Early childhood education and care quality ratings in 2024-25

This article outlines the most and least common “Exceeding” themes, and the quality areas, standards, and elements most rated as “Working Towards” and “Not Met” during the 2024-25 FY. 

During 2024-25 the top 4 themes rated as “Exceeding” with practice embedded in service operations were: 

• QA6 – 6.2 Collaborative partnerships 
• QA3 – 3.2 Use 
• QA1 – 1.1 Program 
• QA1 – 1.2 Practice 

According to ACECQA’s Q2 Snapshot, the three most common Quality Areas rated as “Working Towards” in South Australia were: 

• Quality Area 2: Children’s Health and Safety 
• Quality Area 1: Educational Program and Practice 
• Quality Area 7: Governance and Leadership 

Data obtained through ESB’s Assessment and Rating process reported the top 5 Standards rated as “Working Towards” were: 

• 2.1 - Health 
• 2.2 - Safety 
• 1.3 - Assessment and Planning 
• 1.1 - Program 
• 7.1 - Governance 

Within the standards, the top 5 elements rated as “Not Met” were: 

• 2.1.2 - Health practices and procedures 
• 2.2.1 - Supervision 
• 1.3.1 - Assessment and planning cycle 
• 1.1.3 - Program learning opportunities
• 7.1.2 - Management systems

Alongside the Guide to the NQF, ACECQA’s website houses a large variety of resources for approved providers and services to access. These include: 

Preparing NQF Policies and Procedures – A series of guidelines to assist services in the development of policies and procedures under regulations 168 and 169. 

Information Sheets – General and Quality Area specific documents providing practical advice, references and resources. 

Quality Improvement Plan – ACECQA’s Self-Assessment Tool is a helpful for services to access current practices, identify strengths and areas for improvement and reflect on how your service achieves quality outcomes for children and families.