Free templateStaff Management

Weekly Staff Check-In Tool

A one-page Lunch & Learn sheet, subtitled ‘Simple Coaching Conversations That Build Confidence’, for recording a short weekly conversation with one staff member. Staff Name and Date lines are followed by five numbered prompts: what is going well, what has been challenging, one focus for the week, a coaching note and follow-up.

Format: Printable PDF · A4
Pages: 1
Best for: Directors · supervisors · room leads
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 Weekly Staff Check-In Tool

What’s inside

Five prompts for one short coaching conversation

Staff Name and DateTwo lines at the top, so each sheet records one conversation with one staff member.
1. What’s going well right now?The opening prompt, with the note ‘Encourage reflection and confidence’.
2. What has been challenging?The second prompt, with the reminder to ‘Look for patterns, not one-time issues’.
3. One Focus for This Week and 4. Coaching Note (Your Input)A single focus, noted as ‘Keep it small and specific’, followed by the leader’s own input: ‘What is one practical suggestion you can give?’
5. Follow-UpOne closing question for the leader: ‘What will you check in on next time?’

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Print one sheet per staff member, per weekWrite the name and date at the top. Keeping the sheets together gives you a short record of each person’s progress.
2
Ask the prompts in orderStart with what is going well before moving to what has been challenging. Note the staff member’s answers in a few words.
3
Agree one focus and give one suggestionWrite a single small focus under prompt 3 and one practical suggestion under prompt 4. The sheet asks for one of each.
4
Start next week from the follow-upBring last week’s sheet to the next check-in and open with whatever you wrote under Follow-Up.

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.

Keep notes to a line or two

There is only a small gap under each prompt. Write key words during the conversation and use the back of the page if you need more room.

Keep the same slot each week

A regular time, such as during rest time on the same day, makes the check-in more likely to happen than fitting it in when things are quiet.

Store completed sheets privately

The notes are about a named staff member. Keep them with your other staff records, not on a shared clipboard.

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.