For NSW Services Rated Working Towards NQS

The Quality Support Program, Dual Program Pathways is a professional learning partnership between ACECQA and the NSW Department of Education as the NSW Regulatory Authority (RA) for children’s education and care services and providers. 

About The Quality Support Program, Dual Program Pathways

The new initiative has been established to support the ongoing quality improvement of qualifying child care and education services in NSW that have been designated as needing compliance help or being rated as working toward the National Quality Standard (NQS).

It aims to increase the capacity and capabilities of participating agencies to provide high-quality child care and education. The training will increase participants' knowledge of and trust in the NQS in order to achieve this. Additionally, it will help them comply with the NQF's requirements for excellent leadership, management, and governance as well as for quality practices and/or regulatory standards.

This high-value programme, given by ACECQA, provides free customised help and professional learning. An experienced and committed support facilitator will be assigned to each participating service, and they will work with service leaders to coach and mentor them throughout the improvement process. In order to support high-quality outcomes for children and each particular service environment, the customised professional learning and support programme may also include face-to-face, online, and telephone coaching support, online learning modules and seminars, and other educational resources.

Eligible children’s education and care services can apply to participate now.

The Quality Support Program, Dual Program Pathways will commence in July 2022 for a period of 12 months.

The Dual Program Pathways

• The Quality Support Pathway is a 14-week program supporting eligible children’s education and care services located in NSW with a current rating of Working Towards NQS. This Pathway supports services’ ability to meet and/or exceed the NQS and will focus on priority quality areas. ACECQA will work alongside service leaders to continue building knowledge of the NQS, co-design quality improvements and support ongoing confidence by embedding quality practices, with the goal being quality outcomes for children.
  ACECQA is currently seeking expressions of interest to participate in the Quality Support Pathway.
  
  
• The Compliance Support Pathway is a 6-week program supporting children’s education and care services with identified compliance support needs. The Compliance Support Pathway will help services to understand the root cause of non-compliance instances and to co-design implementation plans, processes and management systems that support children’s health and safety as well as governance and leadership. In doing so, this pathway aims to build participants’ capabilities to ensure a sustained approach to compliance that will result in better outcomes for children, services and providers.
  
  This pathway is by direct referral only. Services participating in this pathway will be directly referred into the pathway by the NSW Department of Education. The Department will refer services by using regulatory data that highlights a need for improvement in the areas of children’s health and safety and governance and leadership.

Who is Eligible?

The Quality Support Pathway is being offered to approved children’s education and care services including early childhood, family day care, preschools and outside school hours care services including vacation care services that meet the following criteria:

• located in NSW
• are currently rated Working Towards NQS.

Priority will be given to services with six or more elements of the NQS rated as ‘Not Met’. Consideration will also be given:

• based on the number of elements rated ‘Not Met’
• to services in more disadvantaged areas
• to services rated Working Towards NQS for a period of longer than four years and/or have received this rating twice or more.

Reference:
Quality Support Program - Dual Program Pathways