In November the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on their refreshed GIRFEC materials, and we shared these details with childminders in December; encouraging you to take part and have your say if you wish to do so.
When the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) is put into practice fully, it works well and makes a positive difference to children, and their wellbeing and development. It is important to highlight that the overall GIRFEC approach remains unchanged.
The values and principles that underpin GIRFEC have been updated in the refreshed draft materials, to reflect developments in relevant policies and practice, including children’s right and the UNCRC.
The consultation aims to ensure that the new materials provide practitioners - including childminders across Scotland - with the confidence, clarity and practical support to continue to implement GIRFEC in their settings.
Childminders are encouraged to take part in the public consultation on the ‘Statutory Guidance for the Assessment of Wellbeing’ which
closes on Friday 4 February. You can find out more and take part
HERE.
SCMA has already submitted a response to the consultation as a national organisation, to represent childminding in Scotland. In addition, we were also approached to be involved in the stakeholder-focussed section of the consultation and have submitted a response to ensure childminders in Scotland were represented at a national level.
This additional section of the consultation covers:
- the GIRFEC Policy Statement
- Practice Guidance on the role of the Named Person
- the role of the lead professional
- using the National Practice Model and Information Sharing
- an Information Sharing Charter
Engagement with children and young people is also taking place through a number of third sector organisations and local authorities and from a wide range of geographical areas, with varied sets of needs and interests.
Following the consultation, and once the new GIRFEC materials have been finalised and published, we will begin to update our GIRFEC-based materials for childminders, including our ‘GIRFEC in Practice’ CPL course.
Read more and find out more about taking part in the GIRFEC Consultation
HERE.