Ballina Byron Family Day Care eagerly put its hand up to be an early adopter of the improvements to assessment and rating (A&R) in mid-2023. In November, it was the service’s turn to undergo a partial A&R and provide feedback on the process.

“It was a little bit unnerving, because it was the unknown to start with,” shared nominated supervisor Sharon Foran, when explaining how the service felt in the lead-up to their A&R visit.

“But the authorised officer really supported us through the change, had a great explanation about what the procedure was going to be like and how it was going to look like for us. So that left us feeling quite confident and like we knew what was going to be happening.”

What quality areas were assessed

Ballina Byron Family Day Care’s partial A&R focused on quality areas 2, 4, 5 and 6. The authorised officer conducting the visit selected quality areas 2, 5 and 6, drawing on sector trends and insights about the service, including ratings from its last A&R. They notified the service of the selected quality areas the day before the visit. Quality Area 4 – Staffing arrangements was the area nominated by the service to be assessed.

“One of our greatest strengths is that we embed that sense of belonging for educators,” Sharon said. “They feel valued in their roles, they’re respected, and it is a really collaborative team that runs Ballina Byron Family Day Care.”

“We talked about it previously with everyone from the committee, through to the coordination staff, as well as educators. Everybody agreed that if we have a choice, Quality Area 4 would be the one we would choose.”

How the team prepared

Having a strong culture of reflection and embedded practice helped the family day care’s coordination unit and educators feel well-prepared and confident in their practice in the lead-up to their A&R.

The team regularly reflects on their practices during meetings, educator evenings, training, as well as in newsletters sent to educators, families and committee members.

“Everybody's on the same page,” Sharon said. “Everyone understands the National Quality Standard and what the seven quality areas look like in practice in our service.”

Developing and maintaining an effective self-assessment and quality improvement plan is also essential. The team regularly reviews its Self-Assessment Working Document to ensure it’s up to date and reflects their current practice and areas for improvement. Families and committee members are given the opportunity to provide feedback, too.

Sharon also sought support from the NSW Department of Education’s Continuous Improvement Team on articulating the service’s self-assessment information prior to the A&R visit.

“It was nice that we could tick that off and go, ‘okay, we're on the right track, let's keep moving forward with that’.”

The service is currently transitioning over to use the Self-Assessment and Quality Improvement Planning Portal. Sharon shared that the team feels quite confident using the portal, and likes how it captures their service information and improvement planning notes in one place.

The outcome

It was celebrations all-round when Ballina Byron Family Day Care received the ratings following the A&R. During this assessment, the service was assessed as exceeding quality areas 2, 4 and 6, and given an overall quality rating of Exceeding.

Since the A&R, Sharon and her team have reflected on different elements of Quality Area 5 and what they can do differently or how to showcase their practice better next time. They’ve also undertaken quality improvement planning and are exploring professional development opportunities.

So, what’s Ballina Byron Family Day Care assessment of the partial A&R process?

“Family day care is so unique, so it's always been quite difficult to be able to coordinate the visit, and time spent at the office and educator homes,” Sharon shared.

“A partial assessment really suits. I just think the shorter time during the visit and having more of a focus on specific areas gives you the opportunity to showcase your practice and be proud of it.”