Free template · Early learning and childcare

Nursery self-evaluation template for Scotland.

A free, printable self-evaluation template a Scottish nursery or early learning and childcare setting can copy or print. It walks the key questions of How good is our early learning and childcare?, and for each one gives you an evidence prompt, a self-grade and an improvement action to fill in.

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A free reference resource. Copy it, print it, or run it over WhatsApp.

How to use this template

Copy it, walk the setting, be honest.

Print this template or copy it into your own document. Take it round the nursery and, for each key question, note the evidence you can actually see, grade yourself honestly on the six-point scale, and write the one action that would move the grade. The value is not the grade you give yourself. It is the gap you find while there is still time to close it. Work from the Care Inspectorate's current published framework How good is our early learning and childcare? and the Health and Social Care Standards, as the exact indicator wording is updated from time to time.

The key questions

What the template covers.

Care, play and learning

How good is our care, play and learning?

The key question most weighted at inspection: are children nurtured, safe and supported, and are their play and learning experiences high quality?

 Setting

How good is our setting?

Are the premises, indoor and outdoor spaces and resources safe, secure and suitable, and do they support children's play, learning and wellbeing?

 Staff team

How good is our staff team?

Are staff-to-child ratios kept, is the team skilled and supported, and are safeguarding and child protection duties understood and acted on?

 Leadership

How good is our leadership?

Is leadership clear and accountable, with self-evaluation, quality assurance and improvement that genuinely work? Often where grades turn.

Run the template over WhatsApp

The same template, no clipboard.

Quickler can run this same self-evaluation template as a WhatsApp workflow. The manager or room lead walks the nursery and answers each prompt with text, a voice note or a photo. The report and improvement plan build themselves. £20 per active user per month with a £20 monthly minimum, plus a free tier of 20 reports a month, extra dormant users always free

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This is a free nursery self-evaluation template for a Scottish early learning and childcare setting. It is structured around the key questions of the Care Inspectorate's quality framework How good is our early learning and childcare?, so the judgements you make here map to what an inspector assesses. Copy it into your own document, print it, or run it as a live workflow. The template is deliberately simple: for each key question you record the evidence you can see, grade yourself on the six-point scale, and write the action that would move the grade.

In Scotland, early learning and childcare is regulated by the Care Inspectorate, not Ofsted, which covers England only, and not CQC. The exact quality indicator wording changes from time to time, so always work from the current published framework and the Health and Social Care Standards. Treat this as general information, not regulatory advice.

The short version

  • This template covers the key questions of How good is our early learning and childcare?: care, play and learning; the setting; the staff team including ratios and safeguarding; and leadership.
  • For each, it prompts the quality indicator area, the evidence to gather, a self-grade on the six-point scale from unsatisfactory to excellent, and an improvement action.
  • Grade yourself honestly. A candid weak grade with a clear action reads better than a generous grade you cannot evidence.
  • Work from the Care Inspectorate's current published framework and standards, as the exact indicator strings are updated over time.
  • Quickler can run this same template as a WhatsApp workflow, capturing evidence at the point you observe it.
  • Quickler is not a children's records system, learning journal, attendance register or child protection case-management system, and holds no child's personal data. It is the evaluation and evidence layer around them.

Key question 1

How good is our care, play and learning?

The key question most weighted at inspection. Work from the current published quality indicators for this key question and record honest evidence against each row.

Quality indicator areaEvidence to gatherSelf-grade (1 to 6)Improvement action
Children are nurtured, safe and secureObserved interactions and attachments; how children's wellbeing is supported; how care routines such as sleep, nappy changing and mealtimes are handled  
Play and learning experiences are high qualityObservations of play; the words and engagement of children; the balance of adult-led and child-led experiences; access to challenge and choice  
Each child's needs are met and progress supportedPersonal plans reviewed and current, child-centred; how progress is tracked; how additional needs are identified and supported  
Children are safe and protected from harmEvidence a safeguarding and child protection policy was reviewed and current; observed practice matched the standard; that concerns are recorded in the setting's own system  

Key question 2

How good is our setting?

Whether the premises, spaces and resources support children's play, learning, wellbeing and safety. Photograph what you can and note what a visitor would notice.

