SCMA has today (11 May 2021) launched a new, national three-year strategy aimed at changing public perceptions of childminding and fundamentally re-defining how it is viewed by parents, policy makers, other childcare providers and the wider public.
To find out what we have planned, we are delighted to present this short
animation which really brings the strategy to life – please have a look!
Changing the narrative
Over 30,000 children across Scotland receive childcare from childminders every year. Parents or carers who currently choose childminding are already aware of the high-quality, nurturing benefits which this unique form of childcare provides, but we also know that childminding can still be associated with outdated misconceptions. Changing these will be vital for strengthening and growing childminding in Scotland.
SCMA’s Chief Executive, Graeme McAlister explains “It’s time to change the narrative on childminding.
“There is often a misperception that childminding is somehow a “lesser” form of childcare, compared with other providers such as nurseries. When you look at the evidence, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Childminding consistently achieves higher quality ratings, through independent inspection, than local authority and private nurseries together. Childminders also follow the same frameworks, including Curriculum for Excellence, as nurseries and other childcare providers and also offers many additional benefits beyond this.”
Why now?
Graeme has recorded a
launch presentation to explain the thinking behind the strategy and why it is needed now, more than ever - so that we can strengthen childminding, support families and increase parental choice for childcare as we emerge from COVID-19 and beyond.
The new strategy includes 15 actions, covering the following five key areas:
Membership – helping members to recover and sustain your businesses and ensuring our support adapts to changing needs - providing you with what you need, when you need it and in the most appropriate form;
Policy, representation and influencing – continuing to provide a strong professional voice and using evidence and your experiences to influence and support national and local policy;
Workforce, learning and quality – reversing the declining trends within our workforce and supporting ongoing skills development and learning at all career stages;
Children and families – further development of our Community Childminding and other services to meet the increasing demand from families in need, including increasing support for out of school care - creating opportunities for members to diversify their businesses
The value of childminding - changing outdated perceptions of childminding, increasing the value attached to it by parents, policymakers, other providers and the wider public to create more demand for childminding.
The written version of the SCMA Strategy 2021-2023 can be downloaded
here.