National Childcare Providers Forum minutes: March 2023

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government Officials
• Thrive 
• Childminder 
• Unite Childminding 
• COSLA 
• Wellside Kindergarten 
• Kirktonholme Childcare 
• Colinton Nurseries 
• Almond Park 
• Little Flyers 
• Indigo Childcare Group 
• Scottish Private Nurseries Assosciation
• Peerie Foxes 
• The Saturday Café 
•  The Croft 
•  KLAS Care C.I.C 
• Clarkston After School Service
• Flexible Childcare Services Scotland
• Kindercroft Early Learning Centre 
• Busy Bees 
• Stepping Stones for Families 

Apologies 

• Les Enfants     
• Cairngorm Early Learning Centre 
• Little Angels 
•  Tarbert After School Care
• Possibilities for Each and Every Child

Items and actions

Welcome  

The Chair welcomed the group and noted apologies.  

Terms of reference and agenda review and discussion  

Members were content with the Terms of Reference, subject to the following updates:  

• the frequency of the group meetings should be increased to quarterly
• how the NCPF feeds into other groups should be detailed
• meeting notes should be published on the Scottish Government (SG) website

Scottish Government updates 

SG thanked colleagues for their contributions to the recent SG Financial Sustainability Health Check. The previous Financial Sustainability Health Check has been a vital source of evidence and has helped SG to tailor support for childcare providers. SG are currently considering the survey results, and more information will be set out in the coming months. 

SG and COSLA are currently undertaking a review of the process for setting sustainable rates in 2022-23. This follows the publication of the annual sustainable rates data collection exercise in December 2022 and the subsequent programme of actions.  

Members raised that many settings did not complete the survey due to a perceived lack of impact from contributing.  Officials noted this as well as the importance of the timing of future survey work. 

One action from the 2021 Financial Sustainability Health Check was that SG would fund pilot programmes of targeted support. A successful initial pilot was delivered through Business Gateway in February and March 2022. The pilot was open to all registered childcare services. The learning from these pilots will inform the consideration of longer-term support offer for the childcare sector. 

Public consultation on the proposed shared inspection framework, recommended in Professor Muir’s report, closed on 28 October 2022. A joint consultation response is being prepared. 

Members raised that, particularly within School Age Childcare settings in school-based settings, there were reports of regulations causing difficulty for providers, where the providers themselves were unable to effect any change due to the schools’ policies.  

Members raised concerns that local authorities are becoming more involved in regulation. It was proposed to revisit the role of local authorities in quality improvement and inspection at future sessions.  

Members noted that an update on Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard would also be welcome at a future meeting of the forum.  

SG informed members that they are working with partners to develop a Strategic Framework for Scotland’s Early Learning and School Age Childcare Profession. Members emphasised that in their view the sector is facing a workforce crisis. There was a discussion on qualification requirements and a question about how far these were driving improvements in quality, as well as issues with retention of highly qualified staff. 

In the 2021-22 Programme for Government, SG set out the ambition to expand access to funded early learning and childcare to one- and two-year-olds starting in this Parliament with those families who will benefit most. The policy team are now in place and in the 2022 Programme for Government SG further committed to using the year to focus on research and insights. 

Work streams for this year include work to map current ELC provision for one- and two-year-olds across Scotland, work with analytical colleagues to expand our desk-based evidence review and to understand the impact of different models of ELC for younger children.  

In the coming financial year SG also plan to commence engagement work with families. The new offer will not be a ‘rolldown’ of the 1140 model for younger children but will instead be guided by what the evidence tells us is best for families and younger children. SG are also keen to develop a clearer understanding of the barriers to taking up funded ELC at age two and the lessons from the implementation of the 1140 expansion – as the workstreams progress this year, SG are keen to engage with partners across the sector.   

The Chair thanked everyone for their time and the constructive conversation.  

Actions

• terms of reference to be updated to reflect that meeting notes will be published on the Scottish Government website

• add role of local authorities in quality improvement and inspection to agenda for future NCPF meeting

• provide update on Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard at next meeting

• invite Care Inspectorate to future forum meeting for session on application of the framework

• secretariat to circulate draft Note for agreement by members

• secretariat to issue Doodle poll/placeholder for next meeting