SCMA has today (Wednesday 4 December) published its Early Learning and Childcare Audit 2024. This latest annual, independent audit includes data on:
- local authorities’ progress in involving childminders in the delivery of funded ELC;
- current issues including tendering, childminder payment, the deferral year and the impact of local budgetary pressures on ELC;
- SCMA’s latest in-depth childminding workforce analysis and projections (based on Care Inspectorate data).
Returns were received from 30 out of 32 local authorities (94% response level) and captured data on the number of children in childminding settings as at August 2024, with the annual childminding workforce analysis covering the year ending 31 July 2024.
Main Findings
Childminder involvement in Funded ELC:
- the number of childminders involved in funded ELC has not changed significantly within the last year, but significant disparities continue to exist between the number of childminders approved by local authorities to deliver funded ELC and the number of childminders actually delivering funded ELC within both categories of provision – for ‘Eligible Two Year-Olds’ (31.7% approved vs. 5.2% delivering) and ‘Three and Four Year-Olds’ (31.5% approved vs. 19.5% delivering);
- recognising the importance of prompt payment to support business sustainability, 22 out of 30 responding local authorities (73%) now pay childminders delivering funded hours monthly or every four weeks;
- over one in four local authorities (27%) reported an increase in the number of children in the deferral year receiving funded hours in childminding settings;
- one local authority reported that it has stopped cross-boundary placements and taking on new partner providers due to local budgetary pressures, since ring fencing of local ELC budgets ended in March 2024. While the vast majority of local authorities have not done this, a number became less certain when looking ahead and considering if they may have to do this.
Changes in the childminding workforce:
- the childminding workforce declined by 6.5% (-210 childminders) in the last year to 31 July 2024, compared to 9.7% (-347 childminders) in the year to 31 July 2023 and a high of 11.5% (-469 childminders) in the year to 31 July 2022;
- since 2016 the childminding workforce has now declined by 45% with the loss of 2483 childminders and 15,643 childminding places for children and families;
- the number of new registrations has increased for the second successive year with 192 new registrations recorded within the last year. The increase in new registrations within the last two years includes 85 new childminding businesses which have been established by SCMA’s targeted recruitment pilots in rural and urban areas (with more coming through behind).
- the number of cancelled registrations fell to 418 last year – the lowest level since pre-2016, reflecting the considerable collective efforts made by SCMA, the Scottish Government, local authorities and others to strengthening support for childminders and, where possible, reducing the level of paperwork and duplicative quality assurance which had previously been identified as the main reason childminders were leaving the workforce.
Childminding Workforce Projections
Since first publishing our workforce projections in 2022 (which projected that the 34% decline experienced up to July 2022 could almost double to -64% in July 2026 without intervention) we have continued to track progress in addressing this decline. SCMA’s latest analysis confirms that in the year to July 2024 small signs of recovery have been reported for the second successive year and we are starting to see progress against our baseline.
The projected reduction, without intervention, by July 2024 had been -49.6%, whereas the actual reported reduction, following the piloting of measures on recruitment and retention, is -45% (4.6% and 338 fewer childminders lost than projected).
Comment from Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive SCMA:
“While these workforce signs are positive, it should be clear that the current level of new registrations is too low and the level of cancellations too high to be sustained, that we need to build on these small signs of recovery which have been created and to drive this at pace and scale.
“Childminders have an important role to play in supporting children, families and communities and an increasing number of national policy agendas including ELC, school-age childcare, remote and islands, community and economic development, parental employment and child poverty.
“This has been recognised by the Scottish Government through the creation of the Programme for Scotland’s Childminding Future and it is vital that this work continues along with the delivery of the Shared Inspection Framework by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland to make quality assurance more proportionate and specific to childminding, and with a reduction in paperwork.
“Further targeted actions are also recommended to increase the uptake of Eligible Two Year-Old provision in childminding and to standardise monthly/four weekly payment to childminders for delivering funded hours to support business sustainability across all local authorities.
“It is also of concern that one local authority has reported stopping supporting cross-boundary placements and taking on new partner providers due to budgetary pressures since ring fencing of local ELC budgets ended in March 2024. While recognising the considerable challenges presented by the current economic climate, it is vital that this does not undermine the delivery of funded ELC on a Provider Neutral basis”.
Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Audit 2024
ELC Audit 2024 Full Report
Appendix One | Changes in Childminder Workforce Tables
Appendix Two | Combined Data Tables