SCMA Comment on Early Learning and Childcare Statistics 2021

Latest official Early Learning and Childcare statistics  published today (20 September 2022) report that in the five years up to 31 December 2021 the childminding workforce in Scotland has declined by 30% with the loss of 1671 childminding businesses and a staggering 10,310 childminding spaces for families around Scotland. This trend is accelerating with a 9% decline experienced in the last year alone – with a loss of 397 childminding businesses and over 2500 childminding places for families. 

The decline in the workforce has occurred during the implementation of the expansion of the Scottish Government’s provision of free/funded Early Learning & Childcare (ELC) for eligible two, three and four year-olds, which has had a devastating effect on the childminding workforce and the availability of childminding places for families. Against the background of declining childminding workforce trends, in 2019 SCMA advised the Scottish Government of the urgent need for a national childminder recruitment campaign to increase the workforce [2]. This recommendation was not accepted at that time and childminding has lost another 754 businesses – which equates to 4610 childminding places for families in Scotland.  However, due to delays in publishing and as official reporting within the latest annual statistics released only goes up to 31 December 2021, nine months on it is believed the actual numbers of childminding businesses and spaces lost for families is much higher. 

Last Autumn, SCMA took the lead and convened a national and local stakeholder strategic discussion on childminder recruitment in remote and rural areas, where the shortages of childminders and childminding spaces for families are even more pronounced. This led to the launch of the Scottish Rural Childminding Partnership (SRCP) in March 2022 – an important pilot led by SCMA, with financial support from Highlands & Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with ten remote and rural local authorities [3]. The SRCP pilot aims to recruit 100 childminders in remote and rural areas of Scotland where they are most needed to create over 700 crucial childminding spaces which will enable parents and carers of these children to work. Early progress with this evidence-based pilot, which is still underway, is very promising and has already led to a number of requests to extend this work around Scotland.  

Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, SCMA said:
“Today’s statistics make grim reading for working families around Scotland, as the reduction in the number of childminding businesses also means a direct reduction in the capacity of high-quality childcare places available for families in their local area. In the last five years we have lost 1671 childminding businesses and a staggering 10,310 childminding places for families during the expansion of the statutory entitlement of Early Learning & Childcare in Scotland. 

“Acute shortages of childminders are being reported around the country as demand from parents and carers considerably exceeds supply for this unique high-quality, flexible form of childcare and family support delivered in a home setting. The decline in the workforce is accelerating and the loss of much-needed childminding businesses and childminding places for working families cannot be sustained. The situation is now critical and demands an immediate national response tackling the issues adversely affecting both recruitment and retention. 

“This has major implications for children and families, parental choice, communities, the provision of funded ELC and the delivery of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitments to extend ELC down to one year-olds and to develop a new system of wraparound school-aged childcare – both areas of childcare delivery in which childminders are heavily involved and will be needed to deliver these policy commitments.  

“SCMA is solutions-focused and has led the way in partnership with others in piloting a supported method of recruiting new childminders into the sector in remote and rural areas. While still a pilot, ongoing progress is very promising and it is clear that this needs to be scaled-up, extended and resourced across the whole of Scotland as a national priority."

Childminding is a vital community asset, providing extremely high-quality, flexible childcare and support for families.  It is consistently the highest rated form of childcare in Scotland through independent inspection by the Care Inspectorate – with 92.6% of childminders achieving ‘good’ or above across all quality ratings.  Childminding is particularly helpful in supporting children with additional support needs and those who may struggle in a larger setting.  

SCMA was also invited to give oral evidence to two Scottish Parliamentary Committees before the summer recess on the adverse effects which the implementation of ELC expansion has had on the childminding workforce. This includes:

• the national rapid recruitment drive to attract 12,000 new staff to support mainly local authority ELC nursery expansion which a range of evidence has shown had the unintended consequence of de-stabilising the childcare and wider social care workforces;
• inequitable and inconsistent local implementation of national policy;
• a significant increase in bureaucracy and paperwork including duplicative quality assurance under ELC expansion. This has affected childminders, as predominantly sole workers, disproportionately and is now the main reason that childminders have left or are planning to leave the profession.  As a professional membership organisation, SCMA is supportive of quality assurance, but we believe this must be proportionate, lighter touch and joined-up – sadly in too many cases it is none of these; 
• the relatively new requirement for practitioner qualifications set against a backdrop of a long-standing, high-quality and older workforce