Why the NQS matters when choosing a childcare service
Choosing a childcare service for your child is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a parent. With so many options available, it can feel overwhelming trying to work out which service is truly the right fit. One of the most reliable tools to help guide your decision is the National Quality Standard (NQS), Australia’s national benchmark for early childhood education and care.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is the NQS?
The National Quality Standard is a framework developed by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) that sets the benchmark for quality across all approved childcare services in Australia. Every service, whether it’s a long day care centre, family day care, kindergarten, or outside school hours care, is assessed and rated against the NQS.
What Does the Rating Actually Measure?
A service’s NQS rating isn’t based on one single factor. It reflects quality across seven key areas:
1. Educational programs and practice: Is learning intentional, play-based, and tailored to each child?
2. Children’s health and safety: Are children protected, healthy, and well-supervised?
3. Physical environment: Is the space safe, welcoming, and designed to support learning?
4. Staffing arrangements: Are there enough qualified educators to give children the attention they deserve?
5. Relationships with children: Do educators build warm, respectful, and responsive relationships?
6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities: Are families genuinely included and valued?
7. Governance and leadership: Is the service well-managed with a clear commitment to quality?
A rating of Meeting the NQS means a service has demonstrated quality across every one of these areas, which is no small achievement.
When is a Service Assessed?
Understanding the assessment timeline can help set expectations when choosing a service, especially if you’re comparing a newer centre with an established one.
Services are typically assessed by their state or territory regulatory authority within the first one to two years of opening, though exact timing can vary. After that, services are reassessed periodically, generally every three to five years, depending on their rating and the discretion of the regulatory authority. Services with lower ratings may be assessed more frequently, while those performing strongly may have longer intervals between visits.
This means that not every service will have a published NQS rating at the same time, and that’s completely normal.
Why Does It Matter for Your Family?
It gives you an independent, objective assessment
Rather than relying solely on a service’s own marketing or a quick tour, the NQS rating gives you an independent view of how a service is actually performing. Assessors visit the service, observe practice, speak with educators and leaders, and review documentation, so the rating reflects real, day-to-day quality.
It tells you your child will be safe and supported
A service that meets or exceeds the NQS has demonstrated that children’s health, safety, and wellbeing are genuinely prioritised, not just in policy documents, but in practice.
It reflects the quality of education your child will receive
The early years are the most critical period of brain development in a child’s life. Research consistently shows that high-quality early childhood education has a lasting positive impact on children’s learning, social skills, and long-term outcomes. The NQS helps ensure the care your child receives is educationally meaningful, not just supervision.
It shows a service is committed to continuous improvement
Achieving an NQS rating isn’t a one-time tick-box exercise. Services are reassessed regularly and are required to maintain a Quality Improvement Plan, a living document that outlines how they are working to grow and improve. A rated service is one that takes quality seriously, not just at assessment time, but every single day.
It holds services accountable
The NQS creates a level of public accountability that benefits all families. Ratings are published on the ACECQA website and must be displayed at the service, so you always have access to this information. This transparency empowers families to make informed choices.
What to Look for When Comparing Services
When using NQS ratings to compare services, keep these tips in mind:
• Check the rating on the ACECQA website at www.acecqa.gov.au, where you can search by service name or location
• Look at when the service was last assessed, as a more recent assessment gives a more current picture
• Ask the service about their Quality Improvement Plan, since a service that’s proud of their commitment to quality will be happy to talk about it
• Use the rating as a starting point, not the only factor. Visit the service, meet the educators, and trust your instincts too
Our Commitment to Quality
We are proud that First Connections Edmondson Park holds a Meeting the NQS rating, and we don’t take that lightly. It represents the dedication of our entire team, our educators, leaders, and the families who partner with us every day. At First Connections Schofields, while we await our first formal assessment, we are committed to the very same standard of care and education, building the foundations that we know will speak for themselves when the time comes.
Across both of our services, our commitment is the same. To provide every child with a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment where they can truly thrive.
If you’d like to learn more about our rating or what a day looks like at either of our services, we’d love to hear from you.