1. Educational program
Whether the program is child-centred, intentional and based on the Early Years Learning Framework.
Quality & regulation
How Australian early learning is held to account
Every approved service in the country is assessed against the same seven quality areas. Knowing what they cover makes it far easier to compare centres honestly.
The seven quality areas
What assessors look at
2. Children's health and safety
Supervision, hygiene, nutrition, sleep, sun safety and how risks are identified and managed.
3. Physical environment
Whether indoor and outdoor spaces are safe, well maintained and support genuine exploration.
4. Staffing arrangements
Qualifications, ratios, continuity of educators and respectful relationships between staff.
5. Relationships with children
Whether children are treated with dignity, supported to build friendships and helped to regulate.
6. Partnerships with families
How families are welcomed, informed and involved in decisions about their child's learning.
7. Governance and leadership
Whether the service is well led, continuously improving and operating with strong systems.
Checking for yourself
Look us up, and look up everyone else
Assessment and rating outcomes for every approved service in Australia are public. You can search any centre, including ours, on the ACECQA national registers, and see the rating for each of the seven quality areas rather than just the headline.
We think every family choosing care should do this. Ask each centre you tour how they rated in Quality Area 4, staffing, and in Quality Area 5. The answers are revealing.
Questions
Quality and regulation questions
What is the National Quality Framework?
The National Quality Framework (NQF) is the national system that regulates early childhood education and care in Australia. It sets requirements for staffing, ratios, health and safety, the educational program and governance, and every approved service is assessed against it.
What are the quality ratings?
Services are rated across seven quality areas and given an overall rating: Working Towards, Meeting, Exceeding, or Excellent. Ratings are published publicly on the ACECQA website.
What are Beach Kids' ratings?
Current assessment and rating for each campus: [CONFIRM WITH BEACH KIDS]. You can also look up both services directly on the ACECQA national registers.
What is the Early Years Learning Framework?
The EYLF is the national curriculum framework for children from birth to five. It sets learning outcomes around identity, community, wellbeing, confident learning and communication, and it guides how our educators plan and document.
Book a tour
The best way to know is to walk through the door
Tours run during the day so you can see the rooms as they really are, busy, calm, noisy, happy. Bring your child. Ask us anything.
