What is Quality Care?

As Providers of Early Childhood Care and Education you hear the word “quality” all the time but, what is quality and how do you know if you’re providing quality care for children? In the big picture, a quality child care program is a place where children and families feel safe and nurtured. The environment stimulates a child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn, but is not over-stimulating or stressful for the child. Children and families are known as individuals. Respect is exchanged between children, teachers and parents. There is natural light and opportunities for outdoor play and exploration. Those who work in the field of Early Childhood Care and Education act like and are treated as professionals.

What are the concrete ways to achieve this quality program? There are many different factors that indicate quality programming for young children. To know if you are providing quality care, consider the indicators below and make an honest assessment of your program. These indicators apply to any type of child care program…whether licensed or license-exempt, center-based or family (home)-based. Keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list or discussion on the topic. Once you have assessed your program, begin to make changes to improve the quality of care that you are providing. (After all, can’t we all make improvements somewhere?) Do further research and seek to evaluate your program using more formal tools and systems. In Early Childhood, we often talk about our journeys and that our work is “in progress”. Enjoy your work as you seek to provide high quality care for children and families on your path.

Now, more than ever, parents ask and learn about what constitutes a quality when calling Child Care Resource and Referral agencies. These are some of the things we may discuss with parents and encourage them to look for when interviewing a provider and visiting their program.