Melbourne childcare: Victoria’s best and worst early learning centres revealed
Every single childcare centre in Victoria has been given a rating by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, but there’s a twist to the findings that may leave some parents angry. SEE HOW YOUR CENTRE RATES
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The number of government inspections of Victorian childcare centres this year is about a quarter of what it was in 2019.
According to the Australia Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, between January and September 2020, 233 Victorian child care centres and kindergartens were inspected compared with 968 in the same period last year.
The national register also shows two centres haven not been inspected since 2013.
Childcare centres and kindergartens are assessed on seven criteria — education, health and safety, physical environment, staffing, relationships with children, partnerships with families and communities and governance and leadership.
Balnarring Preschool is one of just two Victorian centres to achieve the top rating of “excellent”.
The centre’s educational leader, Karen Anderson, said it was the second time it had nabbed top marks.
“We’re really excited to have been able to do it again,” she said.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve, we don’t stop just because we got an ‘Excellent’ rating.”
Ms Anderson said Balnarring Preschool’s focus on integrating First People’s perspectives and culture into the kinder programs set the centre apart from many others.
“Our relationship with the Boon Wurrung people is quite unique,” she said.
“The children experience culture and language every day, including learning on country at the bush or beach one day a week.”
Children at the centre have illustrated and published two books about Indigenous stories, with help and guidance from Elder Carolyn Briggs, chair and founder of the Boon Wurrung Foundation.
And each year the kinder hosts the Womindjeka Balrnarring Ngargee, a one-day festival which celebrates Indigenous cultures with workshops, entertainment, food stalls and craft markets.
Ms Anderson said transitioning to remote learning had been hard for the centre, but they had come up with creative ways to keep the children and families connected.
“Telling families to go online doesn’t really fit with what we do here so we had to think of other ways,” she said.
“We sent a daffodil bulb home with each child to help them understand time and how it passes and we said ‘hopefully by the time it’s flowering, you’ll be back’.
“We also put out art supplies near the front fence for families to come and collect because it was hard for them to get supplies with stores closed, and we delivered packages full of activity ideas to each child’s home.”
Ms Anderson said staff also wrote letters to the children once a week to help keep them connected to the centre.
Balnarring Preschool also has a large focus on nature play, with chooks and veggie gardens a popular attraction.
Doveton College’s Early Learning Centre also received the top “Excellent” rating.
Meanwhile, hundreds of centres have not met the national minimum standard, with two centres receiving the lowest possible rank of “Needs Significant Improvement”.
Victorian Education Department spokeswoman Linh Salisbury previously told the Leader 85 per cent of services in the state were meeting or exceeding the quality standards — well above the national average of 80 per cent.
“The overwhelming majority of Victoria’s early childhood services do a fantastic job offering quality education and care for children. In particular, they are doing an outstanding job supporting children and their families through the coronavirus pandemic,” she said.
“The safety and wellbeing of children is the department’s top priority as we work closely with early childhood services to ensure that they continue to lift the quality of their education and care.”
The drop in assessments was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the national Education Council suspending assessment and ratings of centres on April 2.
Victoria’s assessments recommenced in July, but monitoring continued remotely during the shut down.
About 1100 centres across Australia closed during the height of the pandemic and could not be assessed.
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HUNDREDS OF VICTORIAN CHILDCARE CENTRES NOT UP TO STANDARD