Quality Improvement Framework for the Early Learning & Childcare sectors

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A New Chapter for Early Learning: Scotland's Revolutionary Quality Framework is Here 

February 2025 marks a pivotal moment for early learning and childcare in Scotland. Access the full framework here.

Picture this: A three-year-old carefully balances wooden blocks while discussing their tower's "engineering challenges" with a practitioner who genuinely listens, documents the learning, and builds tomorrow's experiences around that spark of curiosity. Rather than tidying up for snack time, the practitioner recognises something special happening. Using the framework's approach to observation and responsive planning, they document the child's problem-solving, ask wondering questions ("I wonder what would happen if we added a bridge?"), and by the end of the week, half the nursery is involved in a community engineering project that incorporates maths, science, and collaborative problem-solving. This isn't just good practice it's the vision at the heart of Scotland's groundbreaking new quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare. The framework doesn't just allow for these moments it demands them.  How did this happen? The nursery vision was closely aligned to strategic and operational continuous learning plan.

What's Actually New Here? 

The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland have joined forces to create something special a unified framework that finally speaks the same language across all early learning settings. Gone are the days of fragmented approaches. Whether you're running a nursery, working as a childminder, or managing school-aged childcare, there's now one cohesive system that puts children's rights front and centre. 

The framework launches this September 2025. 

Four Pillars That Actually Make Sense 

Instead of overwhelming practitioners with endless criteria, the framework focuses on four clear areas that reflect what really matters: 

1. Leadership 

This isn't your typical management checklist. The framework recognises three distinct but interconnected leadership dimensions: 

Vision Driven Leadership: Creating an ambitious, shared vision that genuinely focuses on positive outcomes for all children. This means involving children, families, and staff in designing and reviewing that vision not just announcing it from the top. 

People Cantered Leadership: From values-based recruitment to comprehensive induction programs, this is about building and sustaining highly professional teams. The framework emphasises continuous professional development informed by actual research, not just attending random training sessions. 

Pedagogical Leadership: Perhaps most importantly, this focuses on leaders who understand early years pedagogy and can provide strategic guidance to ensure practice is of the highest quality. These leaders don't just manage but they inspire innovation, creativity, and professional enquiry. 

Sarah's Vision Revolution Sarah, a nursery manager in Edinburgh, noticed her team seemed disconnected from their setting's vision statement mainly because it had been written by the management company five years ago and lived in a frame by the front door. Using the framework's approach to shared vision-building, she organised family coffee mornings, staff reflection sessions, and even asked the children what made them happy at nursery. The result? A vibrant, meaningful vision co created by everyone that now influences daily decisions, from room layouts to snack choices. The children's contribution "a place where we can be scientists, artists, and superheroes all at once" became the heart of everything they do. 

2. Children Thrive in Quality Spaces 

This goes far beyond just having pretty rooms. The framework draws on 'Space to grow and thrive: Design guidance' and 'Realising the ambition: Being me' to define truly inclusive spaces that: 

  • Recognise the right to daily outdoor play not just when the weather's nice, but as a fundamental entitlement 

  • Celebrate diversity through resources and environments that reflect all children and families 

  • Empower children to influence and affect change in their own spaces 

  • Balance benefit-risk approaches that challenge children appropriately while keeping them safe 

  • Maintain rigorous standards for cleanliness, maintenance, and security without compromising the richness of experiences 

The framework asks: "How can we be confident that our physical environment maximises opportunities for children to be challenged, creative and engaged in their play?" 

3. Children Play and Learn 

This is where the framework really shines in understanding that play IS learning. It encompasses four interconnected areas: 

Play and Learning: Children's right to play, have fun, and experience joy while developing skills for life. Staff recognise play as the vehicle for learning, not something that happens before "real" learning begins. 

Curriculum: Defined as "the totality of all that is planned for children" ambitious, holistic, and built on trusting relationships. The curriculum is co-created with stakeholders and highly responsive to each child's uniqueness. 

Learning, Teaching and Assessment: Emphasising high quality interactions, sensitive observation, and robust tracking that helps practitioners know children "very well as learners." Children are fully involved in planning their own learning. 

Child-Cantered Planning: Using effective observations to recognise and extend children's knowledge, with responsive planning that enables sustained progress at each child's own pace. 

4. Children Are Supported to Achieve 

This pillar recognises that every child's journey is unique and encompasses five crucial areas: 

Nurturing Care and Support: Using personal planning guides and approaches like 'Me, my family and my childcare setting' to ensure care is individualised, delivered with kindness, and builds strong family connections. 

Wellbeing, Inclusion and Equality: Providing rights-based support that takes full account of children who may need additional support, with early identification and targeted interventions that work. 

Children's Progress: Focusing on progress across all areas of learning not just academic skills but the holistic development that creates confident, resilient, independent learners. This includes using data and evidence to close attainment gaps and ensure equity. 

Safeguarding and Child Protection: Comprehensive arrangements that protect children from harm while promoting their ability to keep themselves safe, supported by strong partnerships and clear communication with families and agencies. 

