Validators & Moderators

The success and credibility of AELCS are dependent upon the performance of child care professionals who are engaged in the external assessment or validation of an applicant service by the Validators and the Moderators.

AELCS depends upon the Validators and Moderators to assure the objectivity and quality of accreditation of licensed and contracted child care services in Alberta. They are experienced professionals in early child care and education committed to the advancement of quality child care services through the accreditation process.

Validators conduct site visits and provide documentation for AELCS.

Moderators write reports and make recommendations to AELCS regarding whether a child care service has achieved the standards required for accreditation in order to ensure consistency in decisions. The positions of Validator and Moderator are contract positions.

If you have Level III Certification and wish to be considered as a participant in any future Validator training opportunities, submit a Validator application form to AELCS.

The    Validator Application  must be complete and be supported by two letters of reference. A cover letter and a resume are also required.

There is no fee for Validator training.  Attending and completing the training is no guarantee of contracted employment with AELCS. 


AELCS reserves the right to deselect candidates following review of the training activities and documents.

Validator Role, Responsibilities and Qualifications

Validators conduct site visits and provide site visit documentation for AELCS.  Validators are required to disqualify themselves from a review, if they are familiar with a child care program or its practitioners or have a conflict of interest.  Individuals applying for these positions require at a minimum:

• Level III certification
• Senior staff with supervisory experience
• Ability to work with and relate to adults in an evaluative setting
• Ability to work in an objective and professional manner
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Lead Validators

Lead Validators are remunerated for their service per site visit.  There will be a limited number of Lead Validators who will work on contract with AELCS.

Peer Validators

Peer Validators are individuals working in child care settings at a supervisory level.  As with most accreditation systems, Peer Validators or the program where they work will receive ‘release funds' per validation service to compensate for the time the Peer Validator is away from their workplace. All of the Peer Validator's travel expenses are covered.

Moderator Role, Responsibilities and Qualifications

The role of the Moderator is to make recommendations and provide advice to AELCS on whether a child care service has achieved the standards required for accreditation.

Moderator recommendations are based on an examination of the evidence of quality presented in the self-study report, the Quality Enhancement Plan, and the Validators' observed documentation. The Moderator's observations and recommendation are presented as an accreditation report to the Governing Council of AELCS.  Moderators are remunerated per recommendation report.

Moderators are required to disqualify themselves from a review, if they are familiar with a child care program or its practitioners or have a conflict of interest.

The qualifications of Moderators include:

Competencies required for moderators include:
• Commitment to the accreditation process and to quality improvement of child care services
• Knowledge and, where possible, experience in processes of the review and evaluation of services
• Knowledge and, where possible, experience in processes of service approval or licensing
• Professional maturity
• Ethical behaviour
• Objectivity and respect of differences in philosophies and approaches in child care and early education
• Ability to read, analyze, synthesize and write concise, factual observations
• Ability to observe, interview and then analyze, synthesize and write concise, factual observations
• Ability to relate evidence to general criteria and indicators, recognizing that an isolated incident does not necessarily reflect the general standards of a service
• Ability to communicate orally