Welcome to the third edition of the
Victorian Children’s Services Update
This edition of the newsletter explores what good quality looks like within children’s services and the
ways to support effective planning processes that inform children’s learning and development. The
article below has been written by well-respected early childhood professionals Anne Stonehouse and
Catharine Hydon who pass on their knowledge about the essential dimensions of quality and how
services can organise their work and improve quality.
I also want to remind you of some of the requirements that come into effect at the beginning of next
year. From 1 January 2014 all staff members caring for or educating children in children’s services will be
required to hold at least a Certificate III in Children’s Services, or other minimum training. Staff members
of school holidays care services will be required to commence studying for an approved qualification
within 6 months of commencing with a service. Standard licence services will also be required to have a
teaching staff member caring for or educating children at the service. The hours teaching staff are
required is dependent on the size of the service. This newsletter contains more information about these
requirements.
The Department is developing further information to support services transition to these new staffing
arrangements. This information will be made through fact sheets, frequently asked questions, letters/
emails and information forums.
Services that have any questions or require further information can contact the Department through the
licensed children’s services enquiry line (1300 307 415) or email available at the end of this newsletter.
I trust you find this issue of the Victorian children’s services update informative and useful, and I look
forward to working with you throughout 2013.
Madeleine Smith
Executive Director
Quality Assessment and Regulation Division Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development
What does good quality look like and how do we
make it happen?
A great deal of information exists about what good quality looks like in licensed children’s services. It’s
interesting to think about what are the most essential dimensions of quality.
First and foremost quality has to focus on outcomes for children. Good quality services are those where
planning and actions aim to meet the each child’s needs and interests and help them learn and develop.
Actions like the ones suggested in this article should contribute to positive outcomes for every child – that
is, there should be a direct link between actions and children’s learning when they are in the service.
One way to understand these quality dimensions is to think about the different parts of the work that
goes into creating these services. These parts work together to create a positive experience for children
and families. One part is the structures that are put in place to ensure that there is planning and time to
organise the operation of the service. Another major part focuses on the processes involved in being
with children every day.
Effective structures or operational practices ensure that there are ways to achieve quality and act on
plans and decisions. Structures also help services to improve, to make changes when things are not
working and respond to the needs and interests of everyone involved.
Following are some suggestions for how teams can organise their work and improve quality. Some of
these ways may already exist in your service. If so, you may want to consider how you might strengthen
or refine them.
A solid philosophy sets the direction for the daily work with children and families. If you haven’t got a philosophy statement start by
putting some ideas on paper. Think about what’s important to the people who work in your service as well as the children and
families. Ask for their ideas. Think about how you would like to support children’s learning and development. Once you have settled
on some ideas set aside time to talk together about how they translate into everyday practice.
Meetings
A good meeting can help people work together more effectively. A group of educators who are committed individually to good
practice but who never get a chance to talk to each other and share ideas and perspectives may struggle to put their ideas into
practice.
The best meetings are short and well organised. Have an agenda planned in advance and someone delegated to keep things moving
along. Meeting notes are important so that you can keep track of key decisions and act on them.
A plan to make improvements
Making clear plans for ongoing improvements helps everyone feel better about being involved in a service. Little problems that are
talked about every day but never dealt with can grow into big problems. Great ideas that are never acted on aren’t much use. When
there is a plan (written down and shared), change for the better is possible. It might be good to create a notebook to collect these
ideas so that you can remember and act on them as they come up.
Professional learning
Teams that make time to bring everyone together to learn more about their work are likely to improve the quality of their work. Give
staff lots of notice and plan these events regularly. Make sure that these professional learning sessions focus both on required training
(for example first aid) and professional learning about children, families and ways to support children’s learning.
The other part of quality is the processes or practice elements. One way to think about these is to ask a simple question: ‘If you
went to a service, what would you need to see and hear in order to know that it was good quality?’
One of the interesting changes that has happened in the way we look at quality is that there is now more emphasis on
outcomes—that is, on how the experience ends up being for children – than on what adults do. This sounds obvious, but requires
some educators to change their focus to what the experience is for children and to look at what is happening from children’s
perspectives.
Ensuring a safe and healthy experience is a basic consideration. Quality happens when educators make good choices that build on
the basics. These choices should be prioritised to ensure that children are:
•
comfortable and relaxed, at ease
•
treated with respect and dignity – their feelings acknowledged, their efforts to communicate paid attention to, their need to
do things for themselves honoured
•
engaged constructively – with materials, equipment, other children and/or adults
•
seen as unique individuals, and supported to develop a strong sense of identity
•
in relationships with educators who know them well.
The result is that children feel secure, trust the adults who educate and care for them and know they can get support, help, comfort
and encouragement when they need it. This frees them to learn.
