Guide for Service Assessment - Standard 6
(Adapted with permission from a document developed by Louise Hanrahan, Director Maitland Pre-school and her team)
Questions for reflective practice
Standard 6.1

How do we think about families, & how broad is our thinking given the diversity of children at the service?

How do we help all families to feel comfortable & welcome at the service?

How do we facilitate communication with families who have specific or diverse communication needs?

How can we find out if our communication strategies are reaching all families?

What strategies are in place for information sharing between families & educators, during orientation, settling in & on an ongoing basis?

How can we listen to families & include their perspectives in the educational program?

What role do families play in the service?

How do we encourage families to contribute to service activities & to their child’s experiences in ways that are meaningful for them?

How do we share decision making with our families? What are we willing/unwilling to share decisions about?
Babies And Toddlers

How do we support & reassure families with babies & toddlers using an education & care service for the first time?
Observe
Sight
Discuss
•
• How educators identify the
6.1.1
Enrolling families being:
• Invited & encouraged to visit &
become familiar with the service
before their child starts
• Encouraged to talk with
educators about the values &
expectations they hold in relation
to their child’s learning
• Encouraged to share information
about other child-related services
accessed by the family
• Encouraged to share their
understanding of their child’s
strengths, interests, abilities &
The service’s enrolment &
Orientation procedures
Evidence that:
• Families seeking a place at
the service are provided with
easy-to-read information
about how the service
operates & what it can
provide
• The service has made
preparation to communicate
with families for whom
literacy is an issue or for
whom English is not a first
individual education & care
requirements of each child & their
family
• The provisions made to support
families during the enrolment &
orientation process
• How the settling in process is
tailored to meet the needs of
individual children & families
• How information is gathered from
families to support continuity of
care between home & the service
Reflections
needs
Families being encouraged to:
• Stay with their child for as long
as needed during the settling-in
period
• Contact their child’s primary
educator during the day if they
wish
• Educators assisting families to
develop & maintain a routine for
saying goodbye to their child
• Children who are distressed at
separating from their family
being held & comforted, or being
closely observed & offered
reassurance when they want this
type of interaction
• Educators sharing information
with families about how their
child is settling into the service
Observe
6.1.2
• A culture of open communication,
characterised by friendly
conversations between families &
educators
• Educators sharing information
about children’s progress,
relationships, interests &
experiences both in & outside the
service
Educators:
• Creating a welcoming environment
for all families using the service
• Communicating respectfully &
sensitively with all families
• Responding to families’ questions,
language, even if this not
currently required
Families are able to share
their understanding of their
child’s strengths, interests,
abilities & needs
Families have easy access to
the service’s policies &
procedures
•
•
SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
• How currently enrolled
children are involved in the
orientation of new children &
their families
Sight
Discuss
•
Processes in place to communicate
effectively with all families
•
Information available to
families & educators about
families’ participation in the
service
Evidence that families,
including extended family
members, are invited &
supported to participate in
the program & events at
the service
Evidence that:
• Families’ contributions are
recorded in the
documentation of children’s
Opportunities provided for families to:
• Contribute to curriculum decision
making
• Provide feedback about the
experiences planned for the child
• Talk with educators about their
needs & the issues that concern or
affect them
• How families, including extended
family members, are able to
contribute to the operation of the
service & be involved in an
Reflections
concerns & requests in a prompt &
courteous way
Educators encouraging families to:
• Talk about the values &
expectations they hold in relation
to their child’s learning
• Share their knowledge, skills &
expertise & aspects of their family
life & culture
• • Contribute to plans for children’s
experiences & the documentation
of children’s learning
Observe
6.1.3
• Current information about the
operation of the service displayed
on noticeboards, charts or posters
or through other appropriate
media
• Easy-to-read information about the
service in the main languages
used in the local community
•
•
•
learning
Families’ knowledge of their
child informs plans for
children’s experiences &
learning
Families are involved in
advisory, consultative or
decision-making roles
Families have opportunities
to contribute to the
development & review of
the service’s statement of
philosophy, policies &
Quality Improvement Plan
advisory, consultative or decisionmaking role
How families contribute to the:
• Service’s self-assessment process
& the development of the Quality
Improvement Plan
• Development & review of the
service’s philosophy, policies &
procedures
• How the service takes account of
the suggestions & issues raised by
families when planning for
improvement
Sight
Discuss
•
The provision of information to families
• How families are kept informed
about the service’s participation in
the National Quality Framework &
the service’s progress towards
meeting the National Quality
Standard
•
Newsletters, communication
books or other methods of
communication with families
Information about the
service’s philosophy,
policies & procedures being
available in:
 Areas of the service
regularly accessed by
families
 Service documentation
 Evidence that the
outcome of policy
changes is fully
explained &
communicated to
families prior to
implementation
Reflections
Observe
Sight
Discuss
Evidence that:
• Information from families about
children’s backgrounds, experiences,
likes, dislikes & home routines is
regularly updated
• Families have regular opportunities
to: Provide feedback about children's
experiences
• Make suggestions about service
routines & activities
• Contribute to curriculum decision
making & the documentation of
children’s learning
•
Observe
Sight
Discuss
6.2.2
Educators:
• Providing information about
community services & resources in
conversations with families
• • Assisting families to locate, contact
&/or access local community services
Information about community services &
resources available in:

