Key information
- In Tasmania a significant number of children aged birth to 12 years attend Education and Care services.
- Education and Care services comprise:
- Long Day Care
- Outside School Hours Care, including Before and After School Care and Vacation Care
- Family Day Care
- Occasional Care
- The Strong Partnerships Framework (PDF, 1.5MB) shows how we work together.
A Framework for strong partnerships
Children and families are at the heart of our work. The Strong Partnerships Framework (PDF, 1.5MB) shows how the Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) and the Education and Care (E&C) community work together. The Framework provides tools and resources, across seven domains. It supports both services, whether co-located or not, to work in stronger partnerships.
Through our partnership we contribute to the shared vision for Tasmanian children. Tasmania’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy It takes a Tasmanian Village 2021 (PDF, 11MB)
Education and Care services
Education and Care services comprise:
- Long Day Care (LDC)
- Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), including Before and After School Care and Vacation Care
- Family Day Care (FDC)
- Occasional Care services.
The Australian E&C sector has experienced a period of significant growth and development in the last decade. In 2009 (and updated in 2022) Being, Becoming and Belonging: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) (PDF, 24.9MB) was introduced for all early childhood settings.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) | acecqa, introduced in 2012, is designed to ensure a uniform and integrated approach to the regulation and quality assessment of education and care services across Australia. A national body, Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), guides and monitors the implementation of the NQF to promote consistency across all states and territories. In Tasmania, the NQF is administered and monitored by the Department for Education, Children and Young People (DoE) Education and Care Unit (ECU).
Co-location arrangements
What is Co-location?
Co-location is where Education and Care (E&C) services run on Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) sites. Sites such as schools or Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs).
Two examples of co-location are:
- A Long Day Care (LDC) centre in a building leased on a school site.
- Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) using shared facilities, like a school hall.
Co-location is key to many partnerships between DECYP and E&C services in Tasmania. The Provisional Co-location Policy (PDF, 5.9MB), and Strong Partnerships Framework (PDF, 1458KB) support and guide these relationships.
Required meetings between DECYP and the E&C provider
The provisional Co-location Policy (PDF, 5.9MB), requires DECYP to meet with co-located E&C services. These meetings must be between decision makers from both sectors. DECYP Principals or School Business Managers and E&C Directors/Managers must attend. These meetings are opportunities to organise shared activities and discuss challenges. They also assist in the planning of transitions for children between the E&C and DECYP settings.
The required meeting cycle is:
- Meeting three times per year with Outside School Hours Care, Family Day Care, Occasional Care
- Meeting two times per year with Long Day Care services.
The Policy outlines meeting requirements.
Communication
Communication is a critical tool for achieving strong partnerships. In this context, it involves:
- keeping the best interests of children at the centre
- being open and respectful
- listening to understand differing perspectives
- communicating messages clearly and concisely
- using nonverbal visual cues to convey respect
- selecting the right form of communication
It is an expectation under the provisional Co-location Policy (PDF, 5.9MB) that co-located services communicate frequently, openly and respectfully.
Legislation and guiding documents
Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) schools and services, and Education and Care (E&C) services are regulated and guided by a range of different legislation, policies and processes. Sometimes they are the same; sometimes they differ. It is important to understand the context of each other’s operating environment to ensure we can work together effectively to improve the education and wellbeing of our children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (PDF, 1189KB), has important overarching information for DECYP school and service and E&C service staff.
Policy to guide co-location of Education and Care and Department for Education, Children and Young People services
Working in Strong Partnerships is an active and ongoing process. DECYP schools and services, and E&C services need to build strong and collaborative relationships to achieve quality outcomes for children. The provisional Policy to guide co-location of Education and Care and Department for Education, Children and Young People services (PDF, 5.9MB) frames this by providing clear and consistent guidance for co-located DECYP schools and services, and E&C services.