Aisha's Settling-In Success Three-year-old Aisha was having a tough time settling into nursery. She'd cling to mum at drop off and spend much of the morning looking anxious. Rather than just giving it time, the team used the framework's emphasis on family connections and personalised planning. They invited Aisha's mum for a proper chat (not just a quick handover), discovered that Aisha loved helping with cooking at home and was worried about missing her baby brother. Together, they created a settling plan that included photos of her family in her key worker's pocket, regular cooking activities (Aisha became the official snack helper), and a special story about ‘big sisters’ that mum recorded for comfort listening. Within two weeks, Aisha was skipping in happily and even helping other new children settle. The framework's approach turned a challenging situation into a celebration of what makes each child unique. 

What Makes Leadership Different Here? 

The framework's approach to leadership goes far beyond traditional management. It recognises that effective leadership in early learning settings requires: 

Shared Accountability and Values 

Leaders don't just delegate they create conditions where everyone feels confident to initiate change and share responsibility. This builds a culture where staff, children, and families all understand their role in achieving the setting's vision. 

Evidence Based Professional Development 

Gone are the days of random training courses. Professional learning should be "well planned and informed by local, national and international evidence and research" and matched to individual staff needs. This means your team's development is strategic, purposeful, and actually makes a difference. 

Responsive Staff Deployment 

The framework recognises that how you deploy your team directly impacts children's experiences. It's about using "the diverse experience, knowledge and skills of the staff group" effectively while ensuring continuity of care and responsive support throughout the day. 

The framework asks challenging questions like: "How do we engage our families and children to ensure they have a role in our improvement journey?" and "How does staff deployment meet the individual care and support needs of all children throughout the session?" These aren't afterthoughts they're central to quality leadership. 

Why This Matters More Than You Think 

For Practitioners 

No more wondering if you're meeting different standards for different inspectors. This framework provides clear, achievable illustrations of what "very good" practice looks like and refreshingly, what "weak" practice looks like too (this will be included within the final version released). No more guessing games.

For Children and Families 

Rights-based practice isn't just a buzzword here. The framework is built on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, meaning children's voices, choices, and wellbeing are genuinely central to everything. Families like Aisha's mum find themselves truly partnered in their child's learning journey, not just informed about it. 

For the Sector 

A shared language means better collaboration, clearer expectations, and ultimately, higher quality experiences for Scotland's youngest learners. When settings like Aisha’s Nursery can transform challenges into community partnerships, everyone benefits. 

The Human Touch in Quality Assurance 

What makes this framework special isn't just its comprehensiveness it's the recognition that quality in early learning is fundamentally about relationships, interactions, and those magical moments when a child's eyes light up with understanding. 

The framework asks real questions like: 

  • "How do we know children feel welcomed when they arrive?" 

  • "What approaches are we using to promote children's natural curiosity?" 

  • "How well do we support staff wellbeing to ensure high quality care?" 

  • "How effectively do we use assessment information to identify progress and plan next steps?" 

  • "To what extent does our physical environment support different types of play?" 

  • "How well do we use Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and the wellbeing indicators?" 

These aren't tick box exercises they're invitations to deep, meaningful reflection that can transform practice. 

Getting Ready: Practical Steps 

For Leaders: 

  • Focus on creating a truly shared vision involve children and families, not just staff 

  • Plan staff deployment strategically considers the "diverse experience, knowledge and skills" of your team to meet your aims and vision 

  • Ensure professional development is evidence based and matched to individual needs 

For Practitioners: 

  • Understand your role in the setting's vision and values you're not just implementing, you're contributing 

  • Engage in reflective practice and professional discussions that "build individual and team knowledge and effectiveness" 

  • Recognise that your professional development should be strategic, not random 

  • Maintain professional registration and follow relevant codes of practice 

  • Embrace the framework's emphasis on children's rights in daily interactions 

  • Use observations effectively to "recognise and extend children's knowledge, understanding, skills and achievements" 

  • Involve children fully in planning their play and learning 

For Everyone: 

  • Remember this is about improvement, not judgment 

  • Use the challenge questions as team discussion starters 

  • Celebrate what you're already doing well 

  • Build partnerships that enrich your curriculum through meaningful community connections 

The Bottom Line 

This isn't just another inspection framework it's a blueprint for creating early learning environments where children genuinely thrive. Where Jamie's engineering curiosity is celebrated, Marcus's sensory needs are understood, and Aisha's family culture is honoured. It's about settings where their rights are respected, their voices are heard, and their natural love of learning is nurtured and celebrated. 

Scotland's early learning sector has always been innovative. This framework gives us the tools to be even better and the stories from settings already embracing these approaches show just how exciting that journey can be. 

The question isn't whether your setting is ready for the new framework it's whether you're ready to embrace the possibilities it opens up for the children in your care. 

The full framework is available now, with implementation beginning September 2025. 

What excites you most about the new framework? How do you think it will impact your practice? Share your thoughts with us we'd love to hear from practitioners across Scotland as we embark on this journey together.

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