Language and reasoning (e.g. supporting children’s communication, language and literacy development; critical thinking) Activities (e.g. provision of an exciting and accessible learning environment, resources to support specific types of play) The ERS are structured, observation based classroom assessments that providecomprehensive coverage of the environment experienced by children (e.g., physical environment, language-reasoning, interactions, program structure, health and safety). If additional assessments are needed to reach 1/3 of the total classrooms, additional assessment(s) will be needed starting with the age/scale group that has the most classrooms. When 1/3 of that age group has been represented, additional assessment(s) will be added for the next largest age/scale group, as needed, until the total number needed is reached.

Typically, most programs that choose to complete the assessment process for the Star Rated License will be assessed every 3 years, unless otherwise specified by their DCDEE Child Care Consultant. However, after a program’s star rating is issued, the program may decide to be re-assessed for a higher star rating. If the previous rating scale score was less than 4.0, on one or more assessments, the program may be eligible for onefree re-assessment per applicable scale.If a program that scored at least 4.0 on each rating scale assessment wants to reapply for a higher star rating, the facility will be responsible for the cost of the re-assessment(s). It is important to discuss either option with your child care licensing consultant. When there are several classrooms, at least 1/3 of the overall number of classrooms must be assessed, in addition to representing each applicable rating scale.Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised - For children 31 months (e.g., over 2 1/2 years) through 5 years Administrators are likely to have discussion with teachers in each classroom and encourage staff to share their experiences and strategies with each other. Group problem-solving can be helpful. If there are times of the day that tend to be more challenging or there are other predictable "higher need" times or situations, consider whether other program level resources, such as strategically using additional staff at these times, could be used to support teachers and enhance the functioning of each classroom. How is it decided whether a SACERS-U assessment will be needed for an after school program in a child care center?

School age children need to be in care for at least two hours each afternoon before a SACERS-U assessment can be completed. Beyond that consider the following:Programme structure (e.g. opportunities for children to access their own curriculum, planning schedules/routines to meet children’s needs) The ECERS-R is used in classrooms where the majority of children are 31 months old and older. The ITERS-R is used when the majority of children are younger than 31 months of age. If a classroom enrollment is exactly half and half (e.g., 3 of 6 children are 30 months or younger and 3 children are 31 months and older) then the ITERS-R will be used. The assessor will arrive when the center or home opens or when children are arriving. Before the observation begins, the assessor will typically greet the owner/director andprovide an overview of the day. In child care centers that have multiple classrooms for one of the more of the rating scales, classrooms to be assessed are chosen on the day of each assessment using random selection.

No one component is more or less important than the others, nor can one substitute for another. It takes all three to create quality care. Each of the three basic components of quality care manifests itself in tangible forms in the program's environment, curriculum, schedule, supervision and interaction, and can be observed. These are the key aspects of process quality that are included in our environmental rating scales.

Prepare your facility to maximize the assessment process through quality enhancements. Any changes should reflect the best practices for young children and should improve the quality of the program on an ongoing basis. Remember, it often takes time to change behaviors and practices, so assessment preparation should be viewed as an ongoing process, rather than a short term activity.

The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are an observational assessment that assess the process quality of a program. Process quality is what the children are directly experiencing in their program and how it has a direct effect on their development. There are 4 (four) different tools that are used in the ERS: the Infant and Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS) and the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS). All 4 (four) of the scales are set up the same way to make learning the different scales easier, but the content in each scale is based off of the age group that the scale was created for. At least one assessment will be needed per applicable scale.If there is only one classroom that fits into the age guideline of a rating scale, then that classroom will be assessed. Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, Revised - Multi-age care for children birth through 12 years old, located in a home environment An extension to the ECERS-R (the ECERS-E) was designed by Professor Kathy Sylva, Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford and Brenda Taggart as part of the EPPE Project. It provides greater depth and additional items in four educational aspects of provision :There are several standard documents that you should be aware and your consultant may have other documents related to the program standards portion of the NC Star Rated License. These documents are available under the "Resources" menu and include: SACERS-U, Staff Development subscale, items 39-41. Additionally, SACERS-U items 12, 14, and 43-47 are not scored. For the ERS assessment process, a program’s operating hours are determined based on when the program opens and closes, rather than a shorter time period when specific programming occurs. Therefore, the earliest time any children are allowed to attend, until the time the program closes are the program’s operating hours. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Revised (ECERS-R) is designed to evaluate quality of provision for children aged 2½ to 5 years in centre-based settings. If you are interested in finding more about the Environment Rating Scales, consider applying to be a part of Virtual TA Cohorts, take an Intro and Overview of the ERS Training or apply for a Progressive Training and TA Program option.