Families are supported

Welcome to our weekly quality improvement support series for 2026.

“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”

This week’s subject is Families are supported.

Element 6.1.3: Current information is available to families about the service and relevant community services and resources to support parenting and family wellbeing.

How does your service intentionally and consistently share meaningful information with families, involve them in decision-making, and collaborate with them to shape your self-assessment, Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), and assessment and rating journey?

The Guide to the NQF highlights that services should provide families with accessible information about how the service operates, including genuine opportunities to contribute to decision-making. This extends beyond day-to-day updates about children’s learning and wellbeing; it includes sharing how practice is reflected on, how goals are identified, and how continuous improvement is pursued. Element 6.1.3 emphasises supporting families to be actively involved and to contribute to decisions that shape the service. Central to this is ensuring families are not only informed, but meaningfully engaged in ongoing self-assessment, quality improvement planning, and the assessment and rating process.

Families are better positioned to contribute authentically, advocate for their child, and feel a genuine sense of belonging within the service when they understand:

- what self-assessment involves,
  - how the QIP is developed and implemented, and
  - - what the assessment and rating process entails.

Keeping families informed about the service’s self-assessment, quality improvement planning, and assessment and rating processes is essential to building trust and transparency, as families are more confident when they understand how decisions are made and how quality is monitored and improved. This openness also strengthens a shared responsibility for quality outcomes, positioning improvement as a collaborative effort rather than something done to or for families. By actively seeking and valuing family input, services recognise the unique insights families bring about their children, cultural contexts and community priorities (6.1.2), which in turn enriches practice. When families are well-informed, they are better equipped to engage meaningfully in the assessment and rating process, including contributing feedback and participating in discussions with Authorised Officers. Ultimately, this ongoing exchange of information and perspectives enhances continuous improvement under Element 7.2.1, ensuring the QIP remains responsive, relevant and reflective of the service community.

Services should implement a range of inclusive and engaging strategies to provide relevant and meaningful information and foster collaboration towards shared goals from the time of enrolment:

- Provide information during orientation and enrolment to build early understanding.
- Ensure your family/parent information booklet/package includes introductory information explaining the National Quality Framework including, the service’s approach to self-assessment, quality improvement planning and the assessment and rating process. Include links to further information i.e., Starting Blocks.
- Ensure your service’s current, overall rating certificate and rating levels for each quality area issued by the regulatory authority are prominently displayed at the service r173 and r173A.
- Display a family-friendly version of the QIP in the service foyer or digitally (r31(c)).
- Share and display visual summaries (infographics, posters) explaining the NQS and rating levels, fostering the inclusion of families with limited literacy.
- Create a “Quality Journey” board showing current goals, progress and achievements.
- Use surveys, polls and feedback forms linked to specific QIP goals and the service’s self-assessment.
- Seek feedback after key events, changes or initiatives in both formal and informal ways. Ensure these are documented and inform future planning.
- Include QIP discussions in family meetings or informal conversations. Document feedback to inform your QIP.
- When reviewing your QIP, distribute a family perspective “QIP Goals Form” (manually and digitally), where families can contribute to quality improvement goals relevant to each quality area. Including examples of goals for each quality area will assist families and prompt deeper reflection.
- Provide translated information for families where English is not their first language.
- Ensure information exchange methods are reflective of families identified preferred methods of communication.
- Share short videos or reels explaining key processes in simple language.
- Consider hosting QIP consultation evenings or workshops. These can be combined with other information/consultation evenings.
- Establish family advisory groups or committees.
- Include a “Quality Improvement Update” section in your newsletter or separate regular post via your online information sharing platform/s.
- Use your information sharing app/platforms to share:
  - QIP progress updates
  - reflections on practice
  - achievements linked to QIP goals
  - assessment and rating updates and outcomes
  - - posts requesting feedback on the services quality practices and input on goals to inform self-assessment and QIP.
- Invite families to share skills, knowledge or cultural perspectives that inform and support quality improvements.
- Encourage family participation in the assessment and rating process:
  - Inform families when an assessment and rating visit is due, detailing the process and what to expect
  - Explain how they may be involved (e.g. conversations with Authorised Officers)
  - Promote outcomes clearly and celebrate achievements together
  - - Outline next steps and how families can continue contributing.
- Implement a range of methods to foster meaningful collaboration and involve families in shared decision-making. This can be strengthened by:
  - Identifying service strengths and priorities collaboratively
  - Reviewing family feedback and demonstrating/communicating how it has influenced the service’s QIP goals
  - Co-constructing strategies that reflect family and community needs
  - Regularly revisiting goals with families and sharing progress and impact
  - Ensuring diverse family voices are included, including those from:
  - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
  - culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  - - varying family structures and experiences
- Importantly, services should “close the loop” by showing families:
  - what was heard
  - what action was taken
  - - what changed/ improved as a result.

When services consistently share information, invite participation and genuinely act on family input, they foster a culture where families feel respected, informed and empowered. This aligns strongly with Elements 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3 and 7.2.1, where continuous improvement is evolving, collaborative and embedded in practice.

It is important to acknowledge that, alongside the many governance, compliance and administrative responsibilities required of Approved Providers, Nominated Supervisors and service leaders, embedding all of these practices at once may not be realistic. Rather than becoming overwhelmed, services should take a staged and intentional approach by selecting a small number of meaningful strategies to implement first, such as introducing a simple QIP summary for families or seeking feedback on a current improvement goal. Beginning with achievable actions allows teams to build confidence, establish consistent practices and evaluate what works best for their community. Over time, these practices can be expanded and refined through ongoing critical reflection, ensuring that family engagement in quality improvement is both sustainable and genuinely embedded in service operations.

Resources:

NQS Handout- January 2026

QA 7- Practical ideas to support continuous quality improvement

Guide to the NQF: Element 6.1.3: Families are supported, Exceeding guidance for Standard 6.1: Supportive relationships with families, Operational Requirements/Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities,

Within System7 go to Quality Area 6/ Modules 10 – 13 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 supporting families. These include Family Handbook template, monthly Newsletter templates, Philosophy Development and Review Procedure, family surveys, Family Communication Policy, Open Door Policy, Support Services Referral Form and much more.

Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:

The Desktop – The Desktop

National Quality Standard – Element 6.1.3: Families are supported

National Regulations – 31 – Condition on service approval – quality improvement plan, 55- Quality improvement plans, 56 – Review and revision of quality improvement plans, 157- Access for parents, 168 – Education and care service must have policies and procedures, 171 – Policies and procedures to be kept available, 172 – Notification of change to policies or procedures, 173 – Prescribed information to be displayed—education and care service other than a family day care service, 173AA – Display and publication of quality and compliance history [NSW], 173A – Prescribed information to be displayed—family day care service