In January 2025, the new Quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare sectors was published to give settings an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the content before it is used for inspection. The final framework will be published online on Thursday 18 September and it will be used for inspections from Monday 22 September.

Since the start of this year, the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors have undertaken pilot visits/inspections helping us test out how the framework works. In total, 75 pilot visits/inspections took place across 28 local authorities. These were made up of:

  • 55 shared and single Care Inspectorate pilot inspections
  • 20 visits by HM Inspectors.

Piloting the framework was an essential part of the process, allowing both the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors to test it in live settings – from exploring the use of individual Quality Indicators (QIs) to gathering feedback. Thank you to every setting that supported these pilots. The infographic at the bottom of this email is a summary of the feedback we received following the 55 shared and single Care Inspectorate pilot inspections.

A series of engagement sessions have also taken place over the past few months, both in person and online. These provided an opportunity for over 1,200 ELC, school aged childcare, and childminders to hear about the framework andask questions. During these sessions, you told us you would like more opportunities to focus specifically on self-evaluation. In response, we held a further two in-person sessions in Perth and two online webinars in May, engaging with over 1,400 of you.

Your support and feedback during this engagement period has been crucial in refining and fine-tuning the framework. The Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors have been working to incorporate your reflections in the next and final version. It is now ready to be used from 22 September.

What happens next?

In line with previous updates, the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors will begin using the framework in inspections from 22 September 2025.

The table below provides an overview of how both organisations will use the framework for inspection activity, from 22 September 2025.

September – October

  • Care Inspectorate single inspections
  • HM Inspectors to pilot single inspections (late Sept)

October – December

  • Care Inspectorate single inspections
  • Care Inspectorate and HM Inspector shared inspections
  • No HM Inspector single inspections

January onwards

  • Shared inspections
  • HM Inspector single inspections
  • Care Inspectorate single inspections

To support your continued familiarisation with the new framework and help you understand what to expect from its use in inspection, this update provides further information about what you can expect from 22 September 2025.

What is a shared inspection?

A shared inspection means that HM Inspectors and the Care Inspectorate will undertake the inspection together. For shared inspections taking place from September 2025, you will receive 2.5 weeks’ notice. This notice period will remain in place until 31 March 2026 and will then be reviewed for inspection year 2026-27.

Our shared inspections will focus on the following Quality Indicators:

  • Staff skills, knowledge, values and deployment – Care Inspectorate
  • Learning, teaching and assessment – HM Inspectors
  • Nurturing care and support – Care Inspectorate
    Children’s progress – HM Inspectors

Safeguarding will also be reviewed during shared inspections.

To help reduce pre-inspection workload, we will not ask for a self-evaluation paper in advance of inspection.

You can expect the following as part of the inspection:

  • pre-inspection questionnaires;
  • observing learning, care and support;
  • discussions with staff/children/senior leaders/parents/carers;
  • reviewing documentation and evidence; and
  • the Care Inspectorate will carry out assessments of core assurances and a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) observation.

At the end of the inspection, we will provide verbal feedback and will then produce a single inspection report which will include summative grades for each of the QIs.

Will HM Inspectors and the Care Inspectorate continue to undertake their own inspections?

Yes, both organisations will continue to undertake their own inspections over the coming year and we refer to these as ‘single inspections’.

The 18-month gap between HM Inspectors and Care Inspectorate inspections will remain in place.

From 22 September 2025 HM Inspectors and the Care Inspectorate will use the Quality Framework for early learning and childcare sectors.

Further information about HM Inspectors single inspections (pilot phase)

All settings who are part of the pilot inspections will receive a copy of the final framework in advance to allow them to prepare.

During their single inspections, HM Inspectors will focus on the following QIs.

  • Curriculum
  • Learning, teaching and assessment
  • Wellbeing, inclusion and equality

HM Inspectors will also continue to undertake a review of safeguarding.

HM Inspectors will pilot this combination of QIs.

To help reduce the burden on settings, we’ll be piloting a new approach. Rather than asking for a self-evaluation paper in advance, we’ll request your most recent standards and quality report, along with your latest improvement plan.

The notification period for these inspections will remain at 2.5 weeks, in line with HM Inspectors’ current practice. As these are pilot inspections we will not include summative grades.

As part of these inspections, you can expect the following activity:

  • Observing the quality of learning;
  • discussions with staff, children, senior leaders and /parents;
  • reviewing documentation and evidence including your standards and quality report and improvement plan;
  • verbal sharing of findings; and
  • a detailed written report.

Further information about Care Inspectorate single inspections

The Care Inspectorate will continue to undertake unannounced single inspections, and issue Care Standard Questionnaires to parents/carers to gather feedback about their child/children’s experiences. We will sample records, including some examples of your self-evaluation, during the inspection.

During single inspections, the Care Inspectorate will focus on the following QIs:

  • Leadership and management of staff and resources
  • Play and learning (Early Learning and Childcare/Childminder)/Play, learning and development (School Age Childcare)
  • Nurturing care and support

The Care Inspectorate will use the Quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare sectors alongside the Health and Social Care Standards to independently assure the quality of care, support and learning children receive.

Inspectors will also assess 'core assurances' during inspection. These core assurances are found throughout the quality framework and generally relate to practices that keep babies, children and young people safe. This could be your setting's approach to safer recruitment or infection prevention and control. If we have concerns about a particular core assurance, we might report on an additional QI.

There will be no significant changes to how we report our inspection findings to you.

What you can expect from these inspections is some of the following activities:

  • Observing the quality of children’s care, support and learning.
  • Conducting SOFI observations in centre-based services providing Early Learning and Childcare and School Age Childcare (note: SOFI observations are not carried out in childminding settings).
  • Discussions with staff, children, senior leaders, parents, carers, and partners.
  • Discussing your self-evaluation and improvement planning.
  • Carrying out assessments of core assurances.
  • Providing verbal feedback to conclude the inspection visit.
  • We will review safeguarding as part of our core assurances.

Will there be support available to prepare for inspection using the framework?

Yes, we are holding the following online engagement sessions to provide support to providers and practitioners ahead of the start of the inspections. To register, please visit the links below.

Further sessions will be planned in due course.

Thank you once again for your continued support in the development of the new framework.

National Standard

The National Standard for funded early learning and childcare providers has been updated to reflect the Care Inspectorate’s Quality Indicators included in the Quality improvement framework. This is available here.