Description:

This indicator measures the percentage of settings providing funded Early Learning Childcare (ELC) achieving good or better across all four quality themes.

Source of Data:

The data for this indicator is sourced from the annual Care Inspectorate Early Learning and Childcare statistics publication. These statistics are produced using Care Inspectorate data as at 31 December of each year.

During inspections, the Care Inspectorate assess four quality themes, which cover the main areas of a service’s work. How well the service performs in these areas will indicate how good the service is.

The themes are:

• Quality of care and support: how well the service meets the needs of each person who uses it
• Quality of environment: where the service is delivered, for example, how clean, well maintained and accessible it is, the atmosphere of the service, how welcoming it is
• Quality of staffing: the quality of the staff, including their qualifications and training
• Quality of management and leadership: how the service is managed and led and how it develops to meet the needs of the people who use it.

Each theme is evaluated using a six-point scale:

6 – Excellent

5 – Very good

4 – Good

3 – Adequate

2 – Weak

1 – Unsatisfactory

The percentage of funded ELC settings achieving a score of good or better for each of the four themes will be used to measure the quality of children’s services.

From 1 June 2022, the Care Inspectorate inspection process changed and now assesses services against four key questions. Scores from inspections under the new process will be incorporated into the data used for this measure from 2023 onwards.

Definitions:

Settings include nurseries, playgroups, children and family centres, and other providers of funded ELC.

Criteria for Change:

• Increase of 0.5 percentage points or more in the percentage of funded ELC settings achieving good or better across all four quality themes results in performance improving.
• Change of less than 0.5 percentage points in the percentage of funded ELC settings achieving good or better across all four quality themes results in performance maintaining.
• Decrease of 0.5 percentage points or more in the percentage of funded ELC settings achieving good or better across all four quality themes results in performance worsening.