Free templateStaff Management

The TRUST Communication Check

A one-page Lunch & Learn sheet for leaders to read ‘Before Sending The Email, Holding The Meeting, or Having The Conversation’. It spells out TRUST — Timely, Repeated, Understood, Supportive, Trust-Building — with one question for each letter, and ends with a Communication Goal: ‘Not: Sharing information. But: Creating understanding.’

Format: Printable PDF · A4
Pages: 1
Best for: Owners · directors · supervisors
Updated: Oct 2026

Download free template See what’s inside

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 The TRUST Communication Check

What’s inside

Five questions to ask before you communicate

T — Timely‘Am I addressing this soon enough?’
R — Repeated and U — Understood‘Have I communicated this more than once?’ and ‘Will people know exactly what I mean?’
S — Supportive and T — Trust-Building‘Am I helping people succeed?’ and ‘Will this increase trust?’
Communication GoalA closing reminder in two lines: ‘Not: Sharing information’ and ‘But: Creating understanding’.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Keep it where you write and planPrint the page and pin it by your desk or keep it with your meeting notes, so it is in view when you draft a message.
2
Read the five questions before you communicateGo through T, R, U, S and T in order before you send the email, hold the meeting or start the conversation.
3
Fix whichever answer is ‘no’If the message is late, say so and explain why. If it may not be understood, rewrite it with the specific action, person and date.
4
Plan the repeatThe ‘Repeated’ question assumes one message is not enough. Decide when and how you will say it again, for example at the next staff meeting.

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.

Test ‘Understood’ with one person

Ask a colleague to read the message and tell you what they think they are being asked to do. If their answer differs from your intent, revise it.

Use more than one channel

Repeating a message works better when it arrives in different ways: in writing, in person and in the room where it applies.

Share it with room leads

The questions apply to anyone who passes on expectations. Give a copy to supervisors and room leads so the team uses the same check.

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