The Out of School Care team at the Scottish Government is looking to engage with providers of out of school care – including childminders – as well as children and parents, to help inform a new Out of School Care Framework.
Within the 2018-19 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government made a commitment to draft a strategic framework on after school and holiday childcare for consultation by summer 2019.
As part of this engagement, the team wants to hear from childminders about the valuable out of school care services that you’re providing for children and families across Scotland.
Janine Ryan, Head of Childminding Services at SCMA, has been working alongside the Out of School Care team at the Scottish Government to ensure the childminding workforce is well-represented in this draft framework.
Janine said: “The high-quality care that childminders provide to children of all ages - including school-age and during holidays - forms a large part of children’s learning, socialisation and development, and is something that we want to ensure is valued and considered.
“The flexible, nurturing nature of childminding services provide a home-based setting for children to transition between the formal teaching of school and their own family home, in an environment that is warm and welcoming, and conducive to learning through play with peers in small groups.
“Our colleagues at the Scottish Government want to hear directly from childminders who are delivering out of school care; asking you to highlight the vital role that you play in supporting children of all ages, their families and the wider community.”
Thinking about your out of school care, what does it provides for your minded children, what are the benefits of using a childminder for out of school care? The survey will also ask you to consider what the Scottish Government could do to ensure out of school care better meets the needs of families.
The draft framework will be published in August 2019 and will be out for consultation for around three months. However, at this stage the Scottish Government would welcome your views to ensure that childminders are recognised for the important role you have in delivering before, after school and holiday childcare as part of the developing framework.
Complete the Out of School Care Survey
This short survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and the closing date for your responses is Friday 21 June. Many thanks for your time!