Best Start - strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022 to 2026: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment screening

Child Rights and Wellbeing Screening Sheet for Best Start: Strategic early learning and school age childcare plan for Scotland, 2022-26

1. Brief Summary

Name the policy, and describe its overall aims. Which National Outcomes does this policy/measure contribute to?

In October 2022, the Scottish Government will publish Best Start: Strategic early learning and school age childcare plan for Scotland, 2022-26 (the Plan). The Plan will set out our vision for early learning and school age childcare over the rest of this Parliament.

It will be a high-level document, providing a framework tying together our vision, our strategic priorities, and the outcomes that these intend to deliver. The four strategic priorities are:

1. Realising the benefits of the expansion to 1140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare for children and families.

2. Progressing the expansion of our childcare offer, including building a future system of school age childcare and a new early learning and childcare offer for one and two year olds.

3. Ensuring that the delivery of our priorities is supported by a sustainable, diverse, and thriving sector and profession.

4. 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.

While the Plan will set out how we intend to work with children, families and our partners in the sector, the Plan will not in itself set out any changes to policy. Nor will it set out detailed delivery or implementation plans for our childcare policies or programmes.

The Plan will contribute to a number of National Outcomes, most notably (but not exclusively):

• We are well educated, skilled and able to contribute to society
• We are healthy and active
• We grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential
• We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally
• We have thriving and innovative businesses, with quality jobs and fair work for everyone

2. What aspects of the policy/measure will affect children and young people up to the age of 18?

The Articles of the UNCRC and the child wellbeing indicators under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 apply to all children and young people up to the age of 18, including non-citizen and undocumented children and young people.

The vision, strategic priorities and outcomes set out in the Plan all relate to ELC and school age childcare, and therefore are all directly related to children and young people up to the age of 18. However, the Plan will not in itself set out any changes to policy. Nor will it set out detailed delivery or implementation plans for our childcare policies or programmes. Therefore, children and young people will not be directly affected by the Plan.

3. What likely impact – direct or indirect – will the policy/measure have on children and young people?

‘Direct’ impact refers to policies/measures where children and young people are directly affected by the proposed changes, e.g. in early years, education, child protection or looked after children (children in care).

‘Indirect’ impact refers to policies/measures that are not directly aimed at children

but will have an impact on them. Examples include: welfare reforms, parental leave, housing supply, or local transport schemes.

As noted above, the Plan will not in itself set out any changes to policy. Nor will it set out detailed delivery or implementation plans for our childcare policies or programmes. It will be a high-level document, providing a framework tying together our vision, our strategic priorities, and the outcomes that these intend to deliver for early learning and school age childcare over the rest of this Parliament.

In itself, the Plan is therefore not expected to have any impacts, direct or indirect, on children and young people. However, any further developments of policy or implementation plans in pursuit of the Plan’s four strategic priorities will be subject to their own processes of consultation with stakeholders. Impacts on children and young people will be considered as part of this, with formal programme-specific or policy-specific impact developed where necessary.

4. Which groups of children and young people will be affected?

Under the UNCRC, ‘children’ can refer to: individual children, groups of children, or children in general. Some groups of children will relate to the groups with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation. ‘Groups’ can also refer to children by age band or setting, or those who are eligible for special protection or assistance: e.g.preschool children, children in hospital, children in rural areas, looked after children, young people who offend, victims of abuse or exploitation, child migrants, or children living in poverty.

The Plan relates to early learning and school age childcare for children between the ages of 2 and 18.

5. Is a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment required?

Please state if a CRWIA will be carried out or not. Please explain your reasons.

A CRWIA is not required as the Plan will not set out any changes to policy, or set out detailed delivery or implementation plans for our childcare policies or programmes. The Plan is not expected to have any impacts, direct or indirect, on children and young people.

Any further developments of policy or implementation plans in pursuit of the Plan’s four strategic priorities will be subject to their own processes of consultation with stakeholders. Impacts on children and young people will be considered as part of this, with formal programme-specific or policy-specific impact developed where necessary.

6. Sign & Date

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Matthew Farrell, 4 October 2022

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: Eleanor Passmore, 4 October 2022

Once signed off, please send to CRWIA@gov.scot and publish on gov.scot website.