Kingston Council's Parkdale, Carrum and Edithvale Family and Children's Centres have been recognised as among the best in Australia.
The centres have been rated as exceeding the National Quality Standards (NQS) following a rigorous assessment.
The NQS set a national benchmark for early childhood education and care, and outside school hours care services. It includes seven quality areas that are important outcomes for children - educational program and practice, children's health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and governance and leadership.
Excitingly, the long day care and kindergarten services of all of the three centres were assessed to be exceeding the standards in all of the seven areas.
The assessors were glowing in their praise of Kingston's early childhood professionals, describing their relationships with the children as "warm, caring, nurturing, responsive and respectful".
The centres' environmental sustainability focus, including worm farms, veggie gardens and recycling programs; the nutritious and delicious meals provided; and Indigenous perspectives being embedded across all programs and services also came in for special mention.
Mayor Steve Staikos said the outstanding result is a testament to our dedicated and passionate early educators, and Kingston Council's commitment to providing these services in-house.
"Our Kingston families have always known their children are learning from and being cared for by the best and that trust has now been officially recognised," Cr Staikos said.
"The exceeding rating reflects the hard work and planning of our caring staff, who always strive to provide the best early-years education possible in a safe, nurturing and engaging environment – congratulations to all involved."
The National Quality Framework (NQF) for early childhood education and care was introduced to produce better educational and development outcomes for children, with the implementation of the NQF guided by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
To find out more information about the NQF and service ratings, visit the ACECQA website or ACECQA's family focused website, Starting Blocks.
