The Quality Counts assurance scheme, available to providers throughout the UK, aims to promote quality in early years settings and out-of-school care. The first successful nurseries, which range from single-site, owner-managed settings to larger chains, are to be presented with their awards by early years minister Baroness Ashton at a celebratory lunch in London next week.
NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy said, 'We are delighted for these first nurseries to achieve accreditation. All their feedback tells us that they found Quality Counts challenging but worthwhile, making a real contribution to the day-to-day running of their nurseries.
'The first nurseries to achieve Quality Counts have worked extremely hard and are to be congratulated on their accomplishment. Completion of Quality Counts is a major commit-ment for nurseries and takes from six to 18 months. The NDNA works closely with nurseries, providing mentors to support them through the Quality Counts process.' The Quality Counts scheme is based on portfolio building, self-assessment and mentoring. Settings work towards 17 modules before assessment and accreditation. The award is valid for two years.
To date, 900 day nurseries have bought the Quality Counts manuals to embark on the scheme that will help towards the Government's National Childcare Strategy target of 40 per cent of settings achieving quality accreditation by 2004.
Five of the Puffins of Exeter Childcare Centres in Devon have achieved the accreditation, and the remaining two nurseries are due to be assessed in February. Puffins director Maureen Gard said, 'I feel the accreditation is important from the parents' point of view, because they can see that the nursery works to a certain quality and they know what they are paying for. If there are six nurseries in an area and only one has got accreditation, I would hope the parents would choose that one for their child.
'The accreditation also helps our own practice. The nurseries worked towards it over a whole year, looked at their whole provision and made some changes to their day-to-day routines.' Last year the Government announced it intended to create its own star rating scheme for early years settings, called Investors in Children. A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman said that a consultation document about Invest-ors in Children is due to be published next month and the scheme was planned to be launched in the autumn.