CHEQ Meeting Prep

CHEQ Meeting Prep Guide

Prepare for your CHEQ Meeting by reviewing the CHEQ Meeting Prep Guide.  We recommend downloading and printing the full document to have it available during your meeting by clicking the blue button below. The Prep Guide includes the following sections: Tips for Preparing, CHEQ Leader Script, and Frequently Asked Questions.

Download or Print the CHEQ Meeting Prep Guide

CHEQ Meeting Best Practices:

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Tips for Preparing:

Prior to CHEQ Meeting:

    • Login to the CHEQ e-System to update your class lists:
      • Add any new students
      • Delete any students who are no longer at your school
      • Print Parent/Caregiver Logins
    • Review the Script and FAQs in this document
    • Organize support if available/necessary. Consider:
      • Translation support for ELL parents/caregivers
      • Child-minding for young children waiting at the session
      • Additional support for administration
      • Bringing in community early years partners
      • Asking older students to help at the session
      • Having other school staff available

Day of CHEQ Meeting:

    • Put up CHEQ directional signage outside K classrooms and the front office indicating the CHEQ meeting room
    • Set up a table with parent/caregiver login print outs
    • Setup computers/tablets (leave space between each computer for privacy)
    • Open browser on each device to the login page: https://cheq.ubc.ca/
    • Have headphones available for parents/caregivers (optional)
      • There is a read-aloud option for each question on the CHEQ
    • Introduce the CHEQ:
      • Refer to the script below for ideas
      • Explain why your school and district is participating in the CHEQ
      • Highlight how your school/district uses CHEQ data, if applicable
      • Share what parents are asked to do
      • If possible, show the CHEQ Parent/Caregiver Video to the group
    • The CHEQ Leader (and other staff/student support if applicable) should be available in the room during the meeting for support with technical difficulties and/or to address questions (refer to FAQs)

After the CHEQ Meeting:

    • Follow up with any parents/caregivers who did not attend the meeting and ask them to complete the CHEQ at home (send their login sheets home) or arrange another time at the school if possible

CHEQ Leader Script:

Please modify the following script for your school. The template below can be used as a starting point to introduce parents/caregivers to the CHEQ at the beginning of your CHEQ Meeting:

Thank you all for attending our CHEQ Meeting. Our school is partnering with The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), a research institute at the University of British Columbia, to do the Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CHEQ). The CHEQ is a questionnaire that focuses on experiences your child has had over the last few years.

[insert information about how long and why your school/district has participated in the CHEQ]

Information collected with the CHEQ is used in a few different ways. The information from the CHEQ is shared with our district and community to strengthen programs and services for families. Our school can also use it to better understand the different kinds of experiences children had before they started Kindergarten so that our teachers and school can support them better.

[if applicable, insert information about how your school/district uses CHEQ data]

The questionnaire does not assess your child’s skills or abilities or your parenting. The CHEQ is simple and easy to complete and will take approximately 15 minutes of your time. Your participation is voluntary.

To log in to the system, enter the login credentials provided on your login sheet. Once you are on the home page of the system, you will see a Parent/Guardian Consent Form. Please take the time to review this form which provides more details on the questionnaire and how CHEQ data is used, stored and protected. The letter is available in English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Farsi, French, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Please review the letter and, if you wish to participate, click the “I Consent” button to begin the survey. If you wish to withdraw at any time, you can click the “Withdraw from this questionnaire” button at the bottom of your screen and any answers that you have provided will be erased. Please note that there are two parts to the questionnaire. The first part asks about your child’s experiences before Kindergarten and is shared with us. The second part asks demographic information and is not shared with us.

[if not showing the video to the group at the session]: On the Welcome Page, you will also see a video. This video provides an overview of the CHEQ and information on how to complete the survey. Please take the time to watch this video individually at your computers/tablets using headphones as it contains important information about how to complete the survey.

If you have any questions at any time, please let me know and I will try to assist you.

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How long does it take?
    • On average, the CHEQ takes about 15 minutes to complete.
  • Can I complete it at home?
    • If a parent/caregiver cannot complete a questionnaire at the school, they can use their parent/caregiver login sheet to complete the CHEQ online at home.
  • Can I finish the questionnaire later?
    • Responses to the questionnaire are automatically saved as the parent/caregiver progresses through the questionnaire. Parents/caregivers are able to log out of the questionnaire knowing that their work has been saved and that they can log back in later to complete the questionnaire.
  • What is the deadline to complete the CHEQ?
    • The questionnaire window closes at the end of October.
  • Can I skip questions if I am not able to answer or do not feel comfortable?
    • All questions are optional. You can skip any questions you wish.
  • What happens to the information I provide?
    • Answers provided in Part 1 about your child’s experiences are included in individual, classroom and school reports and summaries. These reports may be shared with school School personnel follows their professional practice guidelines for safeguarding your child’s personal information in these reports. Answers provided in Part 2 about different socio-economic markers, (e.g. employment, education, income) is confidential. Responses to these questions are not provided to your child’s school personnel. Identifying information is removed from these responses and these data are used for research purposes only to better understand the characteristics of your neighborhood and community.
  • I am having difficulty reading the questions. What can I do?
    • There is a read-aloud audio button beside each question to hear the question read out loud that parents/caregivers may opt to use if they prefer to listen to, rather than read, the questions.
    • English language learners who may have difficulty understanding the questionnaire can complete the CHEQ at home with the support of a relative or friend. They can also bring someone to support them at the meeting. We also offer the CHEQ in Simplified Chinese and Punjabi with more translations planned for the future.
    • The CHEQ Leader (and in some schools, translation support) is also present during the CHEQ Parent/Caregiver Meeting to assist parents/caregivers as needed.
  • I did not receive any login information. What do I do?
    • If a parent/caregiver did not receive their login sheet, the CHEQ Leader can log in to the e-System to print the individual login sheet. If the child is not in the system, the CHEQ Leader can add the child and the system will generate a parent/caregiver login sheet. If you are having trouble adding the child, please contact HELP as they may already be in the system. (P: 604-822-3361; E: cheq@help.ubc.ca)
  • Will my child’s name be reported?
    • Your child’s name is only attached to individual and classroom reports for internal use at our school. There are no public reports with your child’s name attached.
  • Can I have a copy of my child’s report?
    • Reports (including individual reports) are for internal use only and are not available to parents/caregivers.
  • Can I complete a paper copy of the CHEQ?
    • No, parents/caregivers are not able to complete a paper copy of the CHEQ. It is more secure to have all of the reports online within HELP’s systems which adheres to all requirements of provincial and federal privacy legislation.

If there are any questions you cannot answer, please contact the CHEQ Implementation Lead (P: 604-822-3361; E: cheq@help.ubc.ca) or direct parents/caregivers to the HELP website: earlylearning.ubc.ca/cheq/