Grants of £500, £750 or £1,000 will be available to eligible childminding providers, based on assessed need.
The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) to finalise the details of the scheme and said that more information on how to apply will be published ‘shortly’.
Meanwhile, alongside the funding, a new Childminding Action Plan has been published, setting out the Scottish Government’s vision for the sector and the actions to support it that are being taken now and into the future.
These include:
- development of flexible, tailored learning models to better support childminders to access continued professional learning
• research into trends within the childminding workforce to better inform future actions to support the growth of the sector
• work collaboratively across the sector to identify and deliver ways in which childminders can be better enabled to participate in the opportunity to provide the funded early learning and childcare (ELC) entitlement
Children’s Minister Maree Todd said, ‘Childminders are a vital and valued part of our childcare sector, providing high quality care and learning in a safe and nurturing environment.
‘Just as many other childcare providers have experienced financial pressures as a result of the pandemic and the restrictions that have been placed on them, childminders too have raised genuine concern about the future sustainability of their businesses.
‘I’m pleased that we can today publish our vision for the profession, and hope that on top of the previous financial support we’ve made available, these further grants will provide additional help during these very difficult times.’
Graeme McAlister, chief executive, SCMA, said, ‘Covid-19 has had a very significant adverse effect on childminding in Scotland. As such, we very much welcome the announcement of £1m of financial support from the Scottish Government for childminding to support business sustainability. This is something that we have been advocating for on behalf of childminders throughout Scotland over a sustained period of months.
‘While the level of funding will not cover all childminders, we believe this new funding will provide vital support to those childminding businesses most in need, and who are on the edge of viability, to support their future sustainability. This will also help to provide much-needed stability in the short-term and from which to launch a series of medium- and long-term actions to support the recovery of the childminding workforce.
'Childcare will play a vital role in supporting local and national economic recovery from Covid-19 by enabling parents to work, and childminding provides a unique, flexible and high-quality form of childcare which increases parental choice.
‘It is clear in committing this funding that the Scottish Government has listened to the many childminders around Scotland who have contacted Ministers and MSPs about this issue. SCMA will continue to contribute to discussions with Scottish Government regarding the detail of this financial support.’
- Meanwhile, the legislation to reinstate 1140 hours of funded ELC to all eligible children by August 2021 has been laid in Scottish Parliament (22 January).