The physical environment is important. It needs to be well organised, with not too much or too little in it, with a variety of learning
opportunities that respond to and build on children’s interests.
There needs to be evidence that families are welcomed, that they are treated with respect and their perspectives invited.
Educators’ work is complex – there are many things to
consider all at once. What is most important is paying
attention, reflecting on what you are doing, and always
trying to improve.
Notification of serious incidents and
complaints
The Victorian children’s services legislation requires the Department to be notified on
certain circumstances including serious incidents and complaints in the Children’s Services
Act 1996 (the Act) (section 29C).
Serious incidents
The Department must be notified of a serious incident following:
•
the death of a child being cared for or educated by the service, or
•
any incident involving injury or trauma to a child while being cared for or educated by the service
requiring the attention of a registered medical practitioner or admission to a hospital,
or
•
if a child being cared for or educated by the service appears to be missing or otherwise cannot be
accounted for or appears to have been taken or removed from the service contrary to the regulations; or
•
an incident requiring attendance by emergency services that occurs in relation to the children’s service
(section 29C).
In these circumstances the Department should be informed by telephone within 24 hours of the incident,
followed by written notification as soon as practicable (regulation 90).
Where a serious incident involves a child/children being cared for or educated, the children’s service must:
•
ensure that a parent or guardian of the child/children involved is notified as soon as practicable of the incident or
occurrence (regulation 91); and
•
complete a serious incident notification form and submit it to the Department as soon as possible and within 24 hours of
the incident
The serious incident notification form is available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/vcsincidentform.pdf
The practice note Serious Incidents provides further information and is available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/nfqseriousincid.pdf.
Complaints
Where a complaint to a children’s service alleges that the health, safety or wellbeing of any child may have been compromised
www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/providers/regulation/Pages/vcslicensingforms.asp
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A complaint received by a children’s service must be notified to the Department in writing. Services may choose to use the
complaint notification form, available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/vcscomplaintform.pdf
Notifications to the Department
Notifications to the Department will be investigated where:
•
it is alleged the health, safety or wellbeing of a child or children was or is being compromised while they are being cared for
or educated by the service, and/or
•
the Act and/or Regulations may have been contravened.
If the incident is considered to have minimal or no impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of a child or children being
Notice of changes to information
Many services will have changes of licensee representatives, primary nominees or
nominees. It is a condition on all licenses that these changes are notified to the
Department within 28 days of the change. The relevant application forms are available
under the heading ‘Staffing’ at:
When considering whether to conduct an excursion, or a routine outing, children’s services must be mindful of any
additional risks to children that may be present. Consideration also needs to be given to managing emergencies that could
arise during the excursion.
Before children can be taken on an excursion specific requirements must be met, for example:
•
authorisation must be obtained from a person named in the child’s enrolment record as having lawful authority to
authorise the taking of the child outside the service premises by a staff member (regulation 73(2)).
•• a risk assessment must be conducted to determine whether there is adequate adult supervision for the
excursion or routine outing (regulation 74(1).
Staff accompanying children outside the service premises must carry:
•
a suitably equipped first aid kit and operational mobile
telephone;
•
the contact details of persons to be notified of any accident,
injury, trauma or illness involving the child, including the child’s registered
medical practitioner or medical service; and
•
the child’s anaphylaxis medication and anaphylaxis medical
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(regulation 74(4)).
First Aid and Anaphylaxis Management Training
Staff within licensed childrens services who care for or educate children at the service and any staff members required
to meet minimum staff requirements must complete first aid and anaphylaxis management training approved by the
Department at least every 3 years (regulation 63). First aid training and anaphylaxis management training may be
undertaken as a combined course.
In addition, all staff on duty whenever children are being cared for or educated must have undertaken training in the
administration of the adrenaline auto injection device and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at least every 12 months.
It is recommended that all staff members practise using the adrenaline auto injection devices quarterly, whether or not a
child with anaphylaxis is enrolled and attending the service.
The first aid training must include training in the following—
•
emergency life support and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation;
•
convulsions;
•
poisoning;
•
respiratory difficulties;
•
management of severe bleeding; and
•
injury and basic wound care appropriate for children (regulation 63(2))
Accredited first aid courses recognised by the Department which meet the above requirements include:
•
Apply First Aid (HLTFA301B)
•
Apply Advanced First Aid (HLTFA402B)
Anaphylaxis management training must include training in the following—
•
nature of severe allergic conditions;
•
signs, symptoms and management of anaphylactic shock including administration of an adrenaline auto-injection device;
and
•
risk minimisation and management strategies for allergic reactions and anaphylaxis appropriate for children.
