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CCCCNSW
- 1. CCCC’s Really Simple RegulationsSessions
- 2. Community Child Care CommunityChild Care Co-operative advocates for quality, affordable, accessible children’s services for children and families. We work hard to influence government policy and centre practices and programs in the interests of creating positive outcomes for children and families. We keep the children’s services sector informed and inspired with current information, exciting professional learning opportunities, and innovative publications and resources.
- 3. About Community ChildCare Community Child Care Co-operative is a NSW based non-profit organisation working in the children’s services sector. We are the peak body for community based children’s services in NSW and work to ensure positive outcomes for children and their families.
- 4. Our contact details (02) 8922 6444 21/142 Addison Road Marrickville 2204 www.ccccnsw.org.au info@ccccnsw.org.au
- 5. By the endof the session participants will be able to… 1. Describe the relationships between the Regulations, the Law and the National Quality Standard; 2. Identify the main differences between the Children’s Services Regulation 2004 and the current National Regulations; 3. Accurately describe some of the current requirements; and 4. Explain some of the changes you now need to make at centre level.
- 6. Handouts/slides etc Everyparticipant will receive a copy of CCCC’s Simple Guide to the New Regulations. Session slides available for those who do online evaluation of session.
- 7. Disclaimer The contentof this session is provided for information purposes only. Although we have taken all care in providing accurate information we do so on the basis that all participants undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the content for their service’s situation.
- 8.
- 9. So to startat the very beginning… What are Regulations? Regulations are the way that laws are applied. Our regulations are the rules under which children’s services must operate. We used to operate under a NSW Regulation. As of 1st January this year we now operate under National Regulations.
- 10. So what haschanged? We previously had a NSW Law and the Children’s Services Regulation 2004. We now have the: Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011
- 11. You have tohave a copy! It is an offence under the Regulations not to have one. Download it; View it online; DEEWR will send all services one on a CD. Chapter 4 and Chapter 7 are the main chapters you need to be aware of.
- 12. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- 13. The Regulations andthe National Quality Standard
- 14. When does itall happen? Abide by Regulation – January 2012 Changes to Ratios - January 2016 Changes to Qualifications – January 2014 QIP - April 30, 2012 Assessment – From June 2012
- 15.
- 16. Approvals You had aLicence (Children’s Services Provider Licence and Service Approval) PROVIDER APPROVAL: nationally recognised – enables providers to apply for Service Approvals in any Australian state or territory. SERVICE APPROVAL: authorises an approved provider to operate a specific education and care service.
- 17.
- 18. Nominated Supervisors Everyservice must appoint a single Nominated Supervisor. To be a Nominated Supervisor you must have a Certified Supervisor’s Certificate and be appointed by your service as the Nominated Supervisor. The Nominated Supervisor responsible (along with the Approved Provider) for ensuring it is following the Law and the Regulations eg ratios and qualifications.
- 19. Certified Supervisors Donot have same responsibilities as a Nominated Supervisor. Must have specified skills and experience. A Supervisor’s Certificate stays with the individual – not the service.
- 20. Responsible Person Underthe Regulations, you must have a responsible person present whenever there are children being educated and cared for by the service. A responsible person can be: The APPROVED PROVIDER; or The NOMINATED SUPERVISOR; or A CERTIFIED SUPERVISOR who has been placed in day-to-day charge of the service.
- 21. So how dowe do this? Most services will probably choose to have a number of their staff apply for Supervisor’s Certificates so that there is always someone who can be the responsible person at their service.
- 22. Educational Leader Everyservice must also have an Educational Leader. (designated in writing) They must be “suitably qualified and experienced”. Their role is to “lead the development and implementation of educational programs in the service”.
- 23.
- 24. Qualifications Minimum Qualification:Certificate III in Children’s Services (or working towards) 50% of staff: a Diploma or higher qualification (or working towards)
- 25.
