Early Adopter Communities

SCMA has been working with six Early Adopter Communities (EACs) to promote the inclusion of childminders as an equal partner in the delivery of targeted childcare for low-income families in alignment with the First Minister’s vision of a Scotland free from child poverty.

This project is now in its third and final year and has involved exploring how families access childcare for school-age children from registered and unregistered services, alongside understanding the needs of families with younger children. Some areas have utilised existing services while others have created brand new ones. Funding is targeted at those who are most at risk of living in poverty.

Childminders are at the very heart of this pilot project - and SCMA has focused on recruitment of childminders within the six EACs, as well as delivering professional learning opportunities and developing processes to enable funded childcare placements in a childminding setting for families.

This graphic illustrates how the Scottish Government plans to build and deliver a system of school age childcare in Scotland.

The six EACs are:

Clackmannanshire (area-wide)
Dundee (Linlathen, Mid-Craigie and Douglas)
Fife (Levenmouth)
Glasgow (East Centre, Drumchapel/Anniesland, and Southside Central)
Inverclyde (Port Glasgow, Greenock Central, Greenock South and Greenock South West)
Shetland (West Mainland and North Isles).

The Scottish Government has published a report about this work, which you can read HERE.

What is the aim?

In Scotland's Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the Scottish Government recognises that affordable and accessible childcare is needed to enable parents and carers to gain access to training, study, or secure, stable employment and to increase household income.

"I would not be able to work without this funding - I would need to stay on benefits limiting our lives." - a parent/carer

Who is it for?

Aimed at low-income families, eligibility varies by area; however, the priority groups are:

• Ethnic minority families
• Large families (three or more children)
• Families with a baby (aged under one)
• Mothers aged <25
• Families with a disabled adult or child
• Single Parents

Recruitment

Throughout this project SCMA has supported the recruitment of childminders. We have attended childcare fayres, spoken at events, including for the Department for Work and Pensions, and attended various local community events to raise awareness.

Professional Learning

We have delivered information sessions, provided online courses - and by the end of 2025 - we will have held over 15 Best Practice Workshops for childminders in the EACs.

Placements

Childminders have been vital in promoting school age childcare funding to families. We are supporting targeted placements in Glasgow, Clackmannanshire and Inverclyde. This provides families with a choice of afterschool childcare and options for during the holidays.

Place-Based, People-Centred

The Scottish Government’s place based, people centred approach allows all six local authorities involved in this project to explore models that will suit their community, and childminding is an integral part of this. Both the Scottish Government and local authorities are invested in learning what sustainable childcare models best suit their needs and we are sharing insights from our work to inform their learning.

If you'd like more information about the pilot project taking place in the six EACs, please contact lesley.morrison@childminding.org or christina.mcgrotty@childminding.org