Information for Forces Families living in Scotland
Scotland’s childminders provide nurturing and flexible childcare to more than 30,000 children across the country.
Children learn and play in a home-from-home environment, with a mix of other ages and in small groups. The low child to adult ratio and home-based setting can be a particularly helpful environment for children from families who may regularly transition between postings or deployments; particularly when moving away from existing support networks of family and friends.
Evidence shows that childminding can enhance a child’s early learning, confidence and social development as they have the opportunity to learn from real-life experiences.
Quality of Care
All professional childminders in Scotland are registered and inspected by the
Care Inspectorate – and consistently achieve the highest quality ratings. In line with all other childcare providers in Scotland, childminders are guided by the Curriculum for Excellence, and are required to follow the values and principles of the 'Getting It Right for Every Child', (GIRFEC), framework.
You have peace of mind that your children’s unique educational, developmental and emotional needs are being well supported by early years professionals with the skills and knowledge to do so.
Your Childcare, Your Choice!
From 1 August this year (2021), all three and four-year-olds, and eligible two year-olds in Scotland will be entitled to 1140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) per year. You are entitled to choose a childminder to deliver some, or all of these funded hours – depending on what best suits the needs of your family and as long as the childminder is registered as a ‘partner provider’ with their local authority.
For further information on funded ELC, please visit our
ELC pages, or to find out more about the benefits of childminding and to search for a childminder in your area, visit our
Find a Childminder page and online search facility.
Have you ever considered a career as a childminder yourself?
Professional childminders work from their own home to provide a flexible, high quality childcare service in a family setting. It’s a hugely rewarding career, offering you the opportunity to contribute to children’s development, learning and wellbeing and provide a valuable, professional childcare service for your community. You can develop new skills and qualifications; be your own boss and earn money - while looking after your own family’s needs.
READ our case study from Susan, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a childminder while her husband was in the Royal Navy.
SCMA offers specialised training and support to help you become a childminder and guide you through the process of registration with the Care Inspectorate. This support continues throughout your first year to enable you to continue with your professional growth and sustain a professional childminding career. Have a look at our
Become a Childminder webpage for more information.
More about SCMA
Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) is the only organisation in Scotland dedicated to supporting all aspects of childminding. We provide a diverse range of services and projects to support our childminder members, families and communities, including:
Community Childminding
Our Community Childminding Service supports families with limited support networks and vulnerable families during times of need, crisis or as an early intervention. Community Childminders enhance the wellbeing of children and their families by providing high quality childcare in a safe space, away from the stressful situation where they can focus on their specific needs.
Find out more about Community Childminding
Access to Childminding (A2C)
This project matches professional childminders with parents who are being supported into employment, providing them with flexible and funded childcare for their school-age children. Perhaps you may be leaving the forces and changing career, or your partner is moving into employment, and require support with accessing affordable school-aged childcare – if you meet the criteria and live within the areas of City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Midlothian or North Lanarkshire, you may be eligible for support from A2C.
A funded childminding placement is provided up to a maximum of 12 weeks, by which time it is envisaged that you will be receiving regular income and able to continue funding the placement yourself. For further information visit our
Access to Childminding webpage.
For further information on SCMA and the support and services we provide, please visit our website
childminding.org or email
information@childminding.org.