This year our annual Membership Survey received 736 responses – which a 30% increase on last year - and we’re delighted so many members took the time to answer our questions.
Speaking on the results of our Membership Survey, Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, SCMA, said: “I would like to thank all of the SCMA members who took part in the survey and provided us with your views.
“As a membership organisation, it is really important that there is a high level of two-way communication and engagement, so that we can be confident we are providing support to our members where it is most needed. And importantly, we do act on your responses.
“It was particularly encouraging that 67% of respondents are interested in delivering Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) funded hours and that of those who said they weren’t, the main reason was due to not having any spaces at the moment. This suggests an increasing level of interest from childminders in participating in ELC expansion and mirrors our experiences when meeting with and speaking to childminders around the country.
“It was, however, of concern to note that 21% of respondents (1 in 5) reported that they had lost families as a result of not being approved to deliver the current 600 ELC funded hours. This is clearly of concern to us, as it affects the sustainability of valued local childminding businesses and can cause disruption and breaks in continuity of care provided to children and their families who have been forced to move to alternative providers. This is in none of our interests.
“We have already shared these high-level findings with the Scottish Government and are continuing to work with a range of parties to increase childminding participation in the delivery of funded ELC.
“We are currently repeating our previous audit of local authority approval of childminders to deliver funded hours. Last year’s SCMA audit led directly to the Scottish Government convening a Childminding Summit for local authority staff in late March of this year which was attended by representatives of 31 out of 32 councils. During the event we experienced a much higher level of engagement from local authority staff and interest in including childminding within their ELC expansion planning.
“We are continuing to engage in a range of on-going discussions, at both a national and local level, to stress the need to prioritise the needs of children and their families rather than just focusing on provider type.
“Finally, the survey found that, for the first time, cost has overtaken distance as the main barrier to childminders undertaking training with Learn with SCMA. We are acutely aware of the increasingly challenging financial climate in which you are operating.
“We are continuing to work with the Scottish Government and others to explore alternative sources of funding to the ITA scheme which closed again last month after reaching capacity in only 11 days. In parallel, we are also looking at the pricing of our own training and learning provision to consider if there is any further scope for supporting our members financially at this time.”
SCMA will always continue to improve and evaluate our products and services to ensure they meet your needs, and we’re always listening to your feedback.
Read our full Membership Survey 2019 Results