School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (Sacers Spiral Edition)

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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:

Most important, the SACERS is an adaptation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) (Harms & Clifford, 1980). The SACERS is similar in format to the ECERS, the Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS) (Harms & Clifford, 1989), and the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) (Harms, Cryer, & Clifford, 1990), but the content is specific to the school-age care group. 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. How is it decided whether a SACERS-U assessment will be needed for an after school program in a child care center?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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

ERS Virtual TA Cohorts: Participants have the opportunity to collaborate with peers, as they obtain resources and support through professional development and technical assistance in a cooperative group setting. Cohorts have specific application periods where you can sign up.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.