In North Carolina, the FCCERS-R is used to assess programs with a FCCH license and also those classified as small centers in a residence. 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:

For programs that include a specific curriculum day (e.g., 8:00-2:30), wrap-around or before/after care hours operated under the same license will be considered, even if separate fees are required. Therefore, it is important for teachers to be aware of what the children enrolled in their classroom experience or would experience at these other times if they attended the extended day programming, even when another teacher is responsible for the children. This helps insure that children have appropriate experiences, indoors and outdoors, with much time for child-selected learning and consistent expectations. Science and Environment (e.g. supporting children’s creative and critical thinking and understanding of the natural and physical world)The smallest number of children that can be assessed is two and if only two children are enrolled, then both must be present during the assessment. If only one child is enrolled, an assessment will not occur. 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). 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.

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. Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, Revised - Multi-age care for children birth through 12 years old, located in a home environment If there are equal numbers of classrooms in age/scale groups and an additional assessment is needed based on the total number of classrooms, the additional assessment and random selection will occur for the rating scale that assesses a younger age group. For example, if a facility has 1-4 preschool classrooms then 1 ECERS-R assessment is needed. However, if there are 5, 6, or 7 preschool classrooms then 2 ECERS-R assessments are needed. Talk with a DCDEE Child Care Consultant about the assessment and/or receive assistance from an outside agency (such as your local Smart Start Partnership or Child Care Resource & Referral). Also consider networking with providers who have experienced the assessment process.Highly trained assessors record the daily activities and interactions observed in a child care setting using the items found in one of the following four rating scales: How is it decided how many assessments are needed and which classrooms are assessed in a child care center? To determine how many assessments are needed, first consider the age ranges of the different classrooms and which rating scale they fit into (e.g., infant and toddler rooms use the ITERS-R, older two-year old rooms and preschool rooms use the ECERS-R). Then consider the total number of classrooms in operation. Use the steps below: