School age childcare services - regulation review: feasibility study – final options appraisal

16. Annex B - Provider Engagement Sessions 2023-2024

There has been ongoing engagement with SACC Providers over a number of years with many of the same issues being raised at different times in different parts of the country. This annex summarises some of the key themes and issues which were raised by SACC providers in engagement events with the SACC Sector in the Autumn of 2023, and as part of the Feasibility Study in 2024.

16.1 SACC and SOSCN Engagement Events – Autumn 2023 – Summary of Issues

During Autumn 2023, SACC Division worked with SOSCN to hold a number of engagement events with SACC Providers. There were six in-person events around the country (Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Saltcoats, Glasgow, Edinburgh) and one online event.

This is an overview of the comments that were received from providers during the sessions which are relevant to the topics discussed in the Options Appraisal. There were many other issues which were also raised which are being taken forward elsewhere.

Professionalism

• Some providers are feeling frustrated at schools. They don’t always feel included in important discussions about children’s learning, development, home life, and wellbeing. They don’t always feel treated with the professional respect that they want, and feel as though schools don’t see the importance of SACC in supporting children and families.
• Providers want to feel valued, respected and listened to by the rest of the sector, and to be viewed as a professional service. They want the wider sector to recognise the difference between SACC and ELC, and the specific value that SACC provides. Some providers feel that being regulated and assessed in the same way as ELC is not useful or fair.
• Providers think that reliability and flexibility are part of providing high quality care. They also think that remaining open to adapting their service based on the distinct needs and interests of different children are integral to providing high quality care.

Values

• Providers want to deliver child centred, high quality activities and experiences that support wellbeing and attainment, and give children opportunities to see and do things, that they might otherwise not have. They value playwork and fun, and want to deliver a safe and tailored service that supports better outcomes for children.
• Providers are motivated by providing a good quality service, and want to continue to do so. They expressed desire to continually improve, and do well in their CI inspections. Desire to achieve good grades was mentioned multiple times.
• Providers care about their place in community, and want to be well thought of and respected. They want to be a part of something wider, to improve community outcomes.

Regulation

• Regulation is one of the biggest concerns for providers. Between two thirds and three quarters of the comments on regulation were in response to the ‘what is holding us back’ question. Providers are concerned about strict and burdensome regulation requirements that are time consuming and unmanageable.
• Providers are anticipating change to the regulation landscape, and are keen that any changes that are fair, equal, and proportionate, with parity across the sector. They have emphasised the difference between SACC and ELC, and wish to see that reflected in the regulation process.

Staffing and Recruitment

• For providers this is the biggest issue affecting their day to day provision. Lots of questions were raised about what the workforce need, what skills staff need, who delivers childcare, what staff need to do their jobs well, finding enough of the right people, recruitment, creating a sustainable workforce, getting the right people through the door, how to attract people to SACC, what we need to do to keep staff in SACC, and what is affecting staff wellbeing.

Qualifications

• Providers have varying concerns and hopes around qualifications. They feel that the current qualification requirements are not suitable for SACC, and are more suitable for ELC. They also feel that they are missing out on people who would be great in the sector, but do not have the right qualifications. Specific reference was made to Forest kindergarten national progression awards, however participants also referenced more general ‘transferable skills’ from other sectors. They also feel that the new requirement to complete qualifications within a shorter time frame is off-putting for potential new staff in the sector. A few providers mentioned the cost of qualifications being a barrier.

16.2 Feasibility Study Engagement Sessions – Autumn 2024 – Summary of Issues

As part of the feasibility study, the team held engagement sessions with SACC providers in Autumn 2024. One was facilitated by SOSCN and included a mix of large and small, urban and rural services. Another session was facilitated by CALA and included rural SACC providers. A further session was held with local authorities, and included councils which provided SACC directly, councils which worked with private and voluntary services to operate SACC, as well as councils which had little or no SACC provision in their area.

This is an overview of the comments that were received which are relevant to the topics discussed in the Options Appraisal. There was additional discussion about spaces and accommodation for SACC which will be taken forward elsewhere.

Definition of SACC

• Providers highlighted the importance of making the distinction between education and leisure time. There was a feeling that play needs to be emphasised more within the legal definition. There was some reported inconsistency in approach between inspections – some focused more on documenting learning rather than enabling play – and it was felt that this would be less likely to happen if it was more explicit that SACC and ELC are two separate things.
• The point was also made that the difference in age is quite significant going from an early learning setting to a school age setting and children’s needs are going to be significantly different but not everyone understands this. Linked to this was a call for SACC to be recognised as a different service which is skilled and professional. For example, providers reported that teachers and head teachers within schools are often unaware of SACC and the qualifications that staff are required to have.

Qualifications

• There was a strong theme of the need to recognise skills and experience, not just qualifications. Qualifications don’t make you a good practitioner it is how you then use the skills. Providers also highlighted the importance of values and approach. Recruitment is the most challenging for SACC. Providers feel that they are not able to tap into the possible cohort of people who have fabulous skills. Thinking about other jobs, adverts would usually say degree required to whatever level or relevant experience. Whereas with in SACC you have to get the qualification regardless of your other experience, and the experience on its own doesn’t count.
• It was also highlighted that the qualification expectation for part-time working is a real challenge. For example the rationale for having a manager qualified at BA level? It was noted that this is a high level of qualification for SACC. Providers believed that there should be support for the development of more workplace learning which better suits these types of services. Linked to this was the issue of registration and bringing people into the sector. It was noted that there are not many other professions in which people have to sign up within three months of starting a job, pay a fee, and immediately commit to completing a particular qualification. A lot of feedback is that it’s daunting for people.
• Providers expressed a need to recognise more qualifications and particularly wider non-childcare qualifications and skills. There was a call to broaden the qualification spectrum and look at a host of different types of experiences and qualifications that could be used within the sector. Other qualifications should be recognised, especially for managers. There was also a suggestion to match qualifications to similar sectors in England and Wales. Providers also noted that even if staff want to get the qualifications, it can be challenging due to limited spaces on courses or only a limited number of providers delivering the qualification. This is particularly the case in rural and island areas.
• This is an opportunity to create something more bespoke and relevant for SACC. One participant spoke of recently completing the BA and feeling quite lonely because others within her group were ELC workers, so group discussions tended to be around ELC and she didn’t feel the learning applied to SACC. (This was an experience that the feasibility study team also previously heard from other practitioners during site visits).