Accredited anaphylaxis management courses recognised by the Department which meet the above requirements include:
•
Course in Anaphylaxis Awareness (21827VIC)
These
resources
materials are
available for (21659VIC)
purchase through: www.allergyfacts.org.au.
•
First Aidand
Management
of Anaphylaxis
•
Course in First Aid management of Anaphylaxis (22099VIC)
(valid from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2015)
Medication and Training
A range of training accessories, posters and DVDS are available through Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia. These materials
can assist services to understand what is an allergy, how to treat it and include specific training resources for EpiPen® and
Anapen®.
All persons, before they are employed or engaged or appointed to work at a children’s service (except for teachers
registered with Victorian Institute of Teaching) (VIT), must have a Working with Children Check (assessment notice). It is also good
practice that currency of Working with Children Checks is checked regularly at: https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/
wwccu/checkstatus.doj.
All persons, before they are employed or engaged to work at the children’s service (except for teachers registered with VIT), must
have a Working with Children Check).
The licensee, primary nominee or nominee present and in charge at the service must read the current volunteer’s
assessment notice only (or for teachers registered with VIT, check the VIT register):
•
•
•
before that person becomes an employee or is otherwise engaged as a staff member
for each visiting early childhood intervention staff member
before that person becomes a volunteer (regulation 70).
Renewal of Working with Children Checks
Applications for renewals of a Working with Children Checks should be made well in advance, to allow for processing by the
Department of Justice.
Limited exceptions
An employee or volunteer is not required to have an assessment notice or volunteer assessment notice if they are under the age of
18 and, therefore, these notices cannot be issued because of the employee’s or volunteer’s age. In this instance, the employee or
volunteer can only care for or educate children at a service under the immediate supervision of the licensee or a qualified staff
member of the service (regulation 70(5)).
A volunteer at a children’s service is not required to have an assessment notice where the volunteer is not considered as part of
child/staff ratios and is at all times under the immediate supervision of the proprietor (this includes licensee or representative
and primary nominee) or a qualified staff member of the service.
The practice note Criminal history check requirements for licensed children’s services has further information and is available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/pracnotescrimhistory.pdf
New requirements for 2014
The following staffing requirements must be met by all children’s services on 1 January 2014.
Minimum trained staff members
A children’s service must ensure each staff member caring for or educating children meets the minimum training
requirements of the Victorian Regulations.
Standard, limited hours and short term services
Staff members in standard, limited hours and short term services meet the minimum training requirements if they:
•
hold a Certificate III in Children’s Services, or hold a qualification or training that the Secretary is satisfied is substantially
equivalent or superior to a Certificate III in Children’s Services; or
•
hold a qualification which is included in the list of approved Certificate III level education and care qualifications published
under the Education and Care National Regulations 2011 (National Regulations).
•
are a diploma qualified staff member or a teaching staff member; or
•
hold a primary school teaching qualification; or
•
in the case of an early childhood intervention staff member, holds a qualification in a field the Secretary is satisfied is
substantially equivalent (regulation 60).
The fact sheet Staff members and staff requirements has further information and is available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/vicstaffmbrs.pdf
Staff members in a school holidays care service meet the minimum training
requirements if they:
•
hold a Certificate III in Children’s Services, or hold a qualification or training that the
Secretary is satisfied is substantially equivalent or superior to a Certificate III in Children’s Services;
or
•
hold a qualification included in the list of approved Certificate III level education and care
qualifications published under the National Regulations; or
•
hold a qualification in a field that the Secretary is satisfied is acceptable; or
•
are a qualified staff member or a teaching staff member; or
•
hold a primary school teaching qualification; or
•
commence a qualification or training under regulation 60(a –d) or a qualification in a field
that the Secretary is satisfied is acceptable, within 6 months of commencing to care for or educate
children at the service (regulation 60(f)(iii)).
The fact sheet School holidays care: Qualifications and training has further information and is available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/vicstaffmbrs.pdf
Professional development in lieu of meeting minimum training (grandfathering)
The requirement to hold approved minimum training does not apply to staff members who completed an approved professional
development course by 1 January 2012 in lieu of meeting the minimum training requirements.
The fact sheet Professional development in lieu of minimum training (grandfathering) has further information and is
available at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/licensing/grandfathering.pdf
Teaching staff members
A standard service or an integrated service with a standard service component must meet requirements for ensuring a
teaching staff member is caring for or educating children at the service. The requirements vary according to number
of children the service is licensed, or in the case of an approved associated children’s service, approved to care for and
educate.
A service licensed to educate or care for 25 or more children at any one time
A teaching staff member must care for or educate children at the service or service component for at least the lesser of:
•
•
50 per cent of the time the service is open to care for or educate children; or
20 hours per week (regulation 52).
