Updated childcare ratings: See how your kids’ centre was graded – and which state now rates worst in the nation

Fresh data reveals which childcare services are failing or exceeding quality standards – and a new state has emerged as the nation’s worst-rated. Search your centre’s grading.

New data on the state of Australian childcare services has revealed the best and worst centres nationally, as nearly one in 10 services fail to meet quality standards.

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) quarterly data snapshot provides the ratings of 16,848 services across the country as of October 1.

Services, which include long day care, family day care and outside-school-hours care run at schools, are rated on seven key National Quality Standard (NQS) indicators, including safety, physical environment and staffing.

South Australia (20 per cent) overtook the Northern Territory (19 per cent) for the highest proportion of services not meeting the NQS in the latest ratings.

Tasmania (17 per cent), Western Australia (14 per cent), the ACT (13 per cent) and Queensland (11 per cent) all recorded a higher share of services not meeting the NQS than the national average of 9 per cent.

Nationally, eight services are rated as significant improvements required – four in New South Wales, three in Victoria and one in Queensland.

This certification means there is “a significant risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of any child or children being educated and cared for by the service”, according to ACECQA.

In contrast, 25 services were rated excellent. One of those services is Renown Kindergarten in Melbourne, which received the rare excellent rating in June.

Preschoolers with teacher Montana Slavik at Renown Kindergarten in Melbourne, which received an excellent rating from the childcare regulator this year.

“We are deeply honoured to receive this recognition, which reflects the passion, commitment, and collaborative efforts of our teaching team, families, and the wider community,” Renown Kindergarten director Sally Norman-Kelsey said.

“This achievement positions us as a leader in early childhood education, and we remain dedicated to delivering the highest quality experiences for children and their families.”

Each state or childcare regulator gives services a rating against the seven NQS quality areas.

Services can receive a working toward the NQS rating if they fail just one of 40 elements, which includes specifics such as professional collaboration, critical reflection or resource materials.

But it could also include more critical failures such as issues impacting children’s health and safety. 

State and territory childcare regulators are responsible for rating and assessing services in their jurisdiction. Picture: Getty Images

The latest data revealed 4 per cent of services nationally failed the safety standard and 3.3 per cent failed supervision.

Family day care settings had a higher proportion of services not meeting the NQS, as 23 per cent of services were rated working towards the NQS, compared with 9 per cent of long day care centres.

South Australia’s childcare regulator, the Education Standards Board (ESB), said it was dealing with a backlog of services previously assessed under 2012 NQS, and was updating them to the 2018 NQS.

“Under the revised standards, the criteria for achieving an ‘Exceeding NQS’ rating are more rigorous,” an ESB spokeswoman said.

“As a result, some services previously rated as ‘Exceeding’ have been reassessed as ‘Meeting’ or ‘Working Towards’ the NQS. This trend is consistent with what other jurisdictions experienced between 2018 and 2020 when they transitioned to the 2018 NQS.”

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