Is the amount of documentation you are undertaking causing you stress? Are you writing more and more just in case you don’t have enough evidence for assessment and rating?
Are you duplicating information? Is all of your documentation valuable or are you repeating things because you feel obliged to meet some self-imposed or other-imposed quota?
Get the facts from the ACECQA Educational Program Documentation information sheets, which were developed in collaboration with the IEU.
The IEU has worked with ACECQA to clarify what is – and is not – required for compliance with the National Quality Standards and National Law documentation of the educational program.
The National Quality Framework was implemented in 2012, and the quantity and type of documentation demanded of teachers has intensified exponentially over time, increasing teacher/director workloads unnecessarily.
We encourage you to pull out or print these information sheets and use them to review the amount of documentation in your service. Keep a copy handy for your next assessment and rating visit and please let the union know if the authorised officer appears to be familiar with the information sheet.
Are they operating within the advice contained in the information sheet during your visit and do they have adequate training and experience in early childhood pedagogy to recognise how the learning cycle (including critical reflection) is demonstrated through your program/plans without the need for lengthy explanatory texts?
How did we get here?
1. Members identified unsustainable workloads due to duplicative and excessive documentation to justify planned activities and resources through lengthy explanatory documents recording critical reflection, which would be obvious to any trained early childhood teacher.
2. The IEU investigated the origins and authority for requirements related to documentation of the educational program and identified the National Quality Framework overseen by ACECQA.
3. The federal office of the union sought to collaborate with ACECQA to write information sheets to clarify what is and is not required for compliance with the National Quality Framework (NQF).