Quality Area 1, Educational program and practice, has 3 standards (1.1 Program, 1.2 Practice, 1.3 Assessment and planning) and 9 elements. The NQS describes it this way: “The educational program and practice is stimulating, engaging and enhances children’s learning and development. In services for children over preschool age the program nurtures the development of life skills and complements children’s experiences, opportunities and relationships at school, at home and in the community.” Services are rated Working Towards, Meeting or Exceeding NQS against each standard, and the standard ratings determine the quality area rating.
Quality Area 1 is where the National Quality Standard meets the educational program: whether it is built on an approved learning framework, whether it starts from each child, and whether educators can show the cycle of observing, planning and reflecting that connects documentation to practice. It has three standards and nine elements, more than any other quality area, and nationally it is the quality area most often rated Working Towards.
Wording reproduced from Schedule 1 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026.
| Number | Concept | Standard / element |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 1.1 | Program | The educational program enhances each child’s learning and development. |
| 1.1.1 | Approved learning framework | Curriculum decision-making contributes to each child’s learning and development outcomes in relation to that child’s identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners and effectiveness as communicators. |
| 1.1.2 | Child-centred | Each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of the program. |
| 1.1.3 | Program learning opportunities | All aspects of the program, including routines, are organised in ways that maximise opportunities for each child’s learning. |
| Standard 1.2 | Practice | Educators facilitate and extend each child’s learning and development. |
| 1.2.1 | Intentional teaching | Educators are deliberate, purposeful, and thoughtful in their decisions and actions. |
| 1.2.2 | Responsive teaching and scaffolding | Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend children’s learning through open-ended questions, interactions and feedback. |
| 1.2.3 | Child-directed learning | Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions and influence events and their world. |
| Standard 1.3 | Assessment and planning | Educators and co-ordinators take a planned and reflective approach to implementing the program for each child. |
| 1.3.1 | Assessment and planning cycle | Each child’s learning and development is assessed or evaluated as part of an ongoing cycle of observation, analysing, learning, documentation, planning, implementation and reflection. |
| 1.3.2 | Critical reflection | Critical reflection on children’s learning and development, both as individuals and in groups, drives program planning and implementation. |
| 1.3.3 | Information for families | Families are informed about the program and their child’s progress. |
Exceeding is judged standard by standard against the three themes. For this quality area the Guide to the NQF and the assessor evidence typically point to:
Each element is assessed as Met or Not Met. A standard is rated Meeting NQS only when every element under it is met; one unmet element makes the standard Working Towards NQS. A standard can be rated Exceeding NQS when the service shows all three Exceeding themes for that standard: practice is embedded in service operations, practice is informed by critical reflection, and practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community. Standard ratings roll up to the quality area, and the quality area ratings roll up to the overall rating: one Working Towards quality area caps the overall rating at Working Towards. An overall Exceeding NQS rating needs at least four quality areas rated Exceeding, including at least two of Quality Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7. The rating levels themselves are prescribed by regulation 57.
Three standards (1.1 Program, 1.2 Practice, 1.3 Assessment and planning) and nine elements, 1.1.1 to 1.3.3. It is the largest quality area in the NQS.
The program must be based on an approved learning framework (section 168 of the National Law). The EYLF V2.0 is the approved framework for children birth to five; My Time, Our Place is the approved framework for school-age care; regulation 254 also approves some jurisdiction-specific frameworks. Which framework is used is a choice; using one is not.
For a child preschool age or under: assessments of the child’s developmental needs, interests, experiences and participation in the program, and of progress against the outcomes. For school-age children: evaluations of wellbeing, development and learning. The amount is not prescribed; it must reflect the time the child spends at the service and be understandable to educators and parents.
Because Element 1.3.1 requires a visible cycle. Many services collect observations without analysing them or planning from them, so the assessor cannot see the link between documentation and practice. Element 1.1.2 (child-centred) is the other frequent gap.
The approved provider is legally responsible under section 168 and regulations 73 to 76. The educational leader designated under regulation 118 leads the program day to day, and every educator is assessed on their practice under Standard 1.2.
Type the element number or the situation in your room. WIDEN Law answers with the regulation, the NQS element and the Guide to the NQF passage it relied on, so you can check the source.
14-day free trial, no card →This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice. Element and regulation wording is reproduced from the current reprint of the National Regulations; confirm the position with your regulatory authority before relying on it for a compliance decision.