National Standards for Child Care Services (NSCCS)

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A review of the approach to setting national standards and assuring the quality of child care services

This Report - A review of the approach to setting national standards and assuring the quality of child care services  -  was commissioned by the Federal Government Department of Family and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in conjunctions with the State and Territory governments. Its findings contribute to current COAG deliberations on early childhood development and the provision of high-quality services. Readers are encouraged to review the options contained in the report for setting and monitoring the standards and quality of child care into the future - long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and in-home care.

We trust that the report will prompt debate and discussion about the standard and quality of care services for children in Australia.

The principal author would welcome your feedback through email correspondence: c.tayler@qut.edu.au

Project brief

The Project Brief was designed by the Australian Government in collaboration with States and Territories.

The NSCCS Project is linked to the work of the Children's Services Sub-Committee (national and state/territory governments). The Sub-Committee works to the Community and Disability Services Ministers Conference of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) - http://www.coag.gov.au. The group is considering strategies that ensure:

• Child care policy and program developers and service providers, have access to contemporary information on standards and evidence-based early childhood practice;
• The national standards-setting practice for children's services ute contemporary, cost-effective business models;
• The national alignment of evidence, service standards and practice, and their associated systems is improved.

(Note: This Project contributes to the development of a process that will inform standards setting and implementation for existing and future ECEC service types - including in-home care.)

National Standards for Child Care Services