Quality indicator areaEvidence to gatherSelf-grade (1 to 6)Improvement action
The setting is safe, secure and well maintainedPremises and safety walk; a checked, secure entrance; maintenance and repair log; infection prevention and cleanliness  
Indoor and outdoor spaces support play and learningDated photos of indoor rooms and the outdoor space; access to outdoors; quiet and active areas; quality and range of resources  
The environment supports children's wellbeingHow spaces are personalised and welcoming; how they meet the needs of the youngest children; risk assessments current  

Key question 3

How good is our staff team?

Whether staff-to-child ratios are kept, the team is recruited safely, skilled and supported, and safeguarding duties are understood and acted on.

Quality indicator areaEvidence to gatherSelf-grade (1 to 6)Improvement action
Staff-to-child ratios are keptObserved ratios at the busiest part of the day; rotas against need; how gaps and absence are covered  
Staff are recruited and inducted safelySafer recruitment checks; PVG scheme records; induction completed and evidenced  
Staff have the right skills and are supportedTraining matrix current; supervision and appraisal records; registration with the SSSC where required; safeguarding training up to date  

Key question 4

How good is our leadership?

Often where grades turn. Whether leadership is clear and accountable, and drives its own improvement.

Quality indicator areaEvidence to gatherSelf-grade (1 to 6)Improvement action
Vision, values and culture are strongHow values are lived day to day; staff, children's and families' views; how concerns are raised and heard  
Self-evaluation and improvement workThis self-evaluation itself; a live improvement plan with owners and dates; evidence a previous action was closed; action taken on findings  
Leadership is accountable and developingGovernance and oversight; how the manager develops the team; response to previous inspection findings  

Safeguarding, honestly

Record that the check was done, not the child's data

Safeguarding needs care and honesty on this template. Record that a check was done and capture the evidence that it was: that a safer recruitment step was completed, that a child protection policy was reviewed and current, that an observed practice matched the standard. Do not copy any child's personal information onto this template or into any tool you use to run it.

Quickler works the same way. It records that a check was done and captures the evidence, without holding any child's personal information. It is not a child protection case-management system and it does not hold concerns, referrals or personal records about a child. The child protection record stays in your own system as the single source of truth.

After you fill it in

Turn the grades into an improvement plan

A completed self-evaluation is only worth the action behind it. Once every row has an honest grade, take every row you graded three or below and turn its improvement action into a task with an owner and a date. That is the improvement plan an inspector wants to see, and it is what raises a grade over time. Filing the completed template and doing nothing changes nothing.

If you run this template as a Quickler WhatsApp workflow, each low self-grade becomes a flagged action automatically, so the walk turns straight into the plan. The self-evaluation stays the manager's honest judgement; the tool just removes the clipboard and the retyping.

Questions, answered

Is there an official nursery self-evaluation template in Scotland?

The Care Inspectorate publishes its quality framework How good is our early learning and childcare? and supporting self-evaluation materials, and these are updated from time to time. This page gives a free, general template structured around the framework's key questions so you can start today, but you should always work from the Care Inspectorate's current published framework and the Health and Social Care Standards for the exact indicator wording. Childcare in Scotland is regulated by the Care Inspectorate, not Ofsted, which covers England only. Treat this template as general information, not regulatory advice.

How do the self-grades work?

Scottish early learning and childcare services are graded on a six-point scale, from one for unsatisfactory up to six for excellent. Grade each row honestly against the current published quality indicators. A candid low grade with a clear improvement action is worth more than a generous grade you cannot evidence.

Can I print this template or copy it?

Yes. It is free to copy into your own document or print and take round the setting. There is no sign-up needed to use it. If you would rather run it without a clipboard, Quickler can deliver the same template as a WhatsApp workflow.

Does this template hold any child's personal data?

No, and neither does Quickler. This is a self-evaluation and evidence template. It records that a check was done and captures the evidence, without copying any child's personal information. Quickler is not a children's records system, learning journal, attendance register or child protection case-management system. When self-evaluation touches child protection, you record that the process was followed and the evidence exists; the child protection record stays in your own system as the single source of truth.

How much does Quickler cost if I want to run this as a workflow?

Quickler is £20 per active user a month, where an active user is someone who completed at least two workflows that month, with a £20 minimum, dormant users free. There is a free tier of 20 reports a month and up to 10 photos per report, no card and no trial clock, so you can run this self-evaluation without paying anything. Quickler is an audit and evidence tool, not a children's records or child protection system.

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