Assess and Strengthen Your Program
Free Quality Improvement Tool for Virginia Out-of-School Time Programs
The VPOST Quality Check Tool is a free, practical resource designed to help Virginia’s out-of-school time (OST) programs assess their current practices, celebrate what’s working, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Whether you’re a new program or an experienced provider, the Quality Check Tool helps your team turn the Virginia Quality Standards into meaningful conversations and actionable next steps.
What is the Quality Check Tool?
The VPOST Quality Check Tool is a companion resource to the Virginia Quality Standards for Out-of-School Time Programs.
Rather than serving as an evaluation or compliance checklist, the tool is designed to encourage reflection, conversation, and continuous improvement. It helps programs examine current practices, recognize successes, and identify realistic next steps for strengthening quality over time.
The tool should be completed as a team and is flexible enough to support organizations of all sizes and program models.
Whether you’re beginning your quality improvement journey or looking to build on existing strengths, the Quality Check Tool provides a simple step-by-step process to guide reflection and goal-setting.
Why Use the Quality Check Tool?
Every program has strengths and every program has opportunities to grow.
The Quality Check Tool helps you move beyond simply reading the Quality Standards and begin applying them to your own program.
Use the tool to:
- Reflect on your current practices
- Create meaningful conversations among staff
- Celebrate what your program is already doing well
- Identify opportunities for improvement
- Set actionable goals as a team
- Support strategic planning and professional development
- Strengthen your commitment to continuous quality improvement
Because quality improvement is an ongoing journey, the tool is designed to be used repeatedly as your program evolves.
How it Works
The Quality Check Tool is broken up into five steps that walk you through reflection and action planning.
Who Should Use the Tool?
The Quality Check Tool was developed for organizations serving school-age children and youth across Virginia, including:
- Afterschool programs
- Summer learning programs
- Community-based organizations
- School divisions
- Parks and recreation departments
- Libraries
- Faith-based organizations
- Youth-serving nonprofits
- Multi-region program providers
- Intermediaries
Whether your organization serves 20 participants or 2,000, the tool is designed to support meaningful reflection and improvement.
When Should You Use the Quality Check Tool?
Programs use the tool in many different ways throughout the year. Consider using it:
- During annual program planning
- Before developing strategic goals
- As part of staff retreats
- During professional development sessions
- When onboarding new staff
- Before applying for grants
- Following a program evaluation
- At the beginning or end of each program year
Many organizations find value in completing the Quality Check annually to monitor progress over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Quality Check Tool is completely voluntary and is intended to support continuous improvement rather than compliance.
Yes. Many organizations complete the tool as a leadership team or during staff meetings to encourage discussion and shared reflection.
The amount of time depends on how your organization chooses to use the tool. Some programs complete it individually, while others facilitate longer team discussions around each Quality Standard.
Many organizations complete the Quality Check annually or as part of their strategic planning process to monitor progress and identify new improvement priorities.
The Quality Check Tool is designed to complement the Virginia Quality Standards. We recommend reviewing the Standards before completing the Quality Check.
Absolutely. The Quality Check Tool was intentionally designed to be flexible and useful for organizations of all sizes.
