ELC AUDIT 2023 NOW PUBLISHED
Childminding Workforce Continues to Decline During ELC Expansion With Over 2000 Spaces Lost for Families In One Year; measures to redress decline provide some grounds for cautious optimism
SCMA has today (Thursday 30 November) published its annual independent Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Audit 2023, which is commissioned by the Scottish Government.
The Audit warns the local implementation of ELC expansion and funded hours policy continues to have a serious impact on the annual decline of the childminding workforce. However, there are some small signs beginning to emerge that innovative measures such as a childminder recruitment pilot and working collectively with Scottish Government and local authorities on ways to improve support for and retain existing childminders may present grounds for cautious optimism.
Within the last year, (1 August 2022 - 31 July 2023), the childminding workforce has declined by a further 9.7% with the loss of another 347 childminding businesses and 2,047 spaces for families. This means that, since 2016 during ELC expansion - the childminding workforce has declined by 41.2% with the loss of 2,273 childminding businesses and 13,411 childminding spaces for families. While the number of childminding businesses lost within this last year is still worryingly high, (and not sustainable), the losses are a little lower than in the same period in 2020-21 / 2021-22.
The Scottish Government has made a series of important commitments to childminding during this last year, recognising the severity of the situation and the risks this decline presents to a number of national policies. Most recently, this has included commitments within the
Programme for Government, published in September to recruit an additional 1,000 childminders over the next three years and with a commitment to a series of pilots focused on supporting the existing childminding workforce and increasing retention.”
Main Findings | ELC Audit 2023
As has been experienced throughout ELC expansion – significant disparities continue between the number of childminders ‘approved’ to deliver funded ELC and those actually delivering funded ELC. This is a very important distinction to make, as the approved number can be used to suggest a higher level of involvement than is actually happening in practice in comparison to the number of childminders who have been included more meaningfully and progressed to actively delivering funded ELC to families. As at 1 August 2023:
- Eligible two year-olds: 1 in 4 childminders had been approved by local authorities to deliver funded ELC to eligible two year-olds, but only 1 in 25 were actually delivering funded ELC to them.
- Three and four year-olds: 1 in 4 childminders had been approved by local authorities to deliver funded ELC to three to four year-olds, but only 1 in 6 childminders were actually delivering funded ELC to them.
- Decrease in childminders delivering funded ELC: This is now the second year (following the implementation of 1140 in August 2021) that we have reported a decrease in the number of childminders delivering funded ELC and that the number of childminders coming into delivering funded ELC has been overtaken by those ceasing to deliver funded ELC.
- Local Authority Support for Childminding: Our data shows that childminding is still not being systematically and effectively promoted and offered to parents by all local authorities as an option for receiving their statutory entitlement of funded ELC equitably alongside their own nursery provision. This continues to play a major factor in the disparity between the number of childminders approved to deliver funded ELC and those actually delivering it. While some local authorities have been very supportive of childminding, others have been less so - and it is very clear from these findings just how much work remains to be done in increasing support for, and understanding of, the value of the childminding workforce.
New Registered Childminders
Looking first at those coming into the childminding workforce, the number of new registrations has been decreasing annually since 2016, however, in the last year (to 31 July 2023), there has been
a small increase in the number of newly registered childminders. This increase included 44 new childminders recruited through SCMA’s innovative recruitment pilot and accounted for 27% of all newly registered childminders last year- without which the number of new registrations would have continued to decline. SCMA’s targeted recruitment campaign is on-going in various local authority areas, with more new childminding businesses being established and we continue to receive active interest and enquiries about becoming a childminder.
Workforce Retention
In 2022 SCMA projected that, without intervention, the decline in the childminding workforce since 2016 could reach -64% by July 2026. However, the level of decline is slightly less than projected for 2023, and small signs are starting to appear that targeted efforts to improve retention and increase recruitment into the childminding workforce are starting to have effect. Our 2023 audit shows there is a small increase in new registrations arising from childminder recruitment activity, decrease in cancelled registrations, a reduction in the annual loss of childminders and continued and active interest in becoming a childminder through SCMA’s on-going recruitment pilot).
When considering the other small signs of encouragement (increase in new registrations arising from childminder recruitment activity, decrease in cancelled registrations, a reduction in the annual loss of childminders and active interest in becoming a childminder through our on-going recruitment activity), SCMA believes we are starting to see a number of positive indicators which need to be built on, at both scale and pace, to slow down and halt the decline in the childminding workforce and bring it back into gain for the benefit of children, families and communities around Scotland and to support national policy.
Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, SCMA, said:
“Our latest findings continue to make stark reading for families and communities around Scotland, these losses cannot be sustained and require major action. However, we are starting to see some small signs of change, in response to our activity, which give cautious grounds for optimism and provide a platform for recovery. It does also feel like we are in a different place politically to 12 months ago, during which time the Scottish Government has recognised the gravity of the situation and made substantive commitments within its recent Programme for Government on childminder retention and recruitment, but these commitments now need to be delivered upon at scale and pace.”
Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Audit 2023
ELC Audit 2023 Full Report
Appendix One | Full Data Set: Childminder Involvement in Funded ELC (eligible twos, three and four year olds)
Appendix Two | Changes in Childminder Workforce