NQS Quality Area 5: Relationships with children

NQS Quality Area 5: Relationships with children (QA5) is one of the 7 Quality Areas under the National Quality Standard.

Quality Area 5 aims to promote relationships that are responsive, respectful, and that promote children's sense of security and belonging. These kinds of relationships give children the freedom to explore the environment, and engage in play and learning.

From birth, children start to explore and learn the complex processes of socialising appropriately, and managing feelings, behaviours and responsibilities. Educators should take a positive, strengths-based approach to guiding children's behaviour so that they can regulate and manage their behaviour and emotions, and develop the skills needed to interact and negotiate positively, respectfully and effectively with others. By taking this approach, educators can promote a sense of connection with others, which all children need to develop their identity, and social and emotional competence.

There are 2 Standards in Quality Area 5: Relationships between educators and children (5.1) and Relationships between children (5.2).

These Standards are crucial to delivering quality outcomes for children because they enable children to:

• develop their confidence, and a strong and positive sense of identity

• develop effective communication skills and the ability to express themselves effectively

• participate in collaborative learning, and develop and build meaningful relationships and friendships

• regulate and manage their behaviour and emotions, and learn to negotiate complex social situations and relationships

Each standard is a high-level outcome statement, and is accompanied by elements, which describe outcomes that contribute to the standard.

NQS Quality Area 5: Standard 5.1 - Relationships between educators and children

Standard 5.1	Relationships between educators and children	Respectful and equitable relationships are maintained with each child.
Element 5.1.1	Positive educator to child interactions	Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident and included.
Element 5.1.2	Dignity and rights of the child	The dignity and rights of every child are maintained.

Documentation that may be sighted by assessors relating to Standard 5.1

Element 5.1.1:

• Examples of information gathered from:

  » families to support their child during the settling-in process

  » other professionals or support agencies that work with children, including children who require additional support and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

• The service's approach to equity and inclusion, documented in the statement of philosophy

• Plans for the inclusion of children who require additional support

• Evidence that educators and co-ordinators draw on the diverse knowledge, experiences and views of their colleagues when reviewing their teaching strategies and experiences planned for children, to ensure that all children have opportunities to achieve learning outcomes

• Evidence of planned and spontaneous experiences and routines where educators support the engagement of individual children and groups of children in experiences of their own choosing

• Documentation of children’s learning that shows evidence that educators’ interactions with children are used to support children’s developing ideas, skills and relationships

Element 5.1.2

• Documentation that shows that diverse views, including family backgrounds and values, are considered in planning and programming for each child

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child displayed

• Documented reflections on children’s experiences at the service including whether all children's rights are being upheld

NQS Quality Area 5: Standard 5.2 - Relationships between children

Standard 5.2	Relationships between children	Each child is supported to build and maintain sensitive and responsive relationships
Element 5.2.1	Collaborative learning	Children are supported to collaborate, learn from and help each other.
Element 5.2.2	Self-regulation	Each child is supported to regulate their own behaviour, respond appropriately to the behaviour of others and communicate effectively to resolve conflicts.

Documentation that may be sighted by assessors relating to Standard 5.2

Element 5.1.1:

• The service's policy on interactions with children and behaviour guidance

• Evidence that:

  » The program and routines include regular opportunities for children to engage in social play and collaborative experiences

  » Educators identify children’s shared interests and use this information to plan further collaborative learning opportunities

  » The program includes collaborative and challenging learning experiences that are responsive to children’s interests (OSHC)

• Guidelines about the role of educators’ families in the provision of family day care (FDC)

• Documented plans for children to spend time in group experiences with children of similar ages and other educators (FDC)

Element 5.2.1:

• The service's policies and procedures on interactions with children and behaviour guidance

• Evidence of:

  » Planned and spontaneous experiences that support children to develop and practise the skills required to participate in group discussions and negotiate shared decision-making with their peers

  » Collaboration with schools, other professionals or support agencies that work with children who have diagnosed behavioural or social difficulties

• Examples of information gathered from families about their children’s social skills and relationship preferences

• Documented communication with families that shows their views, ideas and preferences have been considered when planning appropriate strategies to support their child’s positive inclusion in the program

• The service's policy on interactions with children that outlines a clear process for guiding children's behaviour, based on current recognised approaches and with a focus on children's rights

• Individual behaviour guidance plans for children, including evidence of consultation with their families and if appropriate, input and suggestions from other professionals and support agencies.

What to do to Meet of Exceed NQS Quality Area 5

Now you know the basics of what documentation needs to be sighted by authorised officers, it's important to ensure that your documentation is:

• Efficient: you don't want to spend too much time documenting that you spend less time promoting the health and safety of the children in your care.

• Easy to communicate: when an assessor comes in, you want these things to be sighted quickly and easily. This will help the assessor to understand that you have everything you need to Meet/Exceed QA5.

But efficiency and communication can be hard. That's why we've developed OWNA.

See how OWNA can help you improve your NQS rating by making documentation efficient and communication easier.