Free templateStaff Management

Daycare Director Observation Form

A five-page room observation record for directors: 39 numbered monthly checks, 32 lettered weekly checks with four observation columns, and three pages of dated notes. Each observation is marked in-person or camera and rated on a 1–3 scale.

Format: Printable PDF · US Letter
Pages: 5 (two checklist pages, three notes pages)
Best for: Directors · assistant directors
Updated: Oct 2026

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No sign-up required. Print it and share it with your team — it’s free for any child care program to use.

Preview of the Daycare Director Observation Form

What’s inside

Monthly checks, weekly checks and room for notes

Room, month and two keysRoom and Month lines at the top, an Observation Type (OT) key — IP for In-person Observation, C for Camera Observation — and a Rating Scale: 1 Needs Improvement / Does not meet expectations, 2 Satisfactory, 3 Strong.
Monthly Observations (items 1–39)Seven headed blocks, each row with a Date/Time/OT cell and a rating cell: General; Preschool Time; Circle Time, Story & Music; Art, Sensory, Exploration & Free Play; Physical Activity Programming; Meal Time; and Nap Time.
Weekly Observations (items A–f)Four sections — Staff & Room, Supervision & Interactions, Transitions and Programming — with four Date/Time/OT columns so one page holds up to four observations.
What the items look atConcrete, observable statements such as ‘Room is in ratio’, ‘All children are signed in’, ‘Transitions warnings are completed (5 minutes, 2 minutes)’, ‘Meals are served family style’ and ‘Conducting 15 minute checks on all children’.
Notes pagesThree pages headed ‘Notes (Summary, Strengths, Weaknesses, Recommendations, Reflections)’, each with two large boxes and a Date/Time/OT line per box.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Print one set per room, per monthWrite the room and month at the top. The weekly page has four observation columns, which fits one observation a week.
2
Observe in short visitsYou will not see nap time, meal time and circle time in one visit. Fill in the rows that match what is happening and note the date, time and IP or C beside each.
3
Rate 1, 2 or 3 and write the reasonUse the notes pages for what you saw, not only the number. A ‘1’ with no description is hard to act on and hard to discuss.
4
Share it with the room teamGo through strengths first, then one or two recommendations, and agree what you will look for next time.

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.

Vary the time of day

Transitions, outdoor play and late afternoon look different from 10 a.m. free play. Spread your observations so the month’s form covers all of them.

Tell staff how camera observations are used

The form distinguishes in-person from camera observations. If you use cameras, make sure staff know, and check what your privacy and employment rules require.

Adjust items that do not match your rules

Some rows state specifics — beds 18 inches apart, 15-minute nap checks. Confirm they match your own licensing requirements and write your figure on the form if they differ.

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Staff files, hours and reviews that keep themselves current

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