Quality Area 1 – Educational program and practice

Standard 1.1 Program - The educational program enhances each child's learning and development.

Case study 1

An inner-city Council manages a family day care service with educators located across a number of suburbs within the local government area. The service is supported by Council’s family day care coordination unit. The approved provider conducts interviews with prospective educators to share the service’s philosophy and approach to enhancing each children’s learning and ensure that the educators’ values and approach align with that of the service.

Case study 2

In this long day care service located in an inner city suburb, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is embedded in the service philosophy and guides the service team’s interactions with children and families. It also provides the basis for educators’ pedagogical decision-making, including the experiences that are planned for children, their responsiveness to children, and the teaching and learning that occurs daily.

Standard 1.2 Practice - Educators facilitate and extend each child's learning and development.

Case study 1

At this long day care service, staff meetings are used to share reflections about practice. Successful outcomes and how to build on them are discussed, as well as issues, challenges and possible solutions. Conversations and agreed actions are documented to capture decision-making processes and ongoing actions, as well as to enable review and critical reflection. 

Case study 2

This outside school hours care (OSHC) service offers before and after school, and vacation care, in a rural community. It is the only OSHC service in the community and is located on the grounds of the local school. The current team, including support staff, comprises a balance of both experienced educators and those who are newer to the role.

Standard 1.3 Assessment and planning - Educators and co-ordinators take a planned and reflective approach to implementing the program for each child.

Case study 1

At this inner city before and after school care program, educators wanted to improve their educational program planning process to ensure it reflected children’s strengths, interests and abilities. As a starting point they set up a working group, which included children and educators, to review the service’s enrolment form. This was to ensure it captured key information from children and families, to strengthen knowledge of and relationships with children and to inform their program decision-making.

Case study 2

This family day care service is situated in a coastal city. The service’s philosophy prioritises building strong and respectful relationships as the foundation for getting to know each child and their family. The service team believe that getting to know the children and families well, right from the start, is the key to developing and implementing educational programs for all children.

Case study 3

This preschool/kindergarten is in an inner-city suburb. The service philosophy highlights the importance of lifelong learning, so the team is committed to actively seeking further opportunities to support best practice in the unique context of their service. The philosophy statement also states that the service is guided by the vision, principles and practices of the approved learning framework, so opportunities to engage in critical reflection are consciously encouraged, individually and together.