What is the Value for Money Rating?
The Value for Money Rating is a unique rating developed by KindiCare to enable parents and guardians, childcare providers, childcare educators and directors and government to compare the relative cost and value of childcare services provided in Australia.
The Value for Money Rating isn’t based on whether a service is more or less expensive than another; it assesses whether that service is good value for money for the price that centre is charging for the service compared to the other options for the same type of service available in the same area.
What is the range of possible Value for Money Ratings that a service can receive?
The Value for Money Rating provides an assessment between Poor and Excellent that provides an indication of the relative value for money for an individual service compared to all of the same type of childcare services in the market.
The following can be used as a guide to help you in interpreting what a good Value for Money rating is:
Excellent: The service represents excellent value for money for the price being charged compared to the other services of the same type in the same area.
Very Good: The service represents very good value for money for the price being charged compared to the other services of the same type in the same area.
Good: The service represents good value for money for the price being charged compared to the other services of the same type in the same area.
Fair: The service represents fair value for money for the price being charged compared to the other services of the same type in the same area.
Poor: The service represents poor value for money for the price being charged compared to the other services of the same type in the same area.
How is the Value for Money Rating calculated?
The Value for Money Rating assesses all pricing, performance, customer satisfaction information and data about a childcare service collected and held by KindiCare.
All of this information is ingested and used by KindiCare’s proprietary algorithm to compare each and every individual early childhood education and care service within an area to assess whether the price being charged by a centre for a service represents good value for money for that area. This then generates a unique and independent Value for Money Rating for every childcare service in Australia.
Is there a difference between price and value for money?
Yes. The actual price of a childcare service is not necessarily an assessment of value. A higher price does not always mean a better service in the same way that the highest price for a service in the area doesn’t mean you are getting the highest possible quality, performance and satisfaction from that service compared to what else is available in the area.
For example, a childcare centre providing the best possible quality, performance and satisfaction for an area at $150 per day for a long day care service might actually provide excellent value for money compared to another service charging $110 per day, but delivering poor quality, performance and satisfaction for that service.
How do I use the KindiCare Rating in my search for early childhood education and care services?
The KindiCare Value for Money Rating has been designed to help parents and guardians in the search and selection process for early childhood education and care services as well as support childcare providers in understanding how their centre’s services compare with their peers in their local market and nationally.
The Value for Money Rating also encourages parents and guardians to not just look at the actual price per day/session/hour for a service, but assess whether or not that price is good value for money relative to the other services provided in the same area.
The Value for Money Rating should be used as a guide only in your search, along with other available information in the market, when making an assessment of the suitability of an early childhood education and care centre or service to meet your family’s unique needs.