- 26. Ratios For NSW servicesthe only change to ratios is for toddlers (25 months to 35 months). The new ratio from 2016 is 1 educator to 5 children. Educators must be working directly with children to be included in the ratios. For mixed age group ratios see the printed resource.
- 27.
- 28. What Waivers Exist? Ifyou cannot meet some of the physical environment or staffing requirements of the Regulations, you can apply for a waiver. Service Waiver – provides a waiver on an ongoing basis. Temporary Waiver – provides a waiver for a fixed period (up to 12 months).
- 29. ASSESSMENT AND RATING
- 30. General The National QualityStandard is the standard against which services: Self-assess their performance in delivering quality education and care; Plan future improvements to their service via the Quality Improvement Plan; and Are assessed against by the Department of Education and Communities.
- 31. Self Assessment Self-assessment drivesreflection on quality education and care Reflection determines quality improvements
- 32. Quality Improvement Plans The outcome of self-assessment against the Standard is the development of a Quality Improvement Plan. You need to prepare your plan by 30 April 2012. You only need to send it to DEC when they request it.
- 33. Assessor visits Assessmentundertaken by DEC (assessment and compliance officers) Service notified, asked to submit QIP Then will get date of assessment and rating visit
- 34. When will assessmentstart? June 2012! All service’s initial rating will be “Provisional—Not Yet Assessed under the National Quality Framework”.
- 35.
- 36. ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE
- 37. How will theRegulations be enforced? Under the National Law, DEC has a range of different mechanisms to use for ensuring services comply with the Regulations (as well as the rating system of course!). The National Law and Regulations contain certain offences, for example failing to adequately supervise children.
- 38.
- 39. What Policies doYou Need? These are the minimum policies required under Regulations – other policies may be required under other legislation eg WHS.
- 40.
- 41. Director/Manager/Provider Organise Certified Supervisors Organise Waivers Appoint an Educational Leader Assess that service will meet Qualifications Review Policies Complete Self Assessment Do Quality Improvement Plan
- 42. For your educatorsand staff What do you, as a director, need to ensure your educators and staff know? What is in the National Quality Standard; That the service needs to have responsible person present; Who the Educational Leader is and what their role entails; Whether they have to upgrade qualifications; Calculations and processes for ensuring the service meets ratios and qualifications requirements at all times; Changes to policies and procedures; and What is in your Quality Improvement Plan.
- 43.
- 44. Websites The AustralianChildren’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) www.acecqa.gov.au/ Department of Education and Communities www.educationandcommunities.nsw.gov.au/ 1800 619 113 Community Child Care Co-operative www.ccccnsw.org.au Children’s Services Central www.cscentral.org.au 1800 157 818
- 45. Help Guides Guideto the National Quality Framework Guide to the National Law and National Regulations Guide to the National Quality Standard Guide to Developing a Quality Improvement Plan Quality Improvement Plan template
- 46. Professional Development Children’sServices Central www.cscentral.org.au Community Child Care www.ccccnsw.org.au Other training providers
- 47. FAQs CCCC hasdeveloped a list of Frequently Asked Questions from your questions today and at other sessions. These are answered and placed on the CCCC website at www.ccccnsw.org.au
- 48.
Editor's Notes
- #2 Welcome. Acknowledgement of Country. OHS announcements. This session goes for 2.5 hours. We will have a 20 minute break in the middle where there will be tea and coffee. We will also try and have a clear 30 minutes for questions at the end. Please inform participants that a clipboard with sign in information is being handed around. It’s important they fill in all the information – particularly whether they are from long day care or preschool. With smaller groups you may choose to have the participants sign in before the session. Ask participants who has already been to a DEC information session by a show of hands.
- #3 Our goals are to: To inform …the sector through accurate information, detail on legislation, regulation and responsibilities, great training and publications. To influence …government policy, practices and programs to create positively outcomes for children and families. To inspire …the sector with exciting professional learning, motivating forums and events, exciting and innovative publications and resources.