Areas of the service regularly used
by families
 Service documentation

6.2.1
• Daily information being exchanged
with families at arrival & departure
times
• Families being informed promptly &
sensitively of any incidents affecting
their child
• Educators & families discussing
children’s individual needs & play
preferences
• Educators demonstrating an
understanding of each child, & each
child’s family & community contexts
Educators sharing with families:
 Some of the interactions they
have had with children
 Successes & achievements
•
•


Reflections
The strategies used by the service to
facilitate shared decision making
with families & to honour families’
requests regarding their children's
education & care
The opportunities provided for
families to have private discussions
with educators
• How the service supports
consistency between each child’s
home & the service
Examples of the community
resources & support agencies in the
local community that may be
relevant to children & families at the
service
The processes used by the service to
maintain current contact details for
local support services
How families are supported &
encouraged to access information
about local community services &
resources
Reflections
Questions for reflective practice
Standard 6.3
• How do educators share information with each other to encourage continuity of care?
• How is communication managed with other educators & with families when there are shift changes, when positions are shared or when different educators care for a child
throughout the day?
• How do our educators share information with other services to support the child’s learning & development?
• How do we support each child’s transition from & to other education & care environments?
• How do we support each child’s successful transition to formal schooling?
• In what ways do we work with schools & other community organisations to meet the needs of children & their families? How effective are these strategies & how can we
improve them?
• How do we access support when we are working with children who have additional needs?
• What local resources & networks exist that might connect children & families with the community?
• What are the community’s early childhood development strengths & where might additional support be needed? What data is available?
• What is happening in our local community that is relevant to our work with children & families? How can we best be involved?
Observe
6.3.1
• Assessors are unlikely to observe
practice in relation to this element
during a site visit
Sight
Discuss
Processes for making & accepting
referrals from other agencies in the local
community such as:
• Child protection agencies
• Early childhood intervention services
• Family support agencies
• Health professionals
Evidence that:
• Where required, families are referred
& supported to make contact with
appropriate support
services/agencies
• With the family’s consent & when
required, information about the
child's experiences & achievements
in the service is shared with support
services / agencies
•
•
•
The strategies used to develop links
& relationships with other services &
support agencies in the local
community
The processes involved in making or
taking a referral to or from other
services/agencies
• Examples of collaboration with
professionals working in other
services/agencies to develop
compatible support strategies for a
child & their family
Reflections
Observe
6.3.2
Children:
• Experiencing positive transitions
between the service, home,
preschool/ kindergarten &/or school
• Being supported & appropriately
supervised when being transported
to or from the service by car, bus,
train or tram or on foot transport
initiatives are incorporated into the
program
CENTRE BASED SERVICES
Educators on different shifts in centrebased services communicating with each
other about:
• Children’s experiences earlier in the
day
• Information shared by families about
their child taken outside the service
premises
Sight
Discuss
•
The strategies in place to ensure:
• Children are supported when:
 Moving from one group to
another
 Moving between settings
 Returning to the service after an
absence
 Excursions are positive & safe
experiences for children
The strategies & processes used to
support:
 Children’s positive transition to
formal schooling
 Children with additional needs in
their transition to school & to
specialist services
• How road safety education & any
active transport initiatives are
incorporated into the program
•
•
In
•
•
•
Examples of plans & statements to
assist children in making a positive
transition from the service to formal
schooling (including specialist
schools)
Written procedure for releasing
children from the service & ensuring
that they are released only to
authorised individuals
