As many services wait to be assessed under the NQF we thought it might be informative and reassuring to hear from a service which has already been assessed.

Dewdrops Early Learning (Brunswick West VIC) has just been assessed as Meeting National Quality Standards and Director of the service Alisha Dudderidge spoke to CareforKids.com.au exclusively about her experience.

My name is Alisha. I have been employed as a Director with Dewdrops Early Learning for around four years now and have four years previous experience as room leader with various age groups. I hold a Bachelor of Teaching in Early Childhood as well as a Diploma in Community Services.

I work at Dewdrops Early Learning – Brunswick West. We have a maximum capacity of 45 children and we have 13 full time staff.

How much notice were you given before the assessment?
We received our initial letter in early September 2012 and we were assessed in late November.

How many assessors came to your service?
One

How long were they with you?
On the first day the assessor arrived at 8.00am and left around 4.30pm. The second day she arrived at 7.15am (our opening time) and left around 12.30pm.

What were your initial thoughts on receiving notification you were to be assessed?
Initially I was concerned that we had not finalised our Quality Improvement Plan but then accepted the fact that this is a document in progress. Our team had worked hard over the last six months to meet the standards so I was confident we would do our best to reflect this during the assessment and rating visit.

How did you prepare for your assessment?
We prepared for our assessment by having regular team meetings to discuss areas where educators felt they needed further clarification with policy or practice issues. We also asked for parent feedback on our Quality Improvement Plan, policies and procedures, and the service in general as we found this challenging throughout the year. We provided our families with information on the assessment process and of course the dates to expect a new face around the service.

How did your staff feel about the process?
Many of our educators had not been through an assessment visit before, so the ones who had, helped by coaching them on possible questions and scenarios that may occur during the visit.

Was there anything you were worried about?
Surprisingly no! If anything, I was worried about arriving late! Some of our team were concerned about how the children might react to having a strange face in the room, but when I reminded them that assessors come from the field they relaxed knowing that they would be able to tackle whatever happened on the day.

What were the assessors like?
Our assessor was professional; she was very calm and didn’t seem to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Upon arrival I spoke to her about some of our team feeling a little nervous about her presence, and she took this into account when she was observing in the children’s rooms. A few of the educators told me later that she had reassured them in the rooms when they were showing signs of nervousness.

Did they give you any feedback during the assessment?
The assessor remained quite neutral throughout the visit and did not really provide any feedback about our progress through the standards. At the beginning of the visit, she reminded us that if she observed any non-compliance areas she would bring it to our attention in order for us to reconcile them. This was reassuring as some of our educators were worried about making mistakes from being nervous.

Were you given the opportunity to ask questions?
The assessor was happy to answer questions about what happened once she had finished her report, but was busily involved with documenting her findings throughout the day.

How did the assessment actually work? What happened when?
We were contacted the week before (after chasing them up anxiously first!) to let us know what days and times they would be visiting. Our assessor also gave me a quick rundown of how the visit would go, and what she would require from me as the Director of the service. On the first day she spent a few hours with me and the owner going through the standards in QA7, as well as some other standards she thought she might not see evidence of while observing on the floor. She then spent the rest of her time in the rooms. On the second day, she spent some time with the Educational Leader. She asked her about our planning processes, what her role was as an educational leader and how she supported the other educators in the service. Before leaving on the second day she spent time with me and the owner asking for additional evidence where she believed she might require more for her report, for example, about environmental sustainability practices in the service. She then asked me what I believed the strengths of our educators were and followed up by giving examples of strengths that she had seen also.

How soon after your assessment did you receive your rating?
We received a draft report in late December 2012 and a final report mid-January 2013.

What tips would you offer other services which are due to be assessed soon?
Be yourselves! If you are following the EYLF or VEYLF and have a sound understanding of your policies and procedures it will show in your everyday practices and everything will be OK!