Category Archives: Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Earning Exceeding Rating Through Culturally Safe, Inclusive Approaches 

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Across Australia, 26 January carries many meanings. For some it is Australia Day. For First Nations peoples, it is also known as Survival Day and Invasion Day—a reminder of loss, resilience, strength, culture and Country.

In early childhood education and care (ECEC), our role is not to choose one meaning, but to honour the diverse identities of children, families, staff, and communities. This means acknowledging truth, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and ensuring that children grow with respect, empathy, and cultural safety.

On 27 January, the Yabun Festival—Australia’s largest one-day celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures—provides a joyful, strengths-based opportunity to highlight music, dance, history, art, storytelling, and community pride. Yabun reminds us that First Nations cultures are not only ancient, but thriving and growing.

When approached with reflection, sensitivity, and genuine partnership, these dates help services strengthen relationships, build cultural competence, and embed reconciliation meaningfully and respectfully.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Creating a Sense of Belonging: Welcoming New Children to Childcare

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Welcoming a new child into an early childhood education and care service is a moment of deep responsibility and privilege. Behind every enrolment is a child taking a brave step into the unknown, and a family placing enormous trust in the hands of educators they may only just be getting to know. Those first days and weeks matter — they shape how safe a child feels, how confident they become, and whether they believe this new place truly belongs to them.

For families, this transition is often layered with pride, hope, emotion, and uncertainty. For children, it is felt through the smallest moments — a warm greeting at the door, a familiar routine, a calm voice that says, “You are safe here.” When educators respond with empathy, intention, and consistency, they do far more than ease separation anxiety. They build secure attachments, nurture emotional wellbeing, and establish respectful partnerships that last long beyond the settling-in period.

When welcoming practices are thoughtfully planned and genuinely embedded into everyday routines and service culture, they become a powerful marker of quality. They reflect who we are, what we value, and how deeply we honour children and families. These practices not only support smooth transitions — they set the foundation for high-quality pedagogy and Exceeding-level practice across the National Quality Standard.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

How Childcare Gets Children Ready for Transition to Big School

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Starting “big school” is one of the most profound transitions in a child’s early life — a moment filled with excitement, uncertainty, and enormous growth. It is also one of the most meaningful responsibilities we hold as early childhood professionals. Long before a child walks through a school gate for the first time, their sense of confidence, belonging, and readiness has been shaped by the relationships, routines, and experiences they have known in early learning.

In Western Australia, true school readiness is not about worksheets, early academics, or asking children to grow up too fast. It is about nurturing secure, capable, and curious learners who feel emotionally safe, confident in themselves, and ready to engage with the world around them. When children feel supported and understood, they are far more prepared to embrace change and new challenges.

Early learning services play a critical role in this transition — whether children attend Kindergarten at a school or remain in long day care — by intentionally embedding foundational skills through play, strong relationships, and everyday routines. These experiences, built steadily over time, create the foundations for lifelong learning.

This article explains how schooling works in Western Australia, what Kindergarten and Pre-Primary actually mean for families, and how services can intentionally program for school readiness while demonstrating genuine, Exceeding-level practice under the National Quality Standard.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

How Childcare Supports Children to Transition to the Next Room 

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Transitions within early childhood education are not small moments — they are defining ones. For a young child, moving to a new room represents growth, change, and a shift in relationships that can feel both exciting and uncertain. How these moments are experienced shapes a child’s sense of belonging, confidence, and trust in learning environments.

For young children, changing rooms means new educators, new peers, new expectations, and new routines. It is exciting — and it can also feel uncertain. How educators hold this transition can shape a child’s confidence, sense of belonging, and trust in learning spaces for years to come.

High-quality early learning services approach room transitions with intention, respect, and heart — recognising that every transition is both a learning opportunity and an emotional experience.

Room transitions and “graduations” are not simply operational decisions — they are deeply emotional and developmental experiences for young children. When transition practices are intentionally embedded within the educational program, children are more likely to feel secure, valued, and supported as they move into the next stage of their learning journey. Thoughtfully planned transitions honour children’s relationships, celebrate growth, and strengthen partnerships with families, reflecting high-quality, child-centred practice in early childhood education and care.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Saying Goodbye to Children Who Have Grown Up With Us as Part of Our Childcare Family

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Saying goodbye to children who have been part of a service for many years is one of the most meaningful — and emotional — moments in early childhood education and care. These are the children who took their first steps in familiar rooms, formed their earliest friendships in well-loved playgrounds, and built their sense of identity within a trusted learning community. They may leave taller, more confident, and ready for the next stage, but the connections formed remain deeply significant.

For educators, these transitions carry pride, gratitude, and a quiet sense of loss. Children leave not because the relationship ends, but because it has done its work well. They move forward with the security, resilience, and confidence nurtured through years of consistent care, responsive teaching, and meaningful relationships.

At its heart, a respectful goodbye is as important as a thoughtful welcome. How services support children and families during long-term transitions reflects the quality of relationships, emotional wellbeing practices, and service culture. When farewells are intentional and child-centred, they honour the shared journey, strengthen partnerships with families, and reinforce each child’s enduring sense of belonging.