Records of children’s arrivals &
departures, with the signature of the
person responsible for verifying the
accuracy of the record or the person
collecting the child
relation to excursions, written:
Evidence of risk assessments that
were undertaken & provided to
families prior to conducting
excursions
Evidence of detailed information
provided to families regarding
excursions including the destination,
mode of transport, educator-to-child
ratio & the number of adults in
attendance
Written authorisation for children to
be taken outside the service
premises
BABIES AND TODDLERS
• Evidence that in centre-based
services shifts are planned to
maximise continuity of care for
babies & toddlers
Reflections
SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
• Documented procedures for
transitioning school age children
between school & the service,
including a procedure that addresses
enrolled children who have not
arrived at the service
How:
• Information from families about their
child’s attendance/non attendance at
the service is communicated to
educators responsible for
transitioning children between school
& the service
• Information is shared between
educators working in the beforeschool & afterschool components of
the service
• The service supports & manages
children’s attendance at
extracurricular & sporting activities
Observe
Sight
Discuss
6.3.3
Children with additional needs:
• Demonstrating a sense of belonging
& comfort in the service environment
• Demonstrating trust & confidence in
educators & staff members
• Participating & engaging in group
experiences
• Programs for individual children
devised by other
professionals/therapists informing
the program offered at the service
• Educators working with families,
other professionals, therapists or
specialists to ensure the environment
& routines are adapted appropriately
to facilitate the inclusion of children
with additional needs
• Images, books & resources that
reflect children & people with
Evidence:
• That the service accepts & actively
seeks to build their capacity to
respond to children with specific
needs
• Of professional development to
support ongoing responsiveness to
children with additional needs
• That the service philosophy, policies
& procedures demonstrate a
commitment to full participation of
children with additional needs
• Of regular meetings &/or ongoing
communication between families,
educators & other agencies or
specialists working with the child
• Examples of individual support plans
for children with additional needs
How the service:
 Demonstrates its commitment to
the full participation of children
with additional needs
 Ensures that educators have the
skills & expertise necessary to
support the inclusion of children
with additional health or
developmental needs
 Works with inclusion & support
agencies to include children with
additional needs
• Plans are developed to support the
inclusion of children with additional
needs
Reflections
disabilities as active participants in
the community
CENTRE BASED SERVICES
• Educators working with families,
other professionals, therapists or
specialists to ensure the
environment, routines &/or staffing
arrangements are adapted
appropriately to facilitate the
inclusion of children with additional
needs
Observe
Sight
Discuss
6.3.4
• An environment that reflects the
lives of the children & families using
the service & the cultural diversity of
the broader community, including
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
communities
• Images, books & resources that
provide a balanced view of
contemporary Australians
• Educators responding positively to
the differences in families’ home lives
& lifestyle choices
Evidence that:
• Educators liaise with other children’s
services, local businesses, schools,
health services & organisations
working with families children in the
local area
• Members of the local community are
invited into the service to contribute
to the program
• Children have opportunities to learn
about & contribute to the community
in which the service is located
How the service:
• Promotes child-friendly communities
& advocates for universal access to a
range of high-quality early childhood
& school age care programs for all
children
• Builds connections between the
service & the local community
• Strengthens children’s connection
with & understanding of their
community
• Examples of community members
coming into the service & the
service’s participation in the local
community
How educators:
• Raise awareness of Aboriginal &
Torres Strait Islander communities,
including acknowledging the
traditional owners of the land & local
elders
• Demonstrate respect for community
Reflections
•
protocols
How children are supported to
develop an understanding of their
social & cultural heritage