a major quality boost as the National Quality Framework (NQF) is rolled out.

The Early Years Learning Framework is in place and the National Quality Framework (NQF), agreed by the Council of Australian Governments in December 2009, is being finalised. Components of the NQF are a National Quality Standard (with seven quality areas), a new rating system to complement the standard, a streamlined regulatory system and a new national body, the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). The Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 is in place and the state and territory regulatory authorities are planning how to work together to support and promote the NQF.

The NQF applies to long day care (LDC), family day care (FDC), out of school hours care (OSHC) and preschool. Its introduction will have implications for staffing but changes will happen slowly. Ensuring qualified staff and high-quality programs for all children, especially in the most remote communities, is no easy task. Staff shortages present real challenges and it is difficult to deliver training and professional support. At the same time, children in remote communities and other ‘hard-to-staff’ areas are educationally vulnerable and need the best start to their education.

Not yet on the horizon is the complex issue of accreditation or registration for early childhood educators, standards for accomplished practice and national accreditation for early childhood courses for the before/preschool sector. The opportunity to link early childhood teacher education course accreditation with course accreditation for the school sector seems to have been missed. However, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s consultation document, a National system for the accreditation of pre service teacher education programs, leaves the door open in saying:

‘It is envisaged that the system may expand in the future to incorporate the accreditation of programs preparing teachers for pre compulsory early childhood settings.’

Whether this is the right group to make decisions on behalf of early childhood is another question. Equally, it would make sense that professional standards for early childhood practitioners and accreditation of early childhood teacher education courses come under the ACECQA umbrella.

The developments in the early childhood sector are encouraging and sobering at the same time. They were long overdue. The size, complexity and dynamic nature of the early childhood sector mean that the change processes must be careful and slow. And they are. Wise decisions to plan carefully and consult widely will pay off. Changing legislation is in itself extremely complicated—and especially on the national scale required here. The implementation and monitoring phases require careful planning and sophisticated logistics.

2010 has been a year of change, reflection and innovation. Consultations around the National Quality Agenda have harnessed the expertise and views of professionals and the community in planning new approaches to quality, monitoring and standards. Early Childhood Australia’s National Conference in Adelaide highlighted many of the best ideas and innovations in practice and policy, both locally and internationally. This issue of Every Child showcases some of these important ideas and innovations.

Jenni Connor provides an up-to-date report on implementing the Early Years Learning Framework Professional Learning Program. Professor Lester-Irabinna Rigney explains the challenges of change in Indigenous education and reminds us of the diversity of Indigenous Australians. Janet Robertson highlights the importance of the outdoor learning space, indicating it deserves the same ‘rights’ as indoor learning. Joanne Moller reports the success of Darwin’s Holy Spirit Community of Learners’ participation in the KidsMatter Early Childhood pilot, and Claire Warden stresses the importance of playing in natural environments or indoors with natural elements. She focuses on valuing what the environment offers; what it provides for the child and especially the opportunities that arise from the interaction between the physical properties of the environment and the interests, ideas and intent of the individual child. She says, that if ‘... the physical environment is overdesigned and organised, it limits the very play it is trying to encourage’.

Alison Elliott
Editor