- #5 CCCC would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Department of Education and Communities (DEC) for funding these sessions. I would like to remind people that these sessions are specifically for long day care services and preschools who are covered by the NQF. If you are from a different service type remember this information may not be correct for your type of service. CCCC sought funding from the Department of Education and Communities to run these sessions because we believe long day care services and preschools need access to more information about the Regulations and their implementation. CCCC, are not however, responsible for the regulations or the NQF!
- #6 So what do we hope to achieve over the next 2.5 hours? By the end of the session participants will be able to : Describe the relationships between the Regulations, the Law and the National Quality Standard; Identify the main differences between the Children's ’ Services regulation 2004 and the National Regulations; Accurately describe some of the current requirements; and Explain some of the changes they now need to make at centre level. This sector, our sector, has lived through changes of Regulations before. Although it may have seemed over the last few years as if every tiny element of early education and care was going to change, it really isn ’t that bad. We have called these sessions the Really Simple Information Sessions because our aim at Community Child Care is to is to simplify it for you. We want to make sure that you get it – that you get the regulatory changes, without becoming overwhelmed.
- #7 At the end of the session participants will be given a copy of a Regulations resource or it may have been placed on the chairs already– The Really Simple Guide to the New Regulations prepared for services by CCCC. This covers most of the areas outlined in these sessions. A copy has been sent to all NSW preschools and long day care services already. We would ask that you only take the one copy with you from here so we have enough for every one attending a session. A copy of this can also be found on the CCCC website. We will also give you a web address at the end to enable you to do an online evaluation of this session. When you complete this, you will get access to a copy of the slides used today. Please inform participants that there has been an error with the printing on pps 11 & 12. It should read needing an ECT 20% of the time, not 25% of the time.
- #8 The content of this session is provided for information purposes only. Although we have taken all care in providing accurate information we do so on the basis that all participants undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the content for their service ’s situation.
- #9 So to start at the very beginning… which, if I remember, is a very good place to start.
- #10 What are Regulations? Regulations are the way that laws are applied. Our regulations are the rules under which children ’s services must operate. We used to operate under a NSW Regulation. As of 1 st January this year we now operate under National Regulations.
- #11 We previously had a NSW Law ( which I won’t name because you don’t need to worry about it any more) and the Children’s Services Regulation 2004. We now have the: Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations Both of these are important. The Law is what tells us how children’s services can operate. The Regulations are the way that this law is applied. It is the Regulations that services will mostly refer to but there is some important information in the National Law. Some of you have probably downloaded the Regulation already. Some of you may have heard that it is over 260 pages long! The length doesn’t mean that there are a lot more Regulations we have to abide by.
- #12 All services must have a copy of the Regulations on the services premises for educators and families to consult. You can get a copy from the internet – either download it or view it online. We will give you web addresses at the end of the session. DEEWR have sent each service a CD with a copy of the Law and Regulations on it. This should have arrived at most services before the end of 2011. If you do not receive yours by the end of January, email enquiries@acecqa.gov.au. The version you will download now no longer has the word DRAFT on it as it was officially made on December 13 th 2011. The two minor changes that were made do not affect NSW services. Chapter 4 and Chapter 7 are the main chapters you need to be aware of.
- #14 How do the Regulations fit in with the National Quality Standard (NQS)? The NQS is part of the Regulations. This is what makes the NQS law. The Regulations support the implementation of the NQS. The NQS also stems from the Regulations. If you are following the National Quality Standard, you are well on your way to meeting the Regulations. It is important to remember that: ▶ Chapter 4 of The Regulations describe minimum requirements; ▶ The National Quality Standard is about moving beyond the minimum. The Standard is about Quality. As a children ’s service which has approval to operate under the national law, your service is legally obliged to comply with the Law and Regulations, including the minimum requirements set out in Chapter 4 and assessment against the National Quality Standard. Remember that one of the main changes under the NQF is that what was previously 2 separate processes – accreditation and regulation – is now the one combined process carried out by the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC). The NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) is the NSW ‘regulator’ under the NQF. It is the Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate of DEC who will assess services against the NQS. After the last state election the then Children’s Services Directorate of Community Services (who many services called ‘DoCS’) was moved into DEC. Many of the same people who worked with children’s services from ‘DoCS’ will still be doing so from DEC.
