Kids Cottage Early Childhood Services is an approved long day child care and education provider by the Australian Government under the Family Assistance Law. To families, this means Kids Cottage is approved to receive and pass on Child Care Subsidy (CCS) to eligible families to reduce the cost of child care.
Becoming an Approved Service Provider (ASP) meets the Education and Care Services National Law< and Education and Care Services National Regulations under the National Quality Framework (NQF). Further, under the NQF is a National Quality Standard (NQS) for Approved Service Providers. The NQS is an integral part of the Regulations to ensure ASP meets the Standard to provide children with safe and appropriate care and education. Kids Cottage continues to rate Exceeding against the Standard in all Quality Areas, including the Early Years Learning Framework link.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) sets out the minimum educator qualification requirements for working with children birth to preschool age. Being an approved long day child care and education provider, we must meet the following educator qualification requirements:
• At least 50% of educators must be diploma level;
• All other educators must be certificate III level qualified; and
• Access to an Early Childhood teacher (ECT)
Kids Cottage exceeds the minimum educator qualification requirements.
The Education and Care Services National Regulations outline the mandatory requirements for services concerning first aid qualifications, anaphylaxis management training and emergency asthma management training.
Services must have staff with current approved qualifications on duty at all times and be immediately available in an emergency. One staff member may hold one or more of the qualifications.
The educational leader in children’s education and care services has an influential role in inspiring, motivating, affirming, and challenging or extending educators’ practice and pedagogy. The role is a collaborative endeavour involving inquiry and reflection, significantly impacting educators’ influential work with children and families. Since the role of the Educational Leader commenced in 2012, Con Kakakios has been guiding the co-educational leaders and educators in maximising learning, development and wellbeing outcomes for children.
For Teachers and Educators (Diploma Qualified) responsible for the developmental program of children by law, it’s a requirement for educators and educational leaders to receive a minimum 2 hours programming time as stated in the Teachers and Children’s Services Award and four hours for the Educational Leader. They are not counted in the educator to child ratios.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) sets out the minimum qualification and educator to child ratio requirements for children’s education and care services.
Educators must be working directly with children to be counted in the educator to child ratios. Working directly with children means being physically present with the children and directly involved in providing education and care to those children.
According to the centre-based ratio requirements, ratios are calculated across the whole service (not by individual rooms). This gives providers the flexibility to respond to ensure educators are allocated appropriately based on the age and needs of children in the service. In a mixed age group of children, maintaining the ratio for each age range does not mean the educator to child ratio for the youngest age range must be applied to all children in an older age range. An educator caring for one age range of children can also be counted against another age range of children, as long as the ratio for each age range is maintained and adequate supervision is maintained at all times. Educators must be working directly with children to be counted in the educator to child ratios.
Birth to 24 months – 1:4
Over 24 months and less than 36 months – 1:5
36 months up to and including preschool-age – 1:10
Kids Cottage exceeds the minimum educator to child ratio.
The service ensures there are enough educators according to the Education and Care Services National Regulations educator to child ratio present at all times while children are indoors or outside in designated play areas. Educators are positioned in all areas to supervise children if they are playing in those areas. An educator caring for one age range of children can also be counted against another age range of children, as long as the ratio for each age range is maintained and adequate supervision is maintained at all times. Educators must be working directly with children to be counted in the educator to child ratios.
The National Law requires that approved providers must not operate a service unless there is at least one nominated supervisor for that service (section 161).
The approved providers have nominated and determined Mary Kakakios to continue to be the suitable nominated supervisor with consent. The nominated supervisor is Diploma qualified, including current child protection training with over 25 years of experience in education and care services as an educator, nominated supervisor and managing director.
As the person responsible for the day-to-day management of an approved service, the nominated supervisors have a range of responsibilities under the National Law and National Regulations.
Approved providers must ensure that a responsible person is present at a centre-based service at all times that the service is educating and caring for children.
A responsible person is:
• the approved provider or a person with management or control
• a nominated supervisor
• a person in day-to-day charge of the service.