A service licensed to educate or care for fewer than 25 children at any one time
The service must have access to a teaching staff member working with the service for at least 20 per cent of the time that the
service provides education or care (regulation 52A). Under regulation 52A, a teaching staff member is working with the service
if they are carrying out activities, including educating or caring for children and planning programs.
The teaching staff member may be working with the service by means of information communication technology. The period
that a teaching staff member works with a service may be calculated on a quarterly basis.
Teacher absences
If a teaching staff member is absent from the service because of illness or annual leave, the following persons may be taken to
be a teaching staff member during that absence:
•
•
a qualified staff member; or
a person who holds a qualification in primary school teaching.
The teacher absence provisions do not apply in case of maternity leave, long service leave or other similar leave
(regulations 52 and 52A).
Associated Children’s Services
Where a service operating under the National Quality Framework has an associated children’s service operating from the same
location, the associated children’s service must meet the conditions prescribed for the associated children’s service. The
conditions will include conditions prescribing whether the service must meet the requirements of a standard, limited hours, short
term or school holiday care licence.
Exemptions
Where a children’s service experiences genuine difficulty in meeting any of the requirements of the Act or the Regulations the
service may apply for an exemption. This includes services that may not be able to meet the requirements for minimum trained
staff members from 1 January 2014 and for standard licence services unable to meet the teaching staff member requirements
from 1 January 2014.
For information how to apply for an exemption to a requirement of the Victorian children’s services legislation, contact 1300
307 415 or email csrr@edumail.vic.gov.au.
Learning Frameworks
The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF), the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF)
and My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia (MTOP) are aligned (all three are approved frameworks under
the National Quality Framework). They share the same five learning outcomes agreed by all Australian governments as important for
children’s development. The EYLF and MTOP refer specifically to early childhood educators, while the Victorian Framework is
intended to support the work of all early childhood professionals in Victoria.
The VEYLDF is available through the Department’s website at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/learningdev/veyldframework.pdf
The EYLF and MTOP are available through the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) website at:
www.acecqa.gov.au/ResourceCategory.aspx?pid=414&gcpid=344
Gowrie Victoria
Gowrie Victoria offer a range of professional learning opportunities relevant to individual educators and staff teams.
Customised training can be tailored to meet individual service needs and can be delivered at service premises.
Gowrie Victoria can be contacted on (03) 9349 2890 (or 1800 103 670) or via email psc@gowrievictoria.org.au and their
professional support development guide is available to download at:
www.gowrievictoria.org.au/ProfessionalLearning/BookOnline.aspx
Community Child Care
Community Child Care Association (CCC) actively supports the Australian Government’s National Quality Agenda and uses this to
directly inform professional learning sessions linked to the approved learning frameworks for Victorian children’s services.
CCC can be contacted on (03) 9486 3455 or via email at reception@cccinc.org.au. Their professional learning calendar can be
downloaded directly from the CCC website, available at: www.cccinc.org.au/content.cfm?content=8
FKA Children’s Services
FKA Children’s Services (FKA) is a state wide service that is able to offer training and support across Victoria. They provide library
services, consultancy, accredited and professional development training to support childhood services in metropolitan and rural areas
of Victoria.
FKA can be contacted on (03) 9428 4471, via email at fkacs@fka.com.au. Enrolments for accredited training offered by FKA can be made
through: www.fka.com.au/accredited-training/accredited-training-enrol-now
Early Years Exchange
The Early Years Exchange is an online resource designed to assist early childhood professionals to implement and embed the Victorian
Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) in their practice.
The eleventh edition of this resource provides information for early childhood professionals about:
•
children’s wellbeing and involvement as two important qualities in learning experiences;
•
early childhood practices in assessment and learning;
•
early childhood professionals talking about leading and supporting implementation of the VEYLDF; and
•
mapping the VEYLDF Learning and Development Outcomes to the AusVELS. This resource is now published as web pages and
is available at: www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/earlyyears/eye/index.aspx
Staying healthy in ECEC
The National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Staying Healthy -Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood
services is the fifth edition of this resource. This resource produced by National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC)
focuses on a risk management approach to infection prevention and control principles in daily care activities. This response aims
to provide educators and other staff working in children’s services with simple and effective methods for minimising the spread of
disease.
The guidelines can be downloaded from the NHMRC at:
www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/ch55.
Sids and Kids: infant safe sleeping child care kit
A revised Child Care Kit is now available for purchase through the Sids and Kids website. This kit has been developed to inform services
that educate and care for babies of the current evidence based SIDS and KIDS safe sleeping recommendations to reduce the risk of SIDS
and sleeping accidents.
The Child Care kit can be ordered through the SIDS and Kids Website at: www.sidsandkids.org/safe-sleeping/child-care-workers/.