- #15 Remember on CCCC website there is a handy change timetable.
- #17 You previously had to have a Licence (the Department informs me that for the last 2 years they have been called Children ’s Services Provider Licence And Service Approval – but many services still refer to them as a Licence. Now you will need a Provider Approval and a Service Approval. Provider Approval —will be nationally recognised and enables providers to apply for Service Approvals in any Australian state or territory Service Approval —authorises an approved provider to operate a specific education and care service. If you are currently licenced and operating a DEC-approved service, you will automatically be granted a provider and service approval. DEC will send your Service and Provider approvals by June 2012.
- #18 There are some different roles under the new Regulations – this section will try and clarify these roles and what is required in relation to these.
- #19 Nominated Supervisor A Nominated Supervisor is a person who has been nominated by the approved provider to be the nominated supervisor of that service and who has agreed to do this. You must first hold a Certified Supervisors Certificate to be appointed as a Nominated Supervisor. To obtain a Supervisor ’s Certificate you must have: adequate knowledge and understanding of the provision of education and care to children; and the ability to effectively supervise and manage an education and care service; as well as either 3 years experience or a Diploma or ECT qualification. In NSW you must also pass the WWC check. All existing Authorised Supervisors will automatically be granted Certified Supervisor Certificates. Where a service has one existing Authorised Supervisor they will automatically become the Nominated Supervisor for that service. If a service has more than one Authorised Supervisor they must inform DEC which one they want to be the Nominated Supervisor, although both will be granted Certified Supervisor Certificates A Nominated Supervisor, like an Authorised Supervisor in the old system, holds special responsibilities (and liabilities) under the Law and Regulations. The set of requirements can now be found on the ACECQA website along with the actual application forms.
- #20 A certified supervisor (a person with a supervisor certificate placed in day to day charge of an education and care service) is not the nominated supervisor for the service and does not have the same responsibilities as the nominated supervisor. As stated earlier to be a Certified Supervisor you must have adequate knowledge and understanding of the provision of education and care to children; and the ability to effectively supervise and manage an education and care service; as well as either 3 years experience or a Diploma or ECT qualification. In NSW you must also pass the WWC check. A Supervisor ’s Certificate belongs to the individual – not the service. The Department of Education and Communities have said that they anticipate that they will receive a large number of applications for supervisor certificates over the coming months.
- #21 So if the responsibilities of a Nominated Supervisor do not pass on to the Certified Supervisor, why does your service need them? Can’t you just survive with one Nominated Supervisor? Services will need to ensure a number of staff are Certified Supervisors so there can always be someone available to take on the role of responsible person. A service must always have a responsible person present. This is the person who is ultimately responsible for the service at that time. A responsible person can be: The APPROVED PROVIDER – if this is an individual. If it is an organisation or company then someone with management and control of the service; The NOMINATED SUPERVISOR – this is a person with a Supervisor ’s Certificate designated by the service as the Nominated Supervisor. A CERTIFIED SUPERVISOR who has been placed in day-to-day charge of the service. You will need to set up systems in your service so that whenever the Responsible Person leaves the service, they hand responsibility over to another person from the 3 categories above. This needs to be documented (by a sign in sheet or similar) and the person ’s name who is in charge at any one time needs to be displayed at the front of the service. [Clause 162] Nominated Supervisors or Certified Supervisors in NSW cannot be made a responsible person unless they also have completed a child protection Course.
