Internal evaluation of preschool activities is also intended to provide information about the preschool’s practices, promote improvements and increased quality, and be part of the development of school activities in preschools. Systematic evaluation identifies what is going well and what is not, and then decisions about improvements are made based on the results.

Evaluation of the preschool’s work should take into account the goals and values ​​stated in laws, regulations and the National Curriculum Guide for Preschools. Furthermore, internal evaluation takes into account the working methods and specific situation of each preschool as stated in the school curriculum guide. Internal evaluation should be integrated into the daily work of the preschool, enhance knowledge, skills and reflection on the work, increase staff awareness of their responsibility for the preschool’s operations and be part of parent cooperation.

Democratic methods of internal evaluation, where the views of those involved in preschool work are taken into account, contribute to increased quality in the work. The most important participants in this are preschool teachers, other staff, parents and children. These parties need to be given the opportunity to reflect on preschool work and discuss it with each other on an equal basis.

Each preschool develops criteria for its activities, sets them out in the school curriculum and develops assessment methods that suit the school’s practices. It is important to take different approaches to data collection and rely on diverse assessment methods that take into account the preschool’s working methods, the diversity of the parent group and the different ways of expressing children.

Preschool teachers play a key role in planning and implementing internal evaluation. The principal, however, is responsible for implementing internal evaluation in the preschool and following up on improvements based on its results. The results of the internal evaluation of preschool activities, together with the improvement plan, should be accessible. It is important that a committee that manages preschool affairs on behalf of the local government monitors the results of the internal evaluation to ensure that they contribute to increased quality of school activities.

The committee that handles preschool matters on behalf of the local government shall monitor that preschool activities comply with the Preschool Act, regulations and the National Curriculum Guide for Preschools. This applies to both preschools run by the municipality and those run by other parties. The committee is responsible for ensuring that school work is assessed taking into account the circumstances and specificities of each preschool and that the school assesses its internal work in a systematic manner. External evaluation can be based on a variety of information, e.g. on internal evaluation, evaluation of the school curriculum and school work plan, implementation of the municipality’s school policy, statistical information and other data as appropriate.

The local government must ensure that information about school activities is communicated to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, school staff and parents. The results of audits and surveys shall be followed up in a systematic manner, with follow-up taking into account the subject matter and results.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture supervises that municipalities fulfill the obligations stipulated in the Act on Preschools, regulations and the National Curriculum Guide. The Ministry’s regular external evaluation consists of audits, surveys and research, as well as general collection, analysis and dissemination of information. The Ministry draws up a three-year plan for external evaluation, surveys and assessments, which aim to provide information on preschool activities. The Ministry’s external evaluation may, among other things, consist of assessments of school activities as a whole or individual aspects thereof, institutional assessments, assessments of specific aspects or internal assessments. The external evaluation may also consist of an analysis of the results of evaluations by municipalities. The results must be followed up and the Ministry’s follow-up is based on the results at each time. The results of all surveys and assessments are published on the Ministry’s website.