This BEST article explores meaningful programming approaches and Quality Improvement Plan practices that support children, families, and educators through long-term goodbyes with care, dignity, and purpose — ensuring every farewell is a celebration of growth, connection, and readiness for what comes next.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Welcoming Children Back to Childcare After the Christmas Break

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

The return to childcare after the Christmas and New Year break can be a tender, emotional, and sometimes unpredictable time—for children, families and educators. For many children, returning to childcare after the Christmas break can feel overwhelming. Routines have changed, family time has been intense or comforting, expectations feel unfamiliar again, and emotions can sit close to the surface. Some children return full of stories and excitement, while others return quietly, missing home, siblings, or the slower pace of the holidays.

At BEST Childcare Consulting, we believe January is not about rushing children back into structure, productivity, or “normal.” It is about reconnection.

This is a time to soften expectations, slow the pace, and prioritise what matters most — emotional safety, belonging, joy, and relationships. When children feel safe, seen, and regulated, learning naturally follows.

This article and accompanying QIP write-up reflect a conscious decision to treat January as a leisure-inspired, relationship-centred month, supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing while also protecting educator wellbeing during a high-emotion transition period.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Exceeding Outcomes for Every Child: Integrating the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention with Building Bridges for Inclusive Education for Hearing Impaired Children

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Creating genuinely inclusive early childhood environments requires more than good intentions — it requires evidence-informed practice, meaningful family partnerships, universal design, and a deep understanding of each child’s communication and developmental needs. The National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (NBPF-ECI) gives educators the clarity, consistency and guidance needed to support children with developmental concerns, delays or disabilities within their everyday settings. When paired with practical tools such as Building Bridges, services are empowered to deliver high-quality, culturally safe, strengths-based, bilingual and accessible support for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This article shows you exactly how to bring the Framework to life in childcare — demonstrating what inclusive practice looks like, how it benefits all children, and how these actions lead directly to Exceeding-level outcomes across all seven Quality Areas.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Embedding Respect, Fairness and Dignity in Early Childhood Education to Earn an Exceeding Rating 

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Every smile, every kind word, every shared toy — these are small but powerful expressions of human rights in action. On Human Rights Day 2025, we celebrate the idea that dignity, fairness, and equality are not lofty ideals; they are everyday essentials. They exist in the way we listen to children, support their safety, and include every family in our care community.

For children under five, human rights are lived through the comfort of belonging, the joy of being heard, and the security of being cared for. As educators, we bring these rights to life through play, conversation, and compassion. This year’s theme — “Our Everyday Essentials” — reminds us that human rights are positive, essential, and attainable. They are the building blocks of safety, happiness, and connection.

When early childhood educators teach children about kindness, fairness, and inclusion, we are not just nurturing values — we are shaping a culture of respect that lasts a lifetime.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Earning Exceeding Through Inclusion: Connecting, Collaborating & Celebrating Every Child

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

In our early childhood services, every child deserves to feel seen, heard and valued — not just for one week, but every day. Social Inclusion Week invites us to pause and reflect: How inclusive are we really? It encourages us to strengthen our communities, bridge differences and honour the richness of every child’s story.

This year’s theme — “Connect, Collaborate & Celebrate!” — is a powerful call to action for educators, families and children alike. It’s not just about recognising inclusion; it’s about actively building it, working together, and celebrating what makes each person unique. 

In parallel, the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (NBPF-ECI) provides a robust, evidence-informed guide that services can draw on to enhance inclusive practice, particularly for children with developmental concerns, delays or disability — helping ensure every child truly belongs.  

By embedding both the ethos of Social Inclusion Week and the framework’s guidance, educators can ensure children’s voices, rights and participation are central — and thereby support Exceeding-level practice across the entire service.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Achieving Exceeding by Embracing Children’s Rights

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Every smile, question, and idea a child shares is a glimpse into the future we are shaping together.
World Children’s Day, celebrated globally on 20 November, is more than a date — it is a promise. A promise to listen to children, to see the world through their eyes, and to ensure their voices help guide the decisions we make today.

This year’s theme — “Listen to the Future. Stand up for Children’s Rights.” — reminds us that children are not just the hope for tomorrow; they are citizens of today, with ideas worth hearing and rights worth protecting.

The day also honours the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which enshrines every child’s right to play, to learn, to be safe, and to be heard. For those of us in early childhood education and care, these principles are lived out every day — in the way we listen to children’s stories, respond to their emotions, and make space for their creativity and voice.

World Children’s Day 2025 invites educators, families, and communities to pause and reflect:

Are we truly listening? Are we creating environments where every child feels valued, empowered, and understood?

When we say “Listen to the Future,” we are recognising that children’s voices are not background noise — they are the melody that guides us toward a more compassionate, equitable world.

Learn more about the global campaign and UNICEF’s call to action here: UNICEF – World Children’s Day 2025

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