Study links quality standards to better learning outcomes

Children who attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) services with an overall rating of ‘Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) or above’ are less likely to be developmentally vulnerable than those in services with lower ratings, a national study has found.

The study by Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) and researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland provides the first empirical evidence in Australia linking service quality ratings with child development. 

It confirms the value of investing in improving the quality of ECEC services for all Australian children, as well as in our national system for assessing and rating quality. 

Researchers were able to identify the three specific aspects of quality which are most central to children’s learning and development: 

• Quality Area 1 - Educational program and practice
• Quality Area 3 - Physical environment
• Quality Area 5 - Relationships with children.

Further, children in services Exceeding NQS also had lower rates of developmental vulnerability in some Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) domains than children in services Meeting the NQS – specifically, in the communication skills and general knowledge, emotional maturity, and social competence domains.

The study concludes “a better understanding of the conditions and resources that help services get to Exceeding could inform the efforts of all key stakeholders to ensure every child has the ECEC experiences that support them to thrive”.

Read the research summary here. Further information for services about exceeding themes can be found here, following our workshops in May 2024.