Early Learning and Childcare Joint Delivery Board minutes: June 2020

Attendees and apologies

Attendees:

Members [O]:

• Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Spokesperson CYP (Chair)
• Maree Todd, Minister for CYP
• Alison Cumming, SG Interim Director of ELC Programme
• Eddie Fallon, Chief Officer Children and Young People
• Roy Brannen, Chief Executive Transport Scotland
• Simon Mair, SG Head of Delivery Assurance
• Laura Mason, ADES 
• Matthew Sweeney, COSLA

Additional attendees:

• Adam Hall, Improvement Service
• Alastair Young, Scottish Futures Trust
• Ellen Leaver, ELC Unit Head, Scottish Government
• Hannah Keates, ELC Team Leader, Scottish Government
• Leona Devlin, ELC Delivery Assurance Officer, Scottish Government

Apologies:

• Karen Reid, Perth and Kinross Council, SOLACE  
   

Items and actions

• Welcome and introductions - Councillor Stephen McCabe, Chair 
• Review minutes and open actions from previous meetings - Councillor Stephen McCabe, Chair
• 1140 Programme Recovery - Simon Mair, Head of Delivery Assurance
• 1140 Delivery Status - Simon Mair, Head of Delivery Assurance
• Finance update - Simon Mair, Head of Delivery Assurance
• AOB - Alison Cumming, Interim Director of ELC Programme

Welcome and introductions

Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

Review minutes and open actions from previous meetings

The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by the Board and it was agreed a new action log should be created. 

1140 programme recovery

Simon Mair introduced paper 009 – 1140 Programme Recovery paper that provides an update on 1140 planning, and makes recommendations on the approach to progressing delivery of the 1140 hours duty and communication to local authorities. 

Key points of discussion:

• it was noted that public focus had been on school aged children returning back to education, however it was very likely that ELC provision would soon be the focus as more businesses open up and more child care is required
• important to provide clarity as early as possible for the sector to support partners sustainability and allow families to make necessary arrangements
• early communication on the 1140 duty and the lead in time of 6 months will be welcomed by local authorities
• communication should take into account that different councils had reached a different stage of delivery of the 1140 expansion prior to Covid-19
• the fact that Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard will be considered and played into the recovery of ELC was welcomed by the Board 
• there needs to be clarity on requirements for recovery  before a final timetable for full implementation of 1140 can be agreed 
• communications must make clear that despite current challenges the expansion remains a shared priority, which will help to keep up momentum
• draft communication needs to be created quickly and issued to the sector
• the Care Inspectorate are creating a self-assessment tool for settings to support them and ensure Health Protection Scotland guidance is being followed as part of the reopening of ELC
• it’s important to recognise that every council is doing their best in the current situation around resourcing and flexibility

The board were broadly happy with the recommendations and agreed the paper.  

1140 delivery status

Simon Mair introduced the paper 010 – 1140 Delivery Status which  summarises progress made towards delivery up to and since the suspension of the statutory duty. The data gathering was paused in April due to Covid-19 however the SG has had continuous communication with councils, which informed the delivery progress report. The paper proposes that the previous framework for data collection is no longer fit for purpose and that a revised framework should be developed and agreed. 

Construction activity was suspended in March 2020.  At that point a total of 187 capital projects were in progress with a total value at just under £200 million.  Around 80% of these were on track for completion by August 2020.  This combined with Local Authority summer works programme and local contingency plans meant that local authorities’ capital programmes were on track to deliver the required additional space to support the 1140 entitlement from August 2020. The construction sector can now resume work, however, with the new safety measures in place this will cause delays and a number of financial challenges.. Scottish Futures Trust will continue to communicate with Local Authorities to gather data and work closely with Scottish Government on a progress towards recovery. 

Key points from discussion:

• agreed the proposal to develop new data collection to understand the impact of Covid-19 and have a full picture across Scotland on the 1140 expansion 
• welcoming the new data collection framework and recognising that this was still a very successful programme with partners working well together and this should continue to underpin the approach to recovery
• highlighted that  previous plans should not be ‘locked in’ and the programme should work with councils to encourage them to review and refresh plans in light of changing circumstances

The Board agreed the next steps set out in the paper to establish a new data collection framework.

Finance update

The finance paper 011 provides an update on financial issues resulting from the COVID-19 response and recovery.

It provides detail on the work underway to model the financial impact of COVID-19 and the recent meetings of the Education Recovery Resources Group (ERRG) and ELC Finance Working Group (FWG). The feedback from the Finance Working Group is that there will be a gathering exercise in order to provide a national picture for all Local Authority.

The finance paper was noted. 

AOB

JDB(O) members to sign off the data collection proposal ahead of this being issued to local authorities. 

It was agree the next Joint Delivery Board will meet no later than the results from the data collection, with an interim officials meeting if required.