KindiCare Quality Index reveals ratings for NSW childcare centres in Australia

Is your childcare centre worth the money you pay? In NSW 349 centres are rated ‘fair’. See where your local one rates and how it compares.

More than 1000 Australian childcare centres are underperforming according to comprehensive ratings based on official inspections, as well as parent reviews.

The 2022 KindiCare Quality Index rated 1072 childcare operations ‘fair’ which is the bottom category.

They account for 6.3 per cent of Australia’s centres.

The worst rated centre in NSW was Crescent Head Out Of School Care with a rating of 6.2.

In NSW 349 centres are rated ‘fair’, 2122 got a ‘good’ rating’; 2069 are rated ‘very good’; 661 ‘excellent’ and 143 ‘outstanding’.

Top are two Goodstart Early Learning Centres; Goodstart Port Macquarie and Goodstart Tuggerah, last year’s National winner.

Both scored a KindiCare rating of 9.9.

Tarrik Morssi, director at the Crescent Head Out of School Care, said his centre which opened with 20 kids in 2020 just before Covid hit, closed at Easter.

He said it struggled due to the inadequate financial support from the Government during the pandemic.

National and state winner Essex Heights Juniors in Victoria is the only centre to get a perfect 10. Lola, 4, tends to the kinder veggie garden. Picture: David Caird

“It was not financially viable,” Mr Morssi, who has since returned to teaching, said.

“It’s a pity the Government does not take into consideration the needs of smaller communities.

“Parents have lost out.”

There is only one centre with a perfect score of 10 - Essex Heights Juniors in Mount Waverley in Victoria, which has been crowned the best childcare centre in the country by KindiCare.

The KindiCare app and childcare comparison website, which released the index, worked out a unique score for every early learning service based on their current and historical assessment and ratings under the National Quality Framework from ACECQA, parent and community feedback and reviews, the stability and length of operation of the service as well as other characteristics known about a service – providing a comprehensive real time picture of quality and value for money that’s easy for parents to understand.

KindiCare founder and CEO Benjamin Balk said the process of selecting a quality early learning centre is more transparent than ever.

KindiCare founder Benjamin Balk. Picture: Supplied.

He said those rated ‘fair’ are mainly centres that are still ‘working towards’ meeting national standards. Others have not been inspected for many years which meant they lost marks.

He noted that some of the top performing centres have introduced risky play in their activities, such as allowing children to climb trees.

Others are ripping up astro turf and laying grass, so kids can play and get dirty, which rated well with parents.

Other top performers are allowing children a bigger say in the running of their centres.

“Goodstart Port Macquarie, who are joint NSW winners with their sister centre in Tuggerah, empower their children to be critical decision makers,” Mr Balk said.

“Children are involved in the centre’s daily safety checks which helps them to become safety advocates and more aware of risks.”

Mr Balk said in a sector suffering a critical shortage of qualified educators, the country’s number one centre, Essex Heights Juniors boasted 11 Bachelor or Masters qualified teachers.

The centre said it has a wellbeing officer dedicated to looking after staff.

“Look after your educators and education looks after itself,” Mr Balk said.