Early learning and childcare providers: delivery support plan

Improving Communication with Parents and Carers

The Funding Follows the Child approach places choice in parents' and carers' hands allowing them to access their child's funded entitlement from any setting – in the public, private or third sector, including from a childminder – who meets the National Standard, has a place available and is willing to enter into a contract with their local authority.

We know that parents and carers are really pleased that the expansion will mean increased choice and flexibility. We also understand that picking the right ELC provider is an important decision for parents and carers. We will therefore work in partnership to support families and give them the guidance that they need to make informed decisions – to help families decide what matters to them and to support them to judge quality for themselves.

This includes making parents and carers more aware of the options available to them when accessing the funded entitlement – including the potential to use their funded hours with a childminder.

High quality ELC should also support parents and carers in their role as the primary influence on children's outcomes. That is why engagement with parents and carers is key aspect of the new National Standard that all funded providers will have to meet from 2020. Promoting parent and carer engagement and involvement in children's learning while they attend ELC is an important opportunity to make parents and carers feel valued, instil them with confidence in their role and demonstrate that settings involved in their child's life are accessible and approachable.

How will we improve Communication with Parents and Carers?

• We will develop an online resource for parents and carers to empower them to make informed choices about the right ELC setting for their child. We will work closely with parents, carers and parent organisations to develop the resource, which will be available by March 2019.

• It is important that consistent messaging is available to parents and carers through the communications that they receive from providers, local authorities and the Scottish Government. We will work with providers and local authorities to develop a national information resource that all settings and local authorities can share with parents locally, to help ensure clear and consistent messaging about the funded entitlement.

• We know how important childminders are, particularly for our younger children. Childminders can provide a nurturing setting for young children where they can provide creative, personalised care and learning through play. Our recent parental survey indicates that there is considerable demand from parents to increase their use of childminders as we move towards the introduction of the expanded early learning and childcare entitlement in 2020. Whilst the latest figures from the SCMA highlight an encouraging increase in the number of childminders who have become funded providers, the numbers are still relatively low and there is more that can be done. To identify actions to ensure parents and carers understand the potential benefits of accessing all or part of their child's ELC entitlement from a childminding service we have committed to holding a childminding summit with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) by end of March 2019. We will host the summit on a Saturday to ensure that it is easier for childminders to attend.

• As set out in legislation, the funded hours must be free at the point of access regardless of which setting the hours are being delivered in. This duty applies to local authorities and is extended to funded providers when they enter into partnership to deliver the funded hours. Where parents and carers are accessing a mixture of funded and non-funded hours from a setting, any charges must be presented clearly and transparently to parents and carers. We will work together with providers and Scotland Excel, drawing on existing good practice, to develop templates that funded providers may wish to utilise to support clear and transparent information for parents and carers on fees and charges.