Please sign our ELC MANDATE FOR CHANGE

Every member of SCMA should now have received a letter on the subject of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). This letter asks every member to sign an enclosed Mandate for Change so that we can actively and collectively lobby on their behalf to protect childminding services in the future.

We know a childminding service is one of the ideal settings for children to experience funded hours, offering a blended approach to childcare. However, some local authorities seem to be telling us that childminders are not interested in partnering with them to provide funded ELC.  Not true we say but in order to support our statement we need our members to sign a mandate so we have absolute proof.  

The mandate simply states that members want us to lobby on their behalf for childminders to become partner providers within local authority areas. This does not commit childminders to anything other than agreeing that they should be included as providers. We will then have some really vital evidence to help us lobby on your behalf - to Scottish Government and local authorities.

If your minded children were offered a funded free place at nursery for six hours a day, five days a week – how would this affect your childminding business? Would your parents be able to afford to say ‘no’ to a free nursery place?  By 2020 this will be a reality.  There will be funded ELC increasing to 1140 hours for children who are three or four years old, as well as for qualifying two year olds.  We know these funded ELC are a big help for families but SCMA would like to make sure that childminders are given the opportunity to be partner providers, paid for providing this service by your local authority.  In essence, we believe that a childminding service is the ideal setting for children to experience their funded hours and we are now campaigning for a blended approach to childcare.

Please sign the mandate when it arrives and post it back to us, using the pre-paid envelope enclosed.  We are really proud of the childminders that we represent and we are doing our best to ensure we are still together in 2020. 

Please help us to help you.

Funded Early Learning and Childcare is expanding... is your childminding business future-proof?

SCMA continues to speak to local authorities to urge them to use childminding services. As a childminder, you are already an existing sustainable ELC service that should not to be overlooked – but we need your help. Remember you are already delivering flexible quality ELC – funded or not. We want to emphasise to local authorities that:

• 32,500 children in Scotland attend a childminding service**. 
• The quality of ELC provided by childminders exceeds other daycare services, including nurseries**.
• 80% of childminders in Scotland achieved a grade four or above.
• Childminders are open for business all year and willing to provide flexible, quality and funded ELC.

“Childminders will be central to our ambitions for a massive expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in the years to come.” 
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister

Nationally SCMA is a strong voice for childminding in Scotland, but locally your individual voices count for more. That’s why we need to hear your voice. With the help of our 4,500 members, SCMA is campaigning for more childminding services to play their role in the delivery of quality funded ELC. We want more childminders to engage in the funded ELC debate, and help promote the benefits of using childminders and the positive effect you have on the wellbeing of children.

Why does this matter to me?

Your childminding service may be full at the moment, but what will happen in 2020 when funded ELC increases.  How could this affect your childminding business?  If childminders were given an opportunity to be partner providers to provide funded ELC with the local authority, parents would benefit from more flexibility and children would benefit from the quality ELC provided by childminders. SCMA is passionately committed to lobbying for greater representation of childminders within the funded ELC workforce, but we need your help. The more voices, the greater the noise!


EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE: a guide for childminders

To view our 'Early Learning and Childcare: a guide for childminders' click the pdf document below.  

*Hours based on 38 weeks per year
**Early learning and childcare statistics 2014, Care Inspectorate, published October 2015