Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate are delighted to invite you to join one of our online sessions to hear more about the new Quality Improvement Framework for Early Learning and Childcare.

The sessions will run throughout November and we will be on hand to answer your questions and listen to your feedback. You will find the dates and times listed below.

The new framework will not be released until 14 January 2025 but we are keen to share it with you in advance and help you to become familiar with it.

Stakeholder involvement in the development to this point

The framework has been developed with the sector, the stakeholder reference group and professional experts. The initial consultation period saw 854 people engaging directly with us and 288 online survey responses.

This feedback was used to develop a draft version of the framework that we shared in November 2023. We again sought feedback and received a high number of responses (649). Your feedback was again taken into account when developing the final version of the framework in collaboration with our stakeholder reference group.

Thank you for your contributions during these consultation periods and helping us to develop the final framework. Since then we have worked to respond to your views and to provide clarity, consistency and a common language to support self-evaluation and inspection of ELC. The new framework is more streamlined with fewer quality indicators which in turn will reduce the burden on settings. We hope you can join us to hear more about this and see the new framework for yourself.

How to register

The engagement sessions will be held via Microsoft Teams and will take place on the following dates. Please see below for your preferred date and time to sign up for one of the sessions.

Tuesday 12 November 2024 19:00-20:00 Register to attend

Wednesday 13 November 2024 10:00-11:00 Register to attend

Wednesday 13 November 2024 16:00-17:00 Register to attend

Thursday 14 November 2024 19:00-20:00 Register to attend

Tuesday 19 November 2024 19:00-20:00 Register to attend

Wednesday 20 November 2024 16:00-17:00 Register to attend

What to expect during the session

The sessions will give you an opportunity to:

• ask any questions you might have about the framework, its application, or how it will support the sector's goals for improvement
• connect directly with inspectors from the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland to understand how the framework will be used on inspections
• prepare your service for implementation and what to expect in the next phase of the framework's rollout
• explore how the framework can support your own self-evaluation and how it can enhance the quality of your setting
• learn more about how the framework was developed.

Timeline

The framework will be released on 14 January 2025. Following this, we will host more engagement sessions to prepare you for full implementation of the new framework from September 2025.

We continue to use our existing frameworks for inspection until September 2025. We will pilot the use of the new framework for inspection in some settings between late January and March 2025. Further information about this will be provided in due course.

Disclaimer: Recording notice

Please be advised that this webinar will be recorded for future reference and distribution. By participating in this webinar, you consent to the recording of your voice, image, and any other contributions you make during the session. The recording, in full or part, may be used by the Care Inspectorate in a variety of ways, for example our website and social media, on printed material and in publicity about our work.