- #22 Most services will probably chose to have a number of their staff apply for Supervisors Certificates so that there is always someone who can be the responsible person at their service. How do you go about doing this? The Department of Education and Communities have informed the sector that they “will be taking a pragmatic approach during early 2012 to the requirement that a responsible person is present at all times”. They have said that they anticipate that they “will receive a large number of applications for supervisor certificates over the coming weeks, and “appreciate that it may not be possible for a provider to place a person with a supervisor certificate in day to day charge of the service” until they have determined the applications. They have also stated that they appreciate “that it will take some time before all supervisors will have completed an approved course in child protection”. CCCC recommends : that services put in applications for whatever staff they believe should have Certified Supervisor certificates asap, the new application form is now available form the ACECQA website. Services should also arrange for child protection training for these staff so that once they have their certificate they can be made a responsible person. Some services are getting their potential Certified Supervisors to complete child protection training by distance education, others are having training run for groups of services or single services. Children ’s Services Central has additional CP training on their January – June 2012 calendar.. All CP training must be run by a Registered Training Organisation. If you have an older CP training, do you need to upgrade it? Older courses are accepted. Refer to the ACECQA websites for details. The current course is CHCHILD401A. If you need more information on this you can contact the CCCC RTO or an RTO of your choice. You do not need to have completed your CP training to get a supervisor ’s certificate – just to be left in charge as a responsible person.
- #23 What is an educational leader? Every service must also have an Educational Leader (designated in writing). They must be “suitably qualified and experienced”. Their role is to “lead the development and implementation of educational programs in the service”. How formal is this appointment? The position must be designated in writing. Who should you choose? CCCC recommends the appointment of an ECT to this position, but your service may have compelling reasons why it wishes to appoint a diploma qualified staff member. Children ’s Services Central is running professional development courses about this role and how it can be undertaken check out the January to June 2012 Calendar which is now available on the CSCentral website to download – services have also all been sent copies in the post.
- #25 Minimum Qualification: Certificate III in Children ’s Services 50% of staff: a Diploma or higher qualification Other Quals Educational Leader –no specific qualifications (just ‘suitably qualified and experienced’). First Aid Certificates – services must always have an educator at the centre who holds a certificate. Their qualification needs to include Anaphylaxis and Asthma management training (from 2013) Child Protection – all Nominated and Certified Supervisors must have undertaken child protection training. Cooks – no specific qualification required under the Regulations – but remember Regs are minimum standards. Community Child Care can provide or tell you where to obtain first aid, child protection and cook ’s qualifications. The ACECQA website has clear lists of recognised courses.
- #26 Early Childhood Teachers: Up to 24 children = access to a teacher 20% of the time the service is open. 25 to >29 children = 1 teacher for six hours per day if the service is open less than 50 hours per week, or 60% if open for more than 50 hours per week (or a full time teacher) These two changes above from January 2014. 30 to > 39 children = 1 teacher 40 to > 59 children = 2 teachers 60 to > 79 children = 3 teachers 80 + children = 4 teachers NSW has a higher standard regarding teachers than other states. It is therefore important that if your centre is over 29 places you read Part 7.3 for rules concerning teachers in NSW. These requirements apply in place of Regulations 132–135. It is especially important to note that the Regulation which allows for teachers absences or illnesses does not apply to NSW services above 30 places – the wording for NSW is that they must be “in attendance at all times children are being educated and cared for”.
- #27 For NSW services the only change to ratios is for toddlers (25 months to 35 months). The new ratio from 2016 is 1 educator to 5 children. Educators must be working directly with children to be included in the ratios. If you join rooms at the beginning or end of the day or run family groupings throughout the day, you still need the minimum number of educators for the children required under the ratios – so 1:4 for babies, 1:8 for toddlers (or 1:5 after 2016) and 1:10 for preschoolers. For each educator, the relevant ratio for each age group needs to be maintained. Older children can be included in the ratio of younger children. For more information on mixed age group ratios see the printed resource we are handing out. Obviously Educator to child ratios are not the only consideration in determining appropriate staffing. You also need to maintain adequate supervision and organise your staffing in a way to achieve quality education, health and wellbeing outcomes under the 7 Quality areas of the NQS. If you have less than 25 places, the teacher you are required to have access to for 20% of the time, cannot be included in your ratios.
