Media coverage - Liverpool Leader: Horningsea Park early learning centre has highest rank in care

Mission Australia’s Horningsea Park Early Learning Service has passed a test with flying colours.

The centre has received a high quality accreditation ranking - the highest possible - from the National Childcare Accreditation Council.

The centre was rigorously tested on 33 principals in seven categories by a council official during a recent day visit.

The categories included staff relationships with children and peers, partnership with families, programming and evaluation, children’s experience and learning, protective care and safety, health, nutrition and wellbeing, and managing to support quality.

All seven categories were ranked as high quality, the highest of four bands.

The Horningsea Park service was registered in April 2009 after taking over from an ABC Learning Centre.

Centre director Ruth Brennan said staff had worked hard to improve the care for children.

“We are very proud of this achievement,” she said.

Story originally published 7 June 2011 in the Liverpool Leader.

Further reading:

• Getting back to nature
• ‘Families need adventure playgrounds and cities need families’
• Previous MA news - Early Learning Services

Osborne ELS SA achieves High Quality rating

Congratulations to Mission Australia’s Early Learning Services (ELS) centre in Osborne, South Australia, for receiving “high-quality” results from the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC).

NCAC is a not-for-profit, Australian Government-funded organisation that is responsible for administering Child Care Quality Assurance for long day care centres. Its Quality Improvement and Accreditation System (QIAS) is based on seven Quality Areas and 33 principles that summarise and define long day care.

To be accredited, a centre must achieve a rating of “satisfactory” or higher on all seven Quality Areas, including staff relationships with children and peers; partnerships with families; programming and evaluation; children's experiences and learning; protective care and safety, health, nutrition and wellbeing, and managing to support quality.

Centre Director Janette Lianos and staff at Osborne ELS are to be congratulated on achieving a high rating for all principles in all quality areas. The Continuing Improvement Plan focuses on maintaining a professional team who communicate well, ongoing professional development in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and keeping the vision for developing a garden.

Read more Mission Australia Early Learning news here

Media Release: MA's Shell Cove childcare centre achieves highest possible accreditation

Mission Australia’s Shell Cove Early Learning Service (ELS) childcare centre has received a ‘high quality’ accreditation ranking – the highest possible – by the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC).

The accreditation is the national standard that defines the quality of child care.

The centre was tested in 33 principle areas within seven quality categories. They included: staff relationships with children and peers, partnerships with families, programming and evaluation, children’s experiences and learning, protective care and safety, health, nutrition and wellbeing and managing to support quality.

Mission Australia’s Shell Cove ELS achieved ‘high quality’ in every category.

Shell Cove Centre Director Carissa Roberts says: “Mission Australia’s ELS has worked hard to enhance the quality and care provided for children in our Shell Cove long day care centre since taking over from ABC Learning in mid-2009.

“Achieving the ‘high quality’ ranking reflects the work we have put in to ensuring that we are offering not only the best possible care for the children at our centre, but also the best possible environment in which they can develop and learn.
“We are very proud of this achievement.”

Ms Roberts says that, on top of the high quality ranking, there are other exciting developments in store for the centre.

"Over the coming months there will be even more enhancements at our Shell Cove ELS, one of which will be the renovation of our outdoor learning area – made possible by a generous donation from the Abbott Foundation.

“We are currently collecting input from families and the community regarding the renovation before the upgrade takes place over the coming months.

“In addition, after receiving a $400 grant from NSW Health as part of its ‘Munch and Move’ program, we are about to improve and increase our vegetable patch. Expanding our vegetable patch will extend this already popular component of our centre.

“The children just love the hands-on involvement in nurturing and cultivating the produce – which is then used in the daily preparation of the children’s meals.”

Mission Australia’s Shell Cove ELS has an enrolment of 360 children per week and its occupancy rate is 76 per cent. For more information about Mission Australia Early Learning Service, visit: www.missionaustralia.com.au/early-learning-services.

Media contact: Sally Popplestone, mob: 0415 547 626

Further ‘High Quality’ results for MAELS NSW

Congratulations to Mount Hutton and Beresfield Mission Australia Early Learning Services (MAELS) in New South Wales for receiving ‘High Quality’ accreditation from the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) earlier this week.

NCAC is a not-for-profit, Australian Government-funded organisation that is responsible for administering Child Care Quality Assurance for long day care centres.

Its Quality Improvement and Accreditation System (QIAS) is based on seven Quality Areas and 33 Principles that summarise and define long day care – and our Shell Cove centre achieved the high-quality ranking against all seven indicators.

Mount Hutton MAELS Centre Director Maree Terry and her staff have been commended for their Continuing Improvement Plan intentions to expand the centre’s multicultural resources, build on partnerships with families, promote children’s safety, health and nutrition, as well as provide professional development for educators.

Beresfield MAELS Centre Director Antoinette Yager and her staff were congratulated on their efforts towards continual improvement.

Particular mention was on the service’s achievements in Quality Areas 1 and 2, where relationships with children and families are valued and respected, including positive emotions that staff model to children as well as the various communication formats used with families.

All our 29 MAELS centres are undergoing the NCAC accreditation process, which is expected to be completed by March.

To be accredited, a centre must achieve a rating of “satisfactory” or higher on all seven Quality Areas, including staff relationships with children and peers; partnerships with families; programming and evaluation; children's experiences and learning; protective care and safety, health, nutrition and wellbeing, and managing to support quality.