School age childcare - new legal definition: consultation analysis

Executive Summary

A public consultation on proposals to create a new legal definition for school age childcare ran from 20 February 2026 to 18 May 2026. In total, 278 consultation responses were received from 173 individuals and 105 organisations, including 88 childcare organisations. The consultation focused on the following proposals: inclusion of ‘play’ in the purpose of the definition; age ranges that should be used to define school age childcare (SACC); inclusion of an hour-based exemption for the regulation of certain services; consideration of separate registrations for services providing both SACC and early learning and childcare (ELC). Throughout the consultation, respondents often referred to school age childcare by a range of terms, such as ‘out of school care’ and ‘wraparound care’. Where these terms are included, they should all be understood as meaning ‘school age childcare’.

The vast majority (95%) of those answering agreed that a new definition for school age childcare should include play as part of the purpose of the definition; a further 2% disagreed, and 3% were unsure. In line with the closed question, almost all respondents who commented on this question supported the inclusion of play as part of the purpose of the definition. They noted that play is an important aspect of learning and development, that it should be seen as the focus of school age childcare, and that including play in the definition would allow organisations to maintain and justify their focus and staff’s existing commitment to play. However, a few respondents felt that including play could overcomplicate the definition and that the emphasis should be on high-quality care.

When asked what age range should be used in the new definition of school age childcare, many respondents recommended that the age range cover primary-age school children, or presented age ranges in line with primary school attendance. Some respondents felt the current age range (5 to 16) should continue to be used. Some other respondents advocated for including all school age children up to and including 18-year-olds, or highlighted the need for flexibility so that services could respond to the specific needs of individual children or different communities across Scotland.

Over three fifths (63%) of those answering indicated that a new definition for school age childcare should not include an exemption to regulation based on the number of hours a service operates for. In their open comments, most of these respondents felt that all services offering childcare should be subject to the same independent regulatory oversight and safety standards, or felt that the exemption should be removed as it led to inequalities among service providers. At the closed question, a further 17% felt that the current exemption should be kept for services running for fewer than two hours, 13% felt there should be an exemption but for an increased number of hours, and 7% felt there should be an exemption for fewer hours. Several respondents commented that the exemption should not be based solely on hours, but rather on the type of service the organisation provides, or the size of the organisation, for example.

Just over half (53%) of those answering were unsure whether having to register under two separate categories would change the type of service they can offer. Of the remainder, slightly more respondents answered ‘no’ (26%) than ‘yes’ (21%). While several respondents could not comment as they do not currently offer both services, several others supported maintaining a single registration for both categories of service. These respondents felt that requiring distinct registration could negatively impact services, as it could force some providers to choose a single service, which could then have a knock-on impact on working parents, their children and their development. Conversely, several other respondents commented in support of distinct categories, noting that they already registered the two types of services separately, or were working towards doing so.