Access To ECT 20% Of The Time In A Service

[harshitha]

Hello Everyone,

According to the regulation ,a centre should have an access to ECT 20% of the time if service has a less than 25 children .Our service has 8 children every day with 2 staff members.Can someone please help me how to calculate 20% time.Is it less than quarterly we need to have an ECT every day ?how it's been divided.
Thanks

[Lorina]

A couple of quick questions...

Are you working in an LDC (long day care) or FDC (family day care)?

What is the age range of the children in your care?

,
Lorina

[harshitha]

Hi Lorina ,

I am working in a ldc .we have a mixed age group (0 to 5 years ) 8 children a day .

Thanks

[Lorina]

Like you mentioned in your post I found the above in the National Regulations:

130 Requirement for early childhood teacher—centre-based services—fewer than 25 approved places

(1) If the approved number of places for children preschool age or under at a centre-based service is fewer than 25, the service must have access to an early childhood teacher working with the service for at least 20 per cent of the time that the service provides education and care.

(2) To comply with subregulation (1), the early childhood teacher may be working with the service by means of information communication technology.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation the period that an early childhood teacher works with a centre-based service may be calculated on a quarterly basis.

I think it means that if you provide care for 50 hours during the week (10 hours each day if your centre is opened from 8am - 6pm), within a week the service must have access to an ECT for 10 hours during the week. In (3) it says that it can be calculated on a quarterly basis (every 3 months). So, working with 50 hours a week of care x 12 weeks (3 months), you need to have access to an ECT for 120 hours for those 3 months.

I hope this makes sense to you...

,
Lorina

[Lorina]

I'm actually going to contact ACECQA just to confirm that the information I have given you above is correct...

,
Lorina

[harshitha]

thanks Lorina.That would be great

[harshitha]

we open from 8.30 to 5.00pm Monday to Friday .

[Lorina]

Still haven't heard back... I'm just doing another follow up with them... I'm sorry it's taken this long!

,
Lorina

[harshitha]

Hi Lorina,

Thank you for letting me know.No problem .Happy to wait .

Regards,
Harshitha.

[Lorina]

Here is the response I just received from ACECQA:

As per regulation 130 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, if the approved number of places for children preschool age or under at a centre-based service is fewer than 25, the service must have access to an early childhood teacher working with the service for at least 20 per cent of the time that the service provides education and care.
(2) To comply with subregulation (1), the early childhood teacher may be working with the service by means of information communication technology.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation the period that an early childhood teacher works with a centre-based service may be calculated on a quarterly basis.

Therefore, to implement this requirement within your service you should calculate the total amount of hours that your service educates and cares for children across a three month period. Twenty per cent of the total from this calculation is the amount of hours you are required to have access to an early childhood teacher (ECT).

For example, in a five week period, an ECT could work with the service for one day per week for five weeks, or for one whole week of the five. In both of these cases, the ECT would be working with the service for 20 per cent of the time.

The ECT may work with the service by means of information communication technology (i.e. digital communication, email, phone etc.). Therefore, while it may suit the functionality of your service, the ECT does not have to be on the service's premises.

I hope this helps answer your question!

,
Lorina

[harshitha]

Hi Lorina,

Thank you so much for clarifying this.I really appreciate your time and effort in explaining this in detail .

Regards,
Harshitha.

[MrsFort]

Hi Lorina
Can I please ask what exactly would an offsite ECT's role play? Would it mainly be programming if they are not on site in a teaching role, just curious to see if this is an avenue that may suit us in the future.
Thank you Callie

[Lorina]

Hi Lorina
Can I please ask what exactly would an offsite ECT's role play? Would it mainly be programming if they are not on site in a teaching role, just curious to see if this is an avenue that may suit us in the future?
Thank you Callie

Hi Callie,

I will look into this for you to clarify, however, in my opinion, the offsite ECT would probably be an "advisor" to the educators working within the ECT room. In regards to programming, they can lead the program with the room educators by being in contact with them. The off-site ECT can go through documentation written by the educators (emailed), provide ideas on experiences to be followed up or extended upon, collaborate and plan with the educators in the room for teaching strategies and intentional teaching plans, support educators etc. So, I would assume that Off-site ECT will need to always be in contact (daily) with all the educators in the room and probably need to visit the centre often to work effectively with the team...

Hope this helps!

,
Lorina

[Lorina]

MrsFort,

Once I find out more information I'll get back to you... I'll contact ACECQA to find out...

,
Lorina

[MrsFort]

Thank you so much Lorina, this is very helpful

[Lorina]

No worries!

,
Lorina

[LearnandPlay]

Hi Lorina. Hope you are well. Just a question. We are opening a new service with 40 children under the age of two years, 40 children aged between 2 to 3 years old and 40 children aged between 3 to 5 years. Is it correct to have 3 ECT at the service and this is where it gets confusing for me; it is in relation to how many hours per day should each ECT be at the service. And most ECT wants a full time job of course. I would be most grateful if you would have an idea about this little predicament.
Have a wonderful evening and I look forward to your response.

Christine

[Lorina]

Hi Christine,

Congrats on your new centre! That's fantastic!

In regard to how many ECT's required here is some information that should help:

The requirement for ECTs depends on the number of children and the hours of operation:

- Services with 60–80 children: Must have two ECTs.
- Services with 81–120 children: Must have three ECTs.

- Since your service will have 120 children in total (40 + 40 + 40), you are correct, you need three ECTs.

Hours of Attendance

Here’s where it gets tricky. The regulations don’t just say “have three ECTs on the books”, they specify that the ECTs must be in attendance for a certain number of hours per week, depending on service size and operating hours.

- For services with 80+ children, the requirement is that ECTs are in attendance for at least 6 hours per day, or 60% of the operating hours (whichever is less).
- If your service is open, say, 10 hours per day, then each ECT must be present for at least 6 hours daily.
- If your service is open longer than 10 hours, the 60% rule applies. For example, if open 12 hours, each ECT must be present for 7.2 hours daily.

Most ECTs do want full-time roles, and that can work well if you structure shifts for example:

- Option 1: Three full-time ECTs
Each works a standard 7.6–8 hour day, overlapping so that across the day, you always meet the minimum attendance requirement.

- Option 2: Two full-time + one part-time
The part-time ECT covers peak times (e.g., mornings or afternoons), ensuring compliance while balancing budget.

- Option 3: Rotating shifts
If you’re open long hours, staggered shifts (early, mid, late) ensure coverage without exhausting staff.

Many services roster ECTs so that:

- One covers open to mid-morning,
- One covers mid-morning to mid-afternoon,
- One covers afternoon to close.

This way, you’re compliant, staff get full-time hours, and children benefit from consistent leadership throughout the day.

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any further questions!

,
Lorina