Yes, from 1 August 2021, all three and four year-olds and eligible two year-olds could benefit from 1140 hours a year of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). This is free to the parent / carer, funded by the Scottish Government via local authorities.

This works out at about 30 hours a week if used during school term-time, or around 22 hours a week if used all year round. This can be used at a childminder, nursery or playgroup – or a blended mix of these, depending on what is available. 

For the latest updates, and how to apply, visit the Parent Club website.

This will vary depending on your local authority – please contact them  directly if they haven’t already been in touch with you.

To find your local authority contact, visit the ‘what’s your child entitled to’ page on the Parent Club website HERE and select your local authority from the drop-down menu. 

Becoming a partner provider with your local authority and providing funded ELC and can help make a difference to childminders, in terms of both your income and sustainability, and being able to improve outcomes for children.  

Childminders in Scotland who are partner providers have seen a substantial increase in relation to the number of ELC hours they are being funded to deliver.  For some, this has resulted in excess of 80-100 funded hours per week and over 75% of their expected income.

Others are working in partnership with the local authority to provide the full 1140 hours.  This means that for some, they can have full-time places fully funded via ELC, which helps to contribute greatly towards a financially stable business model. For childminders involved in delivering funded hours, this is now very much part of core business and not an ‘add-on’.

Read Karina’s Story to hear about why she recommends all childminders get involved and become a partner provider to deliver funded ELC.

To be eligible to deliver funded ELC, childminders must:

- meet the National Standard quality criteria 
- be working in partnership with their local council
- have a space available within the setting

Your local council is responsible for commissioning funded ELC places. To find out if your area is contracting with childminders to deliver funded ELC, please contact your local council.

Further information can also be found at the Parent Club website

All funded ELC providers must meet the National Standard, which is a set of mandatory quality criteria from the Scottish Government. In relation to training and qualifications, the National Standard states that funded ELC providers must: 

• Achieved or be working towards the benchmark qualification (SCQF Level 7 qualification with 68 credits) to be completed within five years. This could be an HNC Childhood Practice or SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People).
• Allocate 12 hours per year to Continuous Professional Learning (CPL)

In addition, the National Standard also states that all funded ELC providers must:

• Meet the recommended adult-to-child ratios, which depend on age groups
• Care Inspectorate quality evaluations (sometimes referred to as grades) of ‘good’ or higher across all themes
• New childminders (registered within the last year) need to have completed the appropriate induction programme, e.g. SCMA’s Complete Childminding Induction Support Programme.

Currently inspections will remain the same, whether you are a childminder delivering funded ELC or not, and you will be inspected by the Care Inspectorate, and they are responsible for visiting your home and evaluating your service. The Care Inspectorate is currently developing a new ELC Quality Framework to support this.

In addition, Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate will be developing a shared inspection framework in the future, once the expansion of funded ELC has been rolled out and established.

No. If you are registered with the Care Inspectorate, meet the National Standard criteria, your service is suitable to become a ELC partner provider with your local council.

We want to ensure that partner providers delivering funded ELC feel supported, and we have a range of support tools and options that may help you including templates to record children’s development and e-learning content to support you with Observations, Assessment, and Planning

This webpage lists our most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help answer your queries, and we also have links to useful documents, guidance and tools. Visit our ELC Webpages   

If you live in an area that has a Childminding Development Officer (CDO), you can contact them for support. As they are locally based, they will know and understand how funded ELC operates in your specific area and are best placed to support you. Find your local CDO

As always, the SCMA Helpline is able to provide you with information, support and guidance – and we can also signpost you to further support options that are available from SCMA. Our Helpline is 01786 449063, open Monday to Friday, from 10am - 4pm, or you can email information@childminding.org.

All parents and carers are entitled to flexible Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) that meets the needs of their children and family circumstances.

If a childminding service could better meet your needs but isn’t available as an option in your local area, please raise this issue with your local council, councillors and MSP. Ask them why childminding isn’t an option for your child’s funded ELC and how they plan to meet the needs of families like yours who require local, flexible ELC. Find your local ELC Contacts

We have a handy template letter designed to help you write to your local councillor or MSP. Download the template letter to request childminding be included in your funded ELC entitlement.

Childminders are unable to accept funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) payments when providing care for a child who is a relative, due to the legislation regarding ELC which follows the definition of a childminder, in line with the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

In line with the Act, the definition of a registered childminder is a care service that is “looking after at least one child, for more than two hours a day on domestic premises for reward where the child minder is not a relative, a foster parent, a kinship carer or someone with parental responsibilities and where the child is not looked after in a parents’ home.” Therefore, a childminder cannot include a child who is a relative as being in receipt of their funded ELC provision. 