Appointing a person in day-to-day charge enables the approved provider to have a responsible person at the centre-based service when educating and caring for children. For example, they can be a point of contact for parents and staff in the absence of the nominated supervisor. For your assurance, they must meet minimum requirements to be appointed to the role and Kids Cottage is rated Exceeding against the National Quality Standard.
Con and Mary are the owners and managers of Kids Cottage Early Childhood Services. We have an open-door policy, and we would like families to feel that the service is an extension of home or “a home away from home”. Owner/Managers, families, educators, children and early childhood professionals form a community with shared goals and clear direction for the service’s continuous improvement.
The diversity of the cultures in our community has enriched the experiences planned in partnership with our families. Further, based on a trusting relationship formed through a process of reciprocal collaboration. That is, working together with each other, including families and professionals, ensures the best outcomes for children and helps to provide families with better, more streamlined access to the available services in our community.
In line with the NQF, to provide the best possible level of early childhood education and care management, focus on seven interrelated areas that contribute to excellence in and quality of early childhood education and care. The areas identified by the research are:
• Educational program and practice
• Children’s health and safety
• Physical environment
• Staffing arrangements
• Relationships with children
• Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
• Governance and leadership
Our policies and procedures are around these seven areas, under each of these areas about what our service can do to provide the highest quality early childhood education and care for a child. For over 20 years, we have learned that effective leadership and governance of the service contributes to quality environments for children’s learning and development and have committed to continue providing ECEC service rated Exceeding against the NQS in all quality areas.
Kids Cottage is an approved long-day care with a preschool program service type located in NSW. Under the National Quality Framework (NQF), the NSW Department of Education monitors, regulates, assesses, and rates all approved services in NSW to ensure children’s safety.
The NSW Department of Education plays a pivotal role in the assessment and rating of all early childhood education and care services in NSW, including Kids Cottage. Their rigorous evaluation process ensures the highest standards of care and education for our children.
Services, including Kids Cottage, are assessed against the seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard by an authorised officer from the NSW Department of Education.
The assessment and rating process is more than just a formality. It’s a way for us to demonstrate how we support, educate, and care for our children. It also helps us identify our strengths and areas for continual improvement, ensuring we provide the best possible care and education.
Once assessed, services are given an overall quality rating displayed on a certificate at the service. The certificate uses a star graphic that provides families with important information about the overall rating of a service and a rating against each quality area.
You can view our Exceeding against the NQS rating in all areas by clicking the link to ACECQA below for each service.
Kids Cottage Early Childhood Services-Hunters Hill
You can also view a service’s quality rating using the Service NSW early childhood education and care service finder.
For more information on quality ratings, visit understanding quality.
The NSW Department of Education undertakes monitoring and compliance activities to ensure the health and safety of children by checking that services are complying with the National Law and Regulations.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) introduced a new quality standard in 2012 to improve education and care across the following service types: long day care, family day care, preschool/kindergarten, and outside school hours care services.
The NQF includes:
Kids Cottage is approved long day care with a preschool program service type located in NSW. So the regulatory framework is administered by the NSW Department of Education under the National Quality Framework (NQF).
The significant benefits for parents and children include:
Find out more about the importance of quality in early childhood education and care services.
Starting Blocks provides parents with information about early childhood education and care to help you make the best choice for your child and family.
Kids Cottage is an education and care service and provider that has obtained approval from the department. The regulatory authority for NSW, The Department of Education, is responsible for monitoring and assessing anyone who owns and or operates early childhood education and care services in NSW.
What parents need to know is that Kids Cottage is assessed, monitored and approved by the department to:
• ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children attending education and care services
• ensure all approved providers and services understand their responsibilities under the relevant legislation and
• promote continuous improvement in the provision of quality education and care services.
• ensure we meet the National Quality Standard; However, Kids Cottage is rated as Exceeding the NQS.
2025 enrolments are open.
Given the ever-increasing demand for places at our service we recommend that parents place their child on our waiting list as soon as possible. This entails the completion of an online application form at no cost.
