This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Commission says Scots childcare faces radical reform

This news post is almost 9 years old
 

​Collaboration between Scottish and UK governments the only way forward, says report

Radical action is needed to transform childcare in Scotland with collaboration between Holyrood and Westminster “the only option” to improve services.

Colin MacLean, chair of the Commission for Childcare Reform, has written a letter to the First Minister and the Secretary of State for Scotland urging radical action to transform childcare in Scotland.

The letter, to Nicola Sturgeon and David Mundell, marks the publication of the commission’s final report and says that genuine collaboration between Holyrood and Westminster is the only option to improve availability, affordability and funding of the sector.

Among the recommendations, the report states that families should be able to access up to 50 hours of free or subsidised childcare a week - with the net cost to parents of childcare placed on a sliding scale that takes account of income.

The current mix of provision and support is incoherent and piecemeal - Jackie Brock

A child account should also be established for each child, to provide a transparent route through which all money (public or private) used for childcare is channelled to providers.

And it also states the Scottish Government, working with the UK government, local authorities and providers, should commission a “fundamental review of all aspects of the funding of childcare”.

MacLean said: “Our report asks the Scottish Government to address the country’s ‘childcare challenge’, ie ensuring that when parents need to use childcare in order to work or study, they can access high-quality, affordable, flexible provision and be confident that it meets the needs of their child.

“Through 15 months of intense consultation work we have developed a series of recommendations which we believe identify the key issues in childcare and provide the template to meet that challenge.”

The commission was established by the Childcare Alliance, a network of partners drawn from civic society, business and the childcare sector, and led by Children in Scotland and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry .

Children in Scotland chief executive Jackie Brock said the report’s vision provides a “powerful base for taking forward Scotland’s priorities to reduce poverty and support equality.”

She added: “In Scotland in 2015 far too many families are finding that, instead of working for them, the childcare settlement is making their lives more difficult and less secure.

“The current mix of provision and support is incoherent and piecemeal, too often resulting in stress, financial problems and the hampering of progress in careers and education.”

An event to discuss the commission’s recommendations will be held in September.