“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Continuity of staff.
Element 4.1.2: Every effort is made for children to experience continuity of educators at the service.
How intentionally does your service organise staffing arrangements across each day and week to ensure children experience consistent relationships with familiar educators and predictable routines?
How effectively does your service foster a positive, respectful and supportive workplace culture that encourages educators to remain, grow professionally and contribute to long-term continuity for children and families?
Continuity of staff is supported through thoughtful staffing arrangements, intentional leadership and a workplace culture where educators feel valued, respected and supported. When children regularly interact with familiar educators who understand their interests, strengths, routines and individual needs, they are more likely to develop secure relationships, experience a strong sense of belonging and engage confidently in learning. Likewise, services that invest in educator wellbeing, collaboration and professional growth are better positioned to attract and retain committed educators, creating greater stability for children, families and the wider team.
ACECQA highlights that continuity should be considered both on a day-to-day basis and over time. This means services should focus not only on reducing educator turnover, but also on how staffing arrangements throughout each day and week support consistent relationships and quality learning experiences.
Strategies to promote continuity across the day and week:
Children benefit from experiencing consistent, predictable relationships with familiar educators. Thoughtfully organised staffing arrangements support continuity throughout the day and week, enabling educators to develop a deep understanding of each child’s strengths, interests, routines and individual needs while fostering children’s sense of belonging, wellbeing and engagement in learning. Effective, quality practices help create predictable, secure environments where children can confidently engage in play and learning while strengthening partnerships with families. These may include:
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- Organising staffing arrangements to maximise opportunities for children to experience consistent relationships with familiar educators
- Considering continuity when developing educator rosters and allocating educators to learning environments
- Planning staffing arrangements that support continuity during arrivals, departures, routines and transitions
- Maintaining and using a pool of familiar relief educators wherever possible to minimise disruption to children’s learning, wellbeing, sense of belonging and security
- Implementing and maintaining effective communication and handover processes to ensure continuity of children’s learning, wellbeing and care
- Supporting educators to build deep knowledge of each child’s strengths, interests, routines and family priorities
- Consistently collaborating with families to ensure continuity between home and the service
- Keeping families informed of staffing arrangements and support continuity of relationships by proactively communicating planned staffing changes and ensuring new and relief educators are warmly introduced to children and families
- Regularly reviewing staffing arrangements through critical reflection to identify opportunities to strengthen continuity.
Fostering staff retention:
While stable rosters contribute to continuity, long-term continuity relies on educators choosing to remain with the service. ACECQA recognises that services that proactively support continuity of staff are better placed to attract and retain quality educators.
A respectful, collaborative workplace culture is intentionally cultivated through effective leadership practices that value every educator’s contribution, foster professional collaboration and create a culture of mutual respect, trust and shared responsibility.
Rather than a reactive approach to workforce challenges, services can take a proactive approach by developing a Workforce Plan. The Queensland Department of Education describes workforce planning as a continuous process of identifying current workforce strengths, future capability needs, potential workforce gaps and the strategies required to attract, develop and retain skilled educators. A service-specific Workforce Plan can help management and leaders anticipate staffing changes, strengthen succession planning, identify professional learning priorities and implement targeted retention strategies. Importantly, involving educators in developing the plan recognises and invests in their strengths, aspirations and professional growth, fostering a greater sense of value, engagement and long-term commitment to the service.
Effective quality practices may include:
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- Developing and regularly reviewing a Workforce Plan that identifies current workforce strengths, anticipated staffing needs, succession planning, professional learning priorities and strategies to attract, develop and retain skilled educators
- Providing educators with ongoing access to evidence-based wellbeing information, practical wellbeing tools and professional support, while fostering a workplace culture where open conversations about wellbeing, workload and seeking support are encouraged and normalised
- Promoting educator wellbeing through manageable workloads, supportive leadership, flexible practices, where appropriate and open communication
- Embedding a culture of mutual respect where all educators feel safe and supported to contribute ideas, ask questions and engage in professional dialogue
- Recognising and celebrating educators’ contributions, achievements, milestones and years of service to demonstrate that they are valued members of the service, while fostering a strong sense of belonging, professional pride and commitment
- Providing meaningful induction, mentoring and buddy systems for new educators to support confidence, connection and successful integration into the team
- Holding regular one-on-one conversations focused on professional goals, wellbeing and career aspirations rather than only performance management/development and periodic staff appraisals
- Creating opportunities for educators to lead projects, share expertise and contribute to the planning of service events and improvement initiatives
- Using educator strengths, interests and experience when allocating responsibilities, mentoring roles and learning environments
- Supporting ongoing professional learning that aligns with both service priorities and individual professional development plans
- Encouraging open, collaborative critical reflection where educators respectfully challenge, support and learn from one another
- Seeking educator feedback through surveys, team discussions and exit interviews, then using this information to inform continuous improvement.
When educators feel respected, listened to and professionally supported, they are more likely to develop a strong sense of commitment to the service. This stability enables children and families to experience the lasting relationships that underpin quality education and care while strengthening the service’s culture of continuous improvement.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF- Standard 4.1: Staffing arrangements, Element 4.1.2: Continuity of staff
ACECQA Resources– Quality Area 4 – Staffing Arrangements, Belonging, Being & Becoming – Continuity of learning and transitions, Quality Area 4 Information sheets, The Educational Leader Resource
The Sector- Retention through recognition: building cultures where educators choose to stay
QLD Department of Education- Guide to Workforce Planning for Early Childhood Education and Care services
Be You- Educator wellbeing
ECA: The Spoke- Understanding and supporting educator wellbeing, Early educators around the world feel burnt out and devalued. Here’s how we can help
Within System7 go to Quality Area 4/ Module 3 Modules to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with continuity of staff. These include Staff Exit Survey and Interview Guide and Questionnaire, Employment Application Form, Recruitment Policy, Recruitment Reference Checks, Professional Development Policy, Staff “Wellness Program” Policy, Educator Orientation Checklist, Educator Orientation Survey, Professional Development Guide and Procedure, Professional Development Audit and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
The Desktop – The Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 4/ 4.1.2- Continuity of staff
National Regulations – Part 4.4 Staffing arrangements, 168 – Education and care service must have policies and procedures
System7 Module – QA 4/ Module 3
QIPDesk – Element 4.1.2
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