There is a developing awareness of the need for childcare to support parents who work and to provide care and education for young children. Many children access different types of childcare and education such as childminding, out of school care, pre-school, day nursery or nursery class.

Everyone wants the best quality childcare and education, but how can we make sure that this is what children are receiving? One way is through the Ofsted inspection which checks that a provider is meeting the National Daycare Standards. Another way is through quality assurance where the provider reviews their service against agreed quality standards.

There are a number of different quality assurance schemes. Many local authorities have developed their own schemes to reflect local aims for childcare. These help to bring together all the different settings which work with children into a common vision of quality.

Our local scheme is called Steps to Quality. It has been developed by early years workers in the Yorkshire and Humber region, then adapted within different local authority areas and approved by the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships.

For more information about different quality assurance schemes:

The Yorkshire and Humber Scheme: Steps to Quality

National Day Nurseries Association
PreSchool Learning Alliance
National Childminding Association
London Play

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