- #29 If you cannot meet some of the physical environment or staffing requirements of the Regulations, you can apply for a waiver. Service Waiver – provides a waiver on an ongoing basis. Temporary Waiver – provides a waiver for a fixed period (up to 12 months). Service Waiver: ▶ Gives an exemption from a physical environment or staffing requirement ▶ Will mean the service is rated for the relevant NQS Standard as ‘meeting National Quality Standard’ ▶ Will be specified on Service Approval. What sort of thing might you need a service waiver for? If your service does not have a separate administrative space as required under Regulation 111, you may be a granted a service waiver for this requirement. Temporary Waiver: ▶ Gives a temporary waiver from a physical environment or staffing requirement ▶ Service with a temporary waiver will be rated for the relevant NQS Standard as ‘working towards the National Quality Standard’ ▶ Will be specified on Service Approval. What sort of thing might you need a temporary waiver for? If your service cannot recruit a teacher as required under Regulations 130–134, you may be a granted a temporary waiver for this requirement. If a service held an approval under the Early Childhood teacher Interim Policy this will become a temporary waiver in force till 2013. If you had space savings under the old regulation this will become a service waiver until such time as the service undergoes renovations.
- #31 You assess your service against the NQS. The outcome of self-assessment against the Standard is the development of a Quality Improvement Plan. You are then formally assessed. The outcome of assessment by DEC is the awarding of a service rating.
- #32 Self-assessment drives reflection on quality education and care It is important for professionals in any field to have a way of regularly assessing their practice, recognising their strengths and identifying areas that can be improved. A consistent process of reflection and evaluation enables services to gain an informed picture of: • current practice • the quality of education and care experienced by children and families. This ‘picture’ of current practice highlights and confirms the service’s particular strengths and is the starting point for planning to improve quality. Remember that self assessment needs to be undertaken collaboratively. Reflection determines quality improvements Once you assess the quality of current practice in your service the next step is to determine where quality improvements can be made and to plan effectively to implement them. Because the focus is on quality improvement at the service, it is important to be open, honest and critically reflective when undertaking the self-assessment and quality improvement planning processes.
- #33 Services need to complete a quality improvement plan after their self assessment. Although you need to assess your service against all of the 7 quality areas, you only enter those areas that you have assessed as needing improvement in the Quality Improvement Plan. ACECQA has developed a template for the Quality Improvement Plan which can be used and a Guide to completing one. You need to do a self-assessment to develop the Quality Improvement Plan, but it is only the plan that is submitted. ▶ You need to prepare your plan by 30 April 2012. ▶ You only need to send it to DEC when they request it . This will generally only be in the lead-up to an assessment visit. ▶ DEC can request to view your QIP whenever they visit your service. ▶ You need to update it annually. ▶ You need to keep a current plan at the service and ensure families and DEC can view it upon request. ▶ You will have six weeks to revise the plan before submission after you have been notified of your assessment date. ▶ You will need to update the final plan after you have been assessed and rated. The Quality Improvement Plan must include: ▶ Your service details; ▶ The philosophy of your service; ▶ A summary of strengths and areas for improvement for those of the 7 Quality Areas you have assessed as needing improvement; ▶ How you plan to improve – your goals, priorities, steps and measures of success.
- #34 Assessment of your service is undertaken by DEC ’s assessment and compliance officers. The frequency of routine assessments will depend on the rating of the service. The higher the rating, the less frequent the assessment. The assessment and rating process The service will be notified by DEC that it is going to be assessed and rated, and will be asked to submit a copy of the QIP. The DEC officer conducting the assessment will review service information and the service ’s QIP The service will then be told the date and time for the assessment and rating visit to the service. The officer will visit the service. The service will be given a draft copy of the assessment and rating report, and will have an opportunity to discuss and make comments on the report before it is finalised. The officer will then determine a service ’s rating for each of the seven quality areas, as well as an overall rating, and will give the service a copy of the final assessment and rating report for the service. There are a range of review rights – see the handouts.
