Education

Child and
family centres
In 2012–13, the state government allocated further capital
funding to enable the construction and operations of
additional child and family centres (CFCs) statewide.
The purpose of CFCs is to improve the learning,
health and wellbeing of Tasmania’s very young children by
supporting parents and enhancing accessibility of services
in the local community.
The vision for CFCs is that all Tasmanian children will have
the best possible start in life; are healthy, safe and curious
learners; and nurtured by confident, capable families living
in strong and supportive communities.
The centres bring together and offer a range of services
which are based on community need and make the most
difference in the early years of a child’s life, providing access
for children and their families within their local community.
All CFCs strive to cultivate partnerships with a range
of services, which commit to developing respectful
relationships with families. The centres have a child-focused
approach combined with support and opportunities.
A further three state government funded CFCs have
been opened in 2012–13 at Burnie, Chigwell and Derwent
Valley. Six other centres at Beaconsfield, Clarence Plains,
Ravenswood, East Devonport, Break O’Day (St Helens)
and the West Coast (Queenstown) are all operating.
Planning for construction of the centre at George Town is
awaiting approval.
Through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)
Partnership for Indigenous Early Childhood Development,
the Australian Government has also provided the state
government with $8.09 million to establish and operate two
CFCs in Bridgewater and Geeveston. tagara lia (Bridgewater)
opened in July 2012 and services continued to be provided
by wayraparattee (Geeveston) as the second stage of the
building was being constructed. This was planned to be
completed in July 2013 with an official opening in August.
Assessment
and rating of
education and
care services
From mid-2012, assessment and rating of long day care,
family day care and outside school hours care services
commenced under National Law in Tasmania.
To determine a rating for a service the 58 elements
that relate to the National Quality Standard are assessed
as ‘met’ or ‘not met’; followed by assessment of the
18 standards within seven Quality Areas.
There are four possible rating levels applied through
this process:
• Significant Improvement Required
• Working Towards National Quality Standard
• Meeting National Quality Standard
• Exceeding National Quality Standard.
From 1 May 2013, the ratings of services have been
published and are available nationally on both the
ACECQA website and the Australian Government’s
MyChild website.
Authorised officers have been provided with nationally
consistent training in assessment and rating under National
Law. Tasmanian officers undertaking service assessments
have been tested and confirmed to be reliable under a
nationally administered process.
Assessment visit under the National Quality Framework – a service snapshot
Discovery
Early Learning
Centre,
adjacent to
Lauderdale
Primary
School,
share their
experience of
assessment
under the
National
Quality
Framework
The assessment went for three days, which included the
76 place centre-based long day care centre, the 20 place
after Kindergarten care and 60 place outside school hours
care programs which are facilitated onsite at Lauderdale
Primary School, which is next door to the centre.
The service developed a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP)
which is viewed and acted upon as a living document.
It is freely available to all staff and is updated on a regular
basis based on educator reflections. All stakeholders
were involved in the development of the service’s selfassessment
and its QIP including the children, families,
community, school community and educators.
The assessment day commenced with a tour of the
service where the educators and children were
introduced to the authorised officers undertaking the
assessment. This provided the opportunity to talk about
centre processes, people and curriculum. The educators
relaxed into the process as they were encouraged to
‘do what they normally do’ and to be confident in their
practice. It was also important to understand that this
is a continual improvement process with reflection
on everyday practice central to the goal of improved
practice.
The officers visited each of the program areas,
including before school care and two outside school
hours care sessions. During the visit educators
articulated the planning process and spoke about the
context of the room’s curriculum and planning cycle
with the assessors. This was a positive experience and
enabled the educator to celebrate what was happening
each and every day for children and families within the
education and care environment.
The centre supports and is committed to continuous
improvement and ongoing learning. The assessment
process has assisted in building on strengths and
critically reflecting on areas for development. It was a
great team building experience.
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Pre-Compulsory and Compulsory Education » Early Years