Tie the goal to professional development hours
Most provinces require annual PD. Linking the goal to a specific course or Learning Lab makes both easier to track.
Free templateStaff Management
Annual Performance Self-Evaluation Form
A three-page self-evaluation educators complete before the annual review: they score themselves from 1 to 4 across three categories, add comments, and answer seven discussion questions to talk through with the director.
- Format
- Printable PDF · US Letter
- Pages
- 3
- Best for
- Directors · educators
- Updated
- Sept 2026
No sign-up required. Print it and share it with your team — it’s free for any child care program to use.
What’s inside
Three scored categories and seven discussion questions
- Score key4 – Exceeds Expectations, 3 – Meets Expectations, 2 – Developing in Job, 1 – Development Required, plus N/A for items that do not apply to the position. Name, date and position go at the top.
- Classroom ManagementScores for General Classroom Responsibilities, Programming, Guidance Strategies, General Driver Responsibilities and General Chef Responsibilities, with a comments box.
- RelationshipsScores for relationships with children, parents and co-workers, with a comments box.
- Professionalism & GrowthScores for General Work Habits, Professional Conduct and Presentation, with a comments box.
- Discussion questions and signaturesSeven open questions — what to change, what to keep, strengths, areas to develop, a professional development goal for the next year, and what you like best and least about the job — then staff and director signature and date lines.
How to use it
Four steps to put it to work this week
- 1Send it two weeks before the reviewGive staff real time to reflect; a rushed self-evaluation is a wasted one.
- 2Complete your own notes separatelyScore the same categories before you read theirs, then compare in the meeting.
- 3Discuss the gaps, not the scoresWhere you and the educator differ is where the useful conversation is.
- 4Agree the goal and file itFinish on the professional development goal and the support you will provide. Both sign and date the last page, and file the copy with PD hours.
Tips from operators
What centers that use this well do differently
Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.
Ask about workload before you ask about performance
A tired educator rates themselves harshly. Start the meeting by asking how the year has felt.
Review mid-year, not just annually
A 15-minute check-in on the professional development goal in month six is what makes the annual form meaningful.
Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro
Staff files, hours and reviews that keep themselves current
ChildFriendly Pro keeps every educator’s certifications, clearances, PD hours, timecards and review notes in one HR file — with expiry alerts, ratio-aware scheduling and wage top-up hours grouped by level.
- Kiosk clock-in with break and overtime rules
- Certification and clearance expiry alerts
- Direct-care hours by level for wage-enhancement claims
FAQ
Questions about the Annual Performance Self-Evaluation Form
Can’t find your answer? Chat with a real person who has run a child care center.
Read more FAQsIs a self-evaluation required by licensing?
Most licensing bodies require some form of annual staff evaluation, and accreditation programs such as NECPA ask for evidence of professional development planning. A signed self-evaluation with agreed goals satisfies both.
Should the self-rating affect pay?
That is your policy decision, but most operators separate the two. Self-evaluations are more honest when they are about growth rather than a raise.
How long should staff spend on it?
Thirty to sixty minutes. If it takes longer, the questions are being over-thought — a score and a short comment per category, and a few sentences per discussion question, is enough.
Can I adapt the categories?
Not in the file itself — it is a print-ready PDF, not an editable document. Use N/A for items that do not apply to a role (for example the driver and chef lines), and use the comments boxes for anything the categories do not cover.
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