Recognising that the childminding workforce had declined significantly since 2016 and the significant adverse impact this was having on access to local flexible, high-quality pre-school and school-age childcare for families and communities around Scotland, in 2024 the Scottish Government committed funding for ‘The Programme for Scotland’s Childminding Future’, (PSCF), a three-year national childminder retention and recruitment programme. Delivered by the Scottish Childminding Association, (SCMA), PSCF undertakes a range of activity to grow the childminding workforce, support parental employment and contribute to child poverty reduction.
Backed by a further £1.37m in Scottish Government funding during 2026-27, in April the PSCF entered its third year of bringing about positive change for childminding, families and communities around Scotland.
Strong progress in both scale and impact can be seen on completion of year two - and you can more in our
Impact Report HERE. Recruitment of new childminders expanded from 18 to 30 local authorities partnering with SCMA for us to deliver our childminding-specific recruitment campaign in their areas, now rising to 31 in year three — a clear sign of growing confidence in the model.
Workforce growth and crucial childcare capacity for families has continued to build as a result of this important programme. To date:
- 3,634 potential new childminding/childcare places created for pre-school and school-age childcare (0-12 years)
- 586 candidates have undertaken SCMA’s Induction Support Programme
- 72% of candidates met one or more poverty indicators
- 157 new childminders registered and operating in urban, rural and island areas
- a further 82 recruits have applied to the Care Inspectorate and are awaiting registration,112 candidates are currently being supported towards registration and 48 being onboarded
- a strong pipeline continuing to progress through training and application with recruitment continuing around Scotland throughout 2026/27
Through the Workforce Retention strand, the PSCF has been testing new methods of support for the existing childminding workforce including:
- pilots of different models of Funded Time Off the Floor expanded to seven local authority areas, supporting 149 childminders
- Mentoring extended to 17 local authority areas, supporting both new and experienced childminders
- Quality & Learning; access to fully funded learning and SVQ support for all childminders
- Trailing a new ‘Childminder Practitioner’ pilot, this specific model means childminders can ringfence time for important paperwork or professional learning, without losing income.
It is encouraging to see increasing local authority participation in both retention and recruitment across local authorities, and a shared commitment to improving the availability of childminding as a high-quality, flexible form of childcare across Scotland’s communities.
For more information, case studies and examples of the ways in which the PSCF is supporting the childminding workforce, families and communities around Scotland, please visit
www.childminding.org/getstarted