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Part of Quality, safety and compliance in licenced childcare

Facility based licence holder survey

Facility based licence holder survey

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Quality, safety and compliance in licenced childcare

Survey

The survey takes approximately 11 to 13 minutes to complete.

All fields are required unless otherwise indicated.

1 of 5 (0%)

Screening

Which of the following best describes your childcare program(s):
How long have you been a licence holder in Alberta?
What is your primary role as a licence holder?
Are you directly involved in the day-to-day operation of your childcare program(s)?
Before becoming a facility-based licence holder, which of the following early learning and childcare (ELCC)-related background did you have? Select all that apply.
What formal education in early learning and childcare do you have?
Which ECE certificate level do you have?
How much experience did you have working in ELCC before becoming a licence holder?
What background, education, or experience did you have before becoming a licence holder? Select all that apply.
As of July 2026, how many facility-based childcare centres do you operate in Alberta for each of the following program types?
Do you operate any childcare centres outside Alberta?
As of July 2026, what was the maximum licensed capacity that your facility-based childcare centres in Alberta were licensed for? Please indicate the total number of licensed spaces according to each program type:

Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Credentials

Based on your experience, to what extent do ECEs at each certification level demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to work safely and effectively when they first begin working?
In your childcare program, how different are the responsibilities of Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 ECEs (not including program directors or program supervisors)?
Which responsibilities are more commonly assigned to higher-certified ECEs (e.g., Level 2 or Level 3)? Select all that apply.
What skills or knowledge do newly certified ECEs seem to still be developing or not fully competent in when they first start working in childcare? Select all that apply.
What would help new ECEs be better prepared when they first start working in licensed childcare? Rank from most helpful to least helpful.
Most helpful change for new ECEs
Second most helpful change for new ECEs
Third most helpful change for new ECEs
Fourth most helpful change for new ECEs
Fifth most helpful change for new ECEs
What would best improve ECE competencies in your organization? Select up to two.
When hiring new ECEs, do you consider the pathway they used to obtain their certification (e.g. equivalency assessment, post-secondary education) as part of your hiring decision?
Do you believe changes are needed to Alberta's ECE certification system?
Currently, ECE certification is granted based on educational credentials (e.g. certificate, diploma, degree). Which additional requirements, if any, should be considered before an ECE is fully certified to work in licensed childcare? Select all that apply.
Which of the following approaches to ECE certification do you support? Select all that apply.
Based on your experience hiring or supervising newly certified ECEs, which certification pathways raise the greatest concerns about whether an ECE has the competencies needed to work safely and effectively in licensed childcare? Select all that apply.
What is the main concern with the pathway or pathways you selected? Select up to three.

Currently, an ECE’s certification can be suspended or cancelled for an offence, order or prohibition presenting a potential or imminent risk to a child, including: 

  • Police investigation or charge
  • Court hearing or trial
  • Conviction
Are there any other circumstances you believe an ECE certification should be suspended or cancelled? Select all that apply.

Regulatory Compliance

Which operational challenges create the greatest risks to quality, safety, or compliance in your program? Select up to three.
How familiar are you with the process for responding to critical incidents, including reporting critical incidents to licensing and informing parents?

Critical incidents include allegations of a criminal nature (physical, sexual, emotional abuse and/or neglect of a child), a serious injury requiring emergency medical response or an overnight hospital stay, the death of a child, a missing or lost child, incidents involving police, or an unexpected program closure while children are in care.
Based on your experience, what are the most common underlying causes of critical incidents or non-compliance in your program(s)? Select up to five.
Which of these requirements are hardest for your program to meet consistently? Select up to three.
How helpful are licensing inspections in supporting your program to understand and comply with regulatory requirements?
How helpful is the feedback you receive during licensing inspections in helping your program fix issues and prevent them from happening again?
What would make licensing inspections more helpful for your program? Select all that apply.
To what extent would each of the following screening steps support the assessment of prospective licence holders in their readiness to operate a licensed childcare program?
Review the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation.
How important are the following types of qualifications or experience for licence holders?
Review the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation.
When you first became a licence holder, which areas were most challenging? Select up to three.
What supports would be most valuable in the structured onboarding process for new licence holders? Select up to three.

Quality Supports

Do you use an early learning and childcare curriculum framework to guide practice and program planning?
Which curriculum framework(s) does your program use for planning? Select all that apply.
How useful is your curriculum framework in supporting quality childcare practices?
When did your program last update its program plan?
Why was your program plan last updated? Select all that apply.
Which parts of your program plan are hardest to develop or put into practice? Select all that apply.
In the past 12 months, has a family ever had their child’s care terminated at your childcare program?
Approximately how often has this occurred in the past 12 months?
What were the reasons for the termination of care? Select all that apply.
In the past 12 months, did you take any inclusion supports and how effective were the inclusion supports you used?
In the past 12 months, did you take any quality supports and how effective were the quality supports you used?
In the last 12 months, which of these activities has your program done to improve quality? Select all that apply.

Demographics

What is your age?
What language(s) are spoken on a regular basis in your household? Select all that apply.
How long have you lived in Canada?
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