The Scottish Government has issued a letter to all registered childcare providers today (Tuesday 22 December), following the First Minister’s announcement on 19 December that further public health measures are to be put in place and that mainland Scotland will enter Level 4 from 26 December and the island authorities will enter Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions.
What does this mean for most childminders?
The vast majority of childminders can continue their business and are free to provide childcare to any families from the 26 December. To be clear,
you do not have to prioritise any groups. The existing guidance for childminding services in Level 4 (or in some areas, Level 3) is unchanged and childminders should continue to refer to the existing
Childminder Services Guidance.
In addition, it has been confirmed that payments for funded ELC hours
should continue with regards to children who are unable to attend childminding settings from 26 December.
What if I operate a larger childminding setting?
Larger childminding settings (currently caring for
12 or more children) will be required to reduce their service and only provide childcare to key workers and vulnerable children from 26 December 2020 until the 18 January 2021.
For clarity, ‘12 or more’ relates to
the number of children you are currently caring for and not the numbers on your registration certificate.
For example, if you are a larger childminding setting and are registered for 15 children, but your numbers have dropped and you’re only caring for 4-5 children just now, then you can also still continue to provide childcare for all families.
If the current number of children in larger settings reach 12 or more at any one time, you will need to follow the key worker model until 18 January. The new
supplementary guidance provides information about the definition of key worker and vulnerable children.
To find out more and how the supplementary guidance could affect you, please watch our latest video from Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive of SCMA, explaining more on our YouTube Channel
here.
Daycare of Children’s Services Guidance
Childminder Services Guidance
Scottish Government Postcode Checker
SCMA Covid-19 FAQs and Information