BackgroundEducational support quality is an essential factor in determining the education of novice home healthcare nurses. This study developed a scale to assess the educational support provided by home healthcare agencies among novice home healthcare nurses.MethodsHypothetical components were derived from a literature review, including experiential learning theory. Expert panels evaluated the initial scale items, and the scale was tested with 3000 agencies from April to June 2022. A total of 627 valid responses were analyzed.ResultsExploratory factor analysis produced a four-subscale structure consisting of 34 items that supported the hypothesized components. Cronbach’s alphas ranged 0.889 to 0.961, and the intraclass correlation coefficients ranged 0.703 to 0.905 in the test-retest survey.ConclusionsThe educational support assessment scale developed for novice home healthcare nurses is valid and reliable. Managers in home healthcare agencies should apply the results of assessments using the scale to improve their human resource development.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04313-1.