Governance and risk management in early childhood education
Approved providers of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have a legislated responsibility to make sure that children are safe. Having strong governance principles and knowing how to identify and manage risks are key to our commitment to children’s safety.
Governance and Risk Management Program
The Governance and Risk Management Program is a free training program for approved providers and service leaders delivered by Early Childhood Australia (ECA) in partnership with the NSW Department of Education as the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority.
The program includes 4 self-paced online learning modules and related fact sheets that explore risk and regulatory requirements directly relating to National Quality Standard Quality Areas 2, 3, 4 and 7.
This program is designed to support approved providers and service leaders to develop an increased understanding of risk management and its place in governance and leadership.
It is suitable for all ECEC service types and explores the role that service leaders play in understanding and managing risk to comply with the Children (Education and Care Services) Law (NSW), Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Law and Regulations) and the National Quality Standard.
Completing these modules will help you with:
- effective policy implementation
- understanding and managing risk
- safe environments and responding to incidents
- leading for impact.
Supporting continuous improvement
Under the National Law and Regulations, approved providers must meet their obligations relating to governance and risk management to uphold quality at your service and ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and adults.
Approved providers are encouraged to use the learnings from the Governance and Risk Management Program, as well as the resources below, to meet their obligations under the National Quality Framework and build a culture of governance and risk management at their ECEC service.
Strategies may include:
- responsive staffing
- comprehensive inductions
- audits of practice
- regular training to support your staff to take on their roles in a confident and capable manner.
Sharing knowledge, supporting professional inquiry and critical reflection will support leaders on their journey of continuous quality improvement.