Kids Capers Samford celebrates Exceeding rating, praised for deep respect for children

Kids Capers Samford, a 130-place service in Samford Village, Queensland, is celebrating recently being recognised for Exceeding the National Quality Standard. We spoke with Centre Manager Tammy Lockyer to learn more about the experience, the service, and her future plans for improvement.  

 

Being awarded the Exceeding rating, particularly given this was the first time the service had been through assessment and rating, Mrs Lockyer said, was incredibly exciting. To share the news with the team, she organised helium balloons, which revealed the quality rating the service received in each area, one by one. 

 

As the educators took turns to pop the balloons, the excitement built, and by the fourth balloon, one educator was “squealing and jumping” from excitement, recognising the overall Exceeding rating was secure.

 

“We were over the moon with the results,” Mrs Lockyer said. “The leadership team were thrilled, and it still feels surreal that we achieved such a wonderful rating, especially for our first assessment and rating experience.”

 

Authorised officers noticed the interactions between the children and educators, praising them for supporting children to feel secure, confident and included. 

 

“Educators were responsive to the children’s suggestions, thoughts, comments and ideas throughout the visit,” the report notes. 

 

Their practice was consistent with the service’s philosophy, policies, and procedures, and reflected a deep commitment to building and maintaining respectful and equitable relationships with each child.

 

Mrs Lockyer believes the unique aspects of the service, such as its water park, and its location on four acres which facilitate natural play, contributed to the rating. There are six separate buildings on the site that shape the western side of the block of land on which the service sits. 

Meals are prepared and served in an eatery, while classrooms have high ceilings and large windows looking out onto “the biggest sandpit that you will ever see” which staff refer to as “the island”.

 

Going into the assessment and rating experience, Mrs Lockyer said the core priority for the team was to get “an authentic rating that was truly reflective of our practice within the service”. 

 

“When it came time to go through assessment and rating, we put forward all of the amazing accomplishments, knowing that we had done our best for the children at the service. We have a solid support system within Kids Capers Childcare, so everyone came together to support our Samford team, using their strengths to ensure that the centre’s attributes were clearly outlined.”

 

Far from resting on the laurels of an exceeding rating, the team plans to continually improve its program and practice.

 

“We are constantly reflecting on what we are doing and how we are going to achieve the best outcomes for the children,” Mrs Lockyer said, sharing her future goal of maintaining an exceeding standard and possibly looking at achieving an excellence rating.

 

For information about the Exceeding rating, please see here.