- #35 First site visits to occur around mid June 2012. The first batch of assessments will be finished in September 2012, when there will be a reassessment of the rating and assessment process to ensure the validity and reliability of its results. Services will not have to publish ratings till after everyone is happy with process. (Ministers ’ all decided this – so nothing will be published on My Child website etc until all states and territories are happy that the process is valid. All service ’s initial rating will be “Provisional—Not Yet Assessed under the National Quality Framework”.
- #36 Your service can be awarded one of 5 quality ratings. The names of these have changed from what was originally proposed. They now go from Excellent to Significant Improvement Required. The highest award DEC can give your service is Exceeding NQS. If you receive an overall rating of Exceeding NQS, you can apply to ACECQA for an Excellent rating. ACECQA are currently developing the criteria for the awarding of an Excellent rating. What if you don ’t agree with the rating you have been given? Once you have received notice of your rating, you have 14 days to apply for a review . This review is undertaken by someone from DEC other than the initial assessor. You can then apply to ACECQA for a further review by a Ratings Review Panel if you think DEC didn ’t take something into account or didn’t review your service correctly. You can apply for reassessment (only once every two years) against all or one area of the NQS.
- #38 Under the National Law, DEC has a range of different mechanisms to use for ensuring services comply with the Regulations (as well as the rating system of course!). The National Law and Regulations contain certain offences, for example failing to adequately supervise children. Many of the offences in the National Law and Regulations would be familiar to services as they are similar to offences under existing NSW legislation. The Department of Education has a range of compliance powers which are set out in the National Law, again, many of these would be familiar to services (e.g. prosecution, infringement notices and compliance notices). The maximum penalty for an offence is set out under each offence provision. It is the courts that determine the amount of the penalty that must be paid, following a prosecution. In the last amendment to the NSW Regulation, the Department were given the power to issue penalty notices. This power also exists in the National Regulations, where they are called Infringement Notices. Infringement notices are just one of the range of enforcement and compliance tools available to the Department. The only penalties that can be issued to Educators in long day care and preschool services is for inappropriately disciplining a child. A wider range exist for Nominated Supervisors. See Regulation 190 of the Regulations and Section 291 of the National Law. The Department will also be using education and awareness strategies to increase knowledge of services ’ and individuals’ responsibilities under the Regulations and Law. Remember that the primary purpose of the Regs is to ensure the safety and quality of education for children. Services need to manage risks to ensure the well being of children.
- #40 These are the policies which are the minimum required under the Regulations. You will probably need a lot more to demonstrate that you are meeting or exceeding the NQS . Other policies may be required under other legislation eg WHS. Policy has a distinct and important role to play by providing a framework for the implementation of laws and regulation and as a solution for issues and problems. Well developed policy within a service provides a foundation for decision making and ensures consistent approaches and solutions to practice and issues. Many of the policies that are legally required will already be in place in your service. You need to update these policies in line with the new Regulations. How do you do this? ▶ Find which part of the Regulations would cover the area. Most operational areas are covered in Chapter 4. Use the index at the front to narrow down the pages and clauses (the name of the part will tell you the relevant quality area). ▶ Then refer to the corresponding Quality Area of the NQS. ▶ Read about that quality standard in the Guide to the Quality Standard. ▶ Adapt the policy so that when your policy is implemented you are doing what is legally required by the Regulations and what will help you meet or exceed the requirements of the NQS.
- #42 Organise Certified Supervisors Organise necessary Waivers Appoint an Educational Leader Assess that service will meet Qualifications Review Policies Complete Self Assessment Do Quality Improvement Plan
- #43 What is in the National Quality Standard; That the service needs to have responsible person present; Who the Educational Leader is and what their role entails; Whether they have to upgrade qualifications; Calculations and processes for ensuring the service meets ratios and qualifications requirements at all times; Changes to policies and procedures; and What is in your Quality Improvement Plan .
- #46 DEEWR are sending you hard copies of each of these.
- #48 If we can ’t answer a question we will try and get an official answer.