Quality Area 5: Relationships with children in OSHC

What Quality Area 5 asks educators to consider

Build responsive, respectful relationships that protect dignity, support belonging and help children participate in fair group life.

This guide supports team planning and reflection. It does not replace the National Law, National Regulations, current ACECQA guidance, your regulatory authority or service policies. Begin with the official ACECQA Quality Area 5 guidance and the National Quality Standard overview.

Five actions educators can take

• Greet children using their preferred name and communication method without demanding conversation or eye contact.
• Acknowledge the child’s message before redirecting behaviour, then state the boundary and available choices clearly.
• Remove public elimination, humiliation and forced personal disclosure from games and group discussions.
• Support children to negotiate a specific shared problem—materials, turns, space or rules—without taking over the decision unnecessarily.
• Notice who is repeatedly unheard, interrupted or assigned the least-valued role and change the group structure.

Put it into the program this week

Choose one ordinary session rather than creating a special “quality area activity”. Before the session, agree on one focus from the actions above and what educators will look or listen for. During the session, preserve children’s choices and respond to safety, inclusion and routine needs as usual. Afterwards, record the decision made, the observable response and one next step.

Use a short cycle:

1. Notice: record a specific event, question, barrier or strength.
2. Interpret: discuss why it matters for Quality Area 5, the children and the service context.
3. Plan: choose one realistic change, responsible person and review point.
4. Act: implement the change without waiting for a special display or assessment visit.
5. Review: decide whether the change helped, created another barrier or needs more information.

Evidence that may be useful

Look for child-initiated conversations, negotiated rules, repaired interactions, changed group structures and examples of educators protecting dignity while maintaining boundaries. Keep evidence proportionate and purposeful. A dated two-sentence reflection connected to an implemented change may be more useful than repeated photographs or a generic claim. Protect children’s and families’ privacy and follow service record-keeping requirements.

My Time, Our Place connection

Quality Area 5 and MTOP V2.0 are related but not interchangeable. Use the MTOP Vision, Principles, Practices and Outcomes to inform pedagogical decisions; use the NQS and current regulatory guidance to understand the quality standard and service responsibilities. An activity or document does not automatically demonstrate compliance or progress toward an outcome.

Read the official My Time, Our Place V2.0 framework and ACECQA approved learning frameworks guidance.

Themes for practical exploration

• Kindness Crew
• Puppet Theatre

These theme days provide contexts for educator observation and responsive planning. They are not “Quality Area 5 activities” and should be adapted to the group.

Downloads to use with the group

• Kindness Circle Pass printable game
• Puppet Theatre colouring pack

Review the printable, materials, supervision, accessibility and cultural context before offering it. Keep participation optional and provide an open-ended alternative.

Critical reflection

• Whose communication did we miss?
• Was the boundary clear without shaming?
• Which children influenced a group decision?

Finish by writing one decision the team will test, who will take responsibility and when it will be reviewed.