National Childcare Providers Forum: terms of reference

Purpose and remit

High quality childcare that is flexible, accessible and affordable plays a critical role in our society. It is vital to giving children the best possible start in life, to supporting families to thrive, and to ensuring that parents and carers can work, train or study. As such, it is also an essential part of our national economic infrastructure.

Scotland’s childcare sector is passionate, dedicated and diverse, comprising providers across the public, private, third and childminding sectors. The Scottish Government appreciates the richness this diversity of provision brings, meaning children and families can access a range of high quality learning and care which best meets their needs. That is why we are committed to a provider neutral approach to delivery of our funded ELC offer for all eligible 2 to 5 year olds through our Funding Follows the Child policy framework.

This is a new group, bringing together members, directly representing their setting, with Scottish Government ELC policy representatives and COSLA.

Our aim in creating this forum is to create a dedicated discussion space where childcare providers from across the private, third and childminding sectors can directly feed in their unique views and perspectives on a range of national policy issues.

Our intention is that this orum should complement the established groups that already exist as part of the Scottish Government’s ELC and School Age Childcare programmes, and which include key representative bodies from the sector. As with the Childcare Sector Working Group, the issues raised in this forum and actions agreed will feed directly in to developing policy and inform advice to Ministers.

We propose that the remit of the National Childcare Providers Forum’s is two- fold. First, to provide a forum for raising and discussing issues that are affecting the sector and where a national policy response may be required. Second, for officials to provide updates on and seek input from providers on the Scottish Government’s key strategic priorities for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and School-Aged Childcare (SAC).

In summary these are:

• realising the benefits of the expansion to 1140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare for children and families
• progressing the expansion of our childcare offer, including building a system of school age childcare and developing a new offer for one and two year olds
• ensuring that the delivery of our priorities is supported by a sustainable, diverse and thriving sector and profession
• ensuring that our ambitions are underpinned by fair funding and outcomes frameworks, robust data and organisations that work together to regulate services and support quality improvement

Objectives

The first meeting of the group will discuss and agree the proposed Terms of Reference and the focus for future meetings of the group. Potential issues that the Forum may wish to table for discussion at future meetings could include the following:

• sustainability challenges for ELC and SAC providers and childminders – exploring the key challenges for the whole sector in terms of business sustainability and ways in which the Scottish Government and national partners can support the sector to thrive and adapt
• quality improvement/practice support across ELC, SAC and childminding practice – exploring how to ensure that the right support is in place for ELC providers to prepare for full implementation of the National Standard for funded ELC; how to ensure that we have a joined-up and coherent approach to quality improvement in childcare services and that we develop shared understandings around what high-quality, child-centred practice looks like across ELC, SAC and childminding
• workforce challenges across ELC, SAC and childminding provision – exploring key challenges around recruitment, retention, professional learning and workforce wellbeing as we move forward through Covid-19 recovery
• improving the approach to inspection – exploring the implications for ELC, SAC and childminding settings of work being developed at a national level to streamline and improve the approach to inspection of early learning and childcare and school age childcare services following Professor Muir’s report on education reform

Membership

A full membership list is available.

Where a permanent member may need to be absent they can appoint a deputy to attend in their place.  In the case of Scottish Government, attendees may vary dependent on the areas of business to be covered.

Membership will be reviewed after one year, and each year thereafter.

Frequency and location of meetings

The Forum will meet quarterly. Meetings were primarily online during 2023 to 2024 to allow providers to participate from across Scotland. However, we will explore the option to convene meetings on a hybrid basis whereby members would have the option of attending in-person. In convening meetings fully or partly online, we will ensure that accessibility is the top priority.

Agenda

To be set by the Chair based on the group's thematic priorities, with input from Forum members.

Secretariat

The Secretariat will be provided by the Scottish Government.

Operation of the group

We expect that meetings will encourage openness and that members will feel empowered to voice their opinions and raise concerns where neccessary. However, there will be a clear expectation that this will be in the context of mutual respect and constructive challenge.

In order to support this open environment, the use of social media or other external communications in relation to discussions held within the forum will not be permitted without the consensus of its members.

Whilst members may wish to raise examples of local issues that are affecting their services and which suggest a need for a national policy response, the forum will not have a direct role in brokering or resolving local issues between providers and commissioners. 

The chair will delegate to the secretariat, responsibility for setting and maintaining the operating arrangements for the forum, including agreeing the agenda and preparing any papers or items for discussion.

Members are encouraged to raise issues for discussion and are welcome to table papers in agreement with the secretariat. Items proposed for discussion should be sent to the secretariat in advance of meetings, particularly where these may require further distribution or gathering of information.

The secretariat will issue the agenda and any background papers one week in advance of each meeting. A high level note of the group’s discussions will be circulated for agreement after each meeting. The meeting note will not attribute input to individuals and we will publish it on the Scottish Government website.