The National Quality Improvement Network (NQIN) is a network of representatives from local authorities and a number of national early years organisations.
It meets two or three times a year to discuss current issues, policy, and good practice in early years, together with regional news and developments. The network is hosted by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB).
About NQIN
NQIN supports early years quality improvement leads and policy makers working to improve outcomes for children and their families. It provides a range of peer support, practice development, leadership and guidance.
Aims:
- To have a central role in informing the national policy debate on quality improvement by drawing together evidence of what works
- To raise awareness about how quality improvement improves outcomes for young children and their families, particularly for the most disadvantaged
- To support local authorities and national organisations to develop effective quality improvement strategies and frameworks, which have a principled approach based on self-reflection, evaluation and evidence
- To support and encourage local authorities and national organisations to share best practice and respond to national and local initiatives
NQIN is attended by national representatives from the nine government regions in England. They keep the group informed of local developments and best practice via a network of local authorities in their regions (RQIN – Regional Quality Improvement Network).
Quality Improvement Principles (QIPs)
The Quality Improvement Principles have been developed to support and enable professionals to improve the quality of early years provision. The aims of the principles are that:
- Quality improvement should be an integral part of all types of early years settings and extended services. It should be clearly evident in service design, planning delivery and evaluation.
- Quality improvement embeds children’s rights and their voices in decision making alongside the advocacy of practitioners and families
- Effective continuous quality improvement is embedded and owned locally by settings of all types, local authorities and organisations working within the sector, communities and families
Why should we invest in quality improvement?
Accessing high quality early education and childcare is key to ensuring that children’s learning, development and well-being are supported during their pre-school years and beyond.
Using the Quality Improvement Principles
The QIPs have been used in many different ways to support continuous quality improvement in practice and leadership.
The principles are particularly useful in:
- identifying the most effective practice to support quality improvement in settings
- generating a consistent understanding and vision of quality
The approach encourages both creativity and innovation whilst ensuring this is benchmarked against a set of nationally agreed principles.
If you would like to find out further information please email [email protected]