Through social media, we want to empower YOU – and all childminders across Scotland – to come together, celebrate and reflect on how you make a difference every day by supporting the learning and wellbeing of children, families, and communities.
Help us to raise the profile and appreciation of professional childminding in Scotland by coming together, as one childminding workforce, and sharing your inspirational stories and photos throughout Childminding Week.
Please #CheerForChildminding by liking, commenting and sharing our posts and stories on social media. And don’t forget to tag us on your social media posts and include the #CheerForChildminding hashtag – this will allow us to see and share your posts and join in with your celebrations too!
The more engagement we have, the more awareness we will generate – helping to showcase the true value and how vitally important childminding is to many children, families, and communities across Scotland.
Following the success of last year’s first ever BIG Teddy Bears Picnic, we’re inviting all childminders in Scotland to take part to mark Childminding Week 2025 – regardless of where you live in Scotland – and come together, in spirit, as one workforce to #CheerForChildminding.
Be part of something bigger! On Wednesday, 14 May we hope that hundreds – and maybe even thousands – of you will get involved by having a Teddy Bears Picnic. Whether it’s in your back garden, down at the beach, in the local woodland, or at the town park – all childminders can get involved and join in with the biggest Teddy Bears Picnic that Scotland has ever seen!
On the BIG day, we’d love to hear from you! Share your photos and messages and tell us about your picnic on social media (using the #CheerForChildminding hashtag) to celebrate alongside your childminding colleagues across Scotland. We’d LOVE to see pics from picnics in all 32 local authority areas!
Are you hosting a Teddy Bears Picnic?
We’d love to know about the Teddy bears picnic you’re planning – whether it be big or small – and whereabouts it’s being held.
If you’re planning to organise and host a special Teddy Bears Picnic for Childminding Week on Wednesday 14 May – please tell us about it by completing this quick form HERE. If there is a group of you organising a picnic together, please just submit one entry for the event.
If you tell us about your event before 5pm on Friday 2 May 2025 (extended deadline) and you’ll automatically be entered into a prize draw* to win an Amazon Gift Card and a special goody bag from SCMA. Good Luck!
*Only one main contact for each Teddy Bears Picnic event is eligible for the prize draw. Any duplicative entries for the same event will be disregarded, to ensure the prize draw is fair and equitable. The prize draw will close at 5pm Friday 2 May 2025 and the winner will be selected at random from collected responses. The prize will be dispatched to the winner on Monday 5 May 2025 to ensure it is received in advance of Childminding Week 2025. To be eligible for the prize draw, participants must fully complete form, and confirm consent to be included in the prize draw.
Your Childminding Week 2025 Toolkit is now available! Packed with essential information, the Toolkit also includes top tips, fun ideas and activities to help you #CheerforChildminding and celebrate Childminding Week 2025. #
CLICK HERE to download your Childminding Week 2025 Toolkit.
The finale of Childminding Week will be the annual SCMA Conference on Saturday 17 May, as we come together to close Childminding Week 2025 with a bang!
Growing Together: Smiles and Milestones | Getting it right for all-age childminding
Saturday 17 May | 9am – 1pm | Online via Zoom
Exclusive and FREE for all SCMA members – you are invited to continue the celebrations, as we welcome our speakers, including Dr Suzanne Zeedyk and Ben Kingston-Hughes, for a morning of inspiration, engagement and learning.
Want to find out more?
We'll be sharing more information soon, including details of all our guest speakers and breakout sessions, so keep an eye on this page for the latest.
Boost your CPL!
Attending the SCMA Conference provides you with a minimum of four hours of CPL…at no extra cost, and from the comfort of your own home!
Plus, you’ll also be able to gain an additional hour of CPL by watching the recording of the breakout session that you didn’t attend on the day. That’s almost half of your recommended 12 hours of CPL for the year – all done in one go!