Quality Area 7 – Governance and leadership

Standard 7.1 Governance - Governance supports the operation of a quality service.

Case study 1

This long day care service located in regional Australia has recently undergone a process of reviewing its philosophy with educators, families and community. The service undertakes an annual review to ensure they maintain high quality practice, identify further quality improvements and ensure that the philosophy reflects their current purpose, strengths and priorities, including the guiding principles of the National Quality Framework.

Case study 2

This outside school hours care (OSHC) service is situated in a regional city and is one of several OSHC services in the community. The service is located in a local school and governed by a volunteer parent committee. The committee strives to achieve ongoing quality improvement and support the OSHC service team through the coordinator (appointed as nominated supervisor) who leads the day to day operations and management of the service.

Standard 7.2 Leadership - Effective leadership builds and promotes a positive organisational culture and professional learning community.

Case study 1

This outside school hours care program, situated in a rural community, was keen to rethink their approach to developing their Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) as part of their vision for quality. Inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and specifically Article 12, they wanted to ensure children had every opportunity to express their views in matters affecting them and for those views to be taken into account.

Case study 2

This council-run family day care service is situated in a local government area that covers a large geographical area and is on the outskirts of a major city. The council’s Children's Services department also manages a range of other education and care services including long day care, occasional care and outside school hours care services.

Case study 3

This stand-alone preschool/kindergarten is in the outer suburbs of a major city. The service director has been a participant in a network of local early childhood education and care services for many years. They enjoy the professional support and sense of belonging that participating in the network provides, noting the level of trust, respect and collaboration that has built up over time. The network also provides a useful forum for exchanging ideas and information as well as a space to engage in critical reflection to guide ongoing and continuous improvement.