Joint statement from the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland on early learning and childcare inspections and our progress towards the delivery of the new Quality Improvement Framework for the early learning and childcare sectors 

Both the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland HM Inspectors would like to thank everyone who attended one of our engagement sessions during November. We are delighted that so many of you took the time to come along and hear about the new framework. More than 2,500 of you attended these sessions and your engagement and feedback has been hugely valued. It is really important to have your support with this work as we move towards the framework’s publication on 14 January 2025. 

If you were unable to join us at our engagement sessions, you can access the PowerPoint slides and video walk-through of the new framework content below. 

https://youtu.be/jDUsI9ZVxsM?si=yTxJmtN4-W6hg0UQ

We will pilot the use of the framework and quality indicators in some settings from late January to March 2025. The framework that we demonstrated at our sessions will be used in the pilot phase, although we are still making minor adjustments and refinements so some aspects may be amended before the framework is released in January. We will continue to listen to feedback and may make further adjustments ahead of full implementation of the new framework from September 2025. 

Thank you to all the service providers who have volunteered to take part in the pilot phase. There is still time to sign up by submitting your details to this online form. 

We will work closely with our stakeholders during the pilot phase and listen carefully to your views as we develop approaches to inspection. We will continue to use our existing frameworks and approaches for inspection while the new approaches are developed and shared with the sector ahead of implementation in September 2025. The 18-month gap between Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate inspections will also remain in place.  

You may wish to begin to use the new quality framework to support self-evaluation in your setting after its release in January, however you may prefer to continue to use existing frameworks until you are more familiar with the content. We will be offering a range of opportunities for providers to engage with inspectors to support self-evaluation and to become familiar with the new framework. This will help you to choose when is best for you to start using the new framework.  

Thank you for your continued dedication to providing the best possible learning environments for children. We very much value your continued engagement with us as we develop the new framework.  

We will continue to provide regular updates on the framework on social media and our provider updates. In the meantime, we hope you have an enjoyable festive season and we look forward to working with you in the New Year.  

Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive, Care Inspectorate  

Janie McManus, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education