This was raised previously with the Scottish Government to alert them to the challenges this can pose and we will continue to highlight the difficulties in relation to this situation.

A blended model of ELC means that a child would spend part of the day with a childminder and part of the day with another childcare provider, e.g. a nursery, with a clear focus on what is best for the child.

During COVID-19, the Scottish Government Guidance for Childminding Services states that blended placements are allowed, provided that risk assessments and precautions are in place.

Childminders should ensure they are familiar with the Childminder Services Guidance in relation to blended placements and the steps required. 

Visit our dedicated COVID-19 webpage and FAQs here, and you can watch our video update from Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive of SCMA here. 

The ‘Funding Follows the Child’ approach of the Scottish Government’s ELC programme means that parents have freedom of choice and flexibility, in terms of how families access their funded entitlement. 

This means that parents and carers have the right to choose the type of childcare that best suits their family’s needs based on a provider neutral model. One provider type should not be promoted over another. 

In addition, you may find that a blended childcare model would suit your needs and circumstances, and this should be made available for you. You may also want to consider how the funded hours are arranged throughout the year, and whether you require all-year-round or term-time only. 

However, we are aware that each local authority arranges and administers funded ELC differently. Some may have parameters and models that need to be followed, but it is possible for parents to enquire and ask for arrangement to be adjusted or split to accommodate their needs. 

If you feel that the offer from your local authority is not meeting your needs, we recommend initially that you contact your local council to raise the issue. They have the responsibility for leading this work and commissioning funded ELC places. Find your local ELC Contacts

If you have already contacted your local council and have not received a satisfactory response, the next step is to contact your local MSP or councillor to ask them to pose the questions on your behalf.

Initially you should contact your local council to raise the issue. They have the responsibility for leading this work and commissioning funded ELC places. Find your local ELC Contacts

SCMA can help provide you with information and guidance, so please contact our Helpline on 01786 449063 (Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm) or email information@childminding.org.

If you have already contacted your local council and have not received a satisfactory response, the next step is to contact your local MSP or councillor to ask them to pose the questions on your behalf.

Use our template letter to write to your MSP or councillor

Funded ELC is available if your child is two years old or over and has since turned two-years-old, and has been:

• looked after by a local council
• the subject of a kinship care order
• the subject of a guardianship order

Your child can also get funded ELC if they have turned two and you get one of these benefits:

• Income Support
• Job Seeker's Allowance (income based)
• any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance
• Incapacity or Severe Disablement Allowance
• State Pension Credit
• support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• if you receive tax credits or universal credit, then you can earn a certain amount of money and still be eligible.

If you are on Child Tax Credit:

• but not Working Tax Credit, then your earnings can be £16,480 or less
• and Working Tax Credit, then your earnings can be £7,500 a year or less

The income thresholds for Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit can change each year.

If you are on Universal Credit, then your household take-home pay can be £625 a month or less.

Funded ELC will also be available to two-year-olds who have a care experienced parent. The Scottish Government is working with local councils to put this in place. If you think you qualify or want more information, please contact your local council and they can advise on what is available for two-year-olds in your area.

Once your child qualifies for funded ELC, they'll stay qualified. Even if you get a job, or their situation with a parent or carer changes. Local councils may offer funded ELC to people who do not meet this criteria. Check with your local council to find out what happens in your area.

For full information on the eligibility criteria, please visit the Scottish Government website.

In terms of eligibility for funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) when children defer Primary 1 for a year, an amendment has been made to the 2014 Order to ensure that from 1 August 2023, all children who defer are automatically entitled to funded ELC in their deferred year.

Until then, eligibility depends on the child's birth date. Eligibility until 31 July 2023 and from 1 August 2023, for funded ELC for children who defer is therefore summarised HERE.

Bookbug Explorer Bags are only available for three year olds, and these are usually distributed from the Scottish Book Trust via nursery settings. However, the Scottish Book Trust is aware that some childminders are now looking after children who don’t attend any other childcare settings, and as a result, these childminders are entitled to receive the Bookbug Explorer Bags to gift to their three year olds. 

If you’re a childminder who is looking after any three year olds who do not attend other settings, please get in touch with your local Bookbug Co-ordinator who will be able to provide you with some bags.

The Bookbug Explorer Bags include books and other resources to encourage singing, rhyming and book sharing at home. Bookbug also has a learning resource that links to each of the books in the bags, as well as a webinar recording on supporting early learning and development with songs and rhymes, which is very relevant for a childminding audience.