All childminders should by now have received an email from the Minister for Children and Young People via the Care Inspectorate.
As of today (25 March 2020):
· all childminding settings in Scotland are strongly advised to close until further notice unless they are supporting families of key workers and/or vulnerable children;
· those settings supporting families of key workers and/or vulnerable children should limit their support to no more than two families (excluding the childminder’s own family) at any one time to minimise the risk of the spread of infection;
· operational public health advice to support this will be available shortly
We recognise that this last week has been very unsettling for members due to both the lack of clarity and contradictory information caused by the need for the rapid escalation of social isolation measures while trying to maintain support for families and children.
This afternoon’s statement is clear and SCMA strongly advises members and other childminders to comply with this guidance.
Some detail still needs to be worked out and we will be working with the Scottish Government, the Care Inspectorate and local authorities around Scotland to progress this and to support childminders continuing to provide childcare for families of key workers and vulnerable children.
Please be assured that we will continue to press for more financial support for childminders and for parity of financial support between employees and the self-employed. We will also continue to keep all members updated on developments and will share further information as it becomes available.
Graeme McAlister
Chief Executive