Funding follows the child and the national standard for early learning and childcare providers: guidance for local authorities

Section 2: The National Standard For Early Learning And Childcare Providers

1. Who does the National Standard apply to?

The National Standard applies to all settings offering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement. This covers settings in the public, private and third sectors, including childminders.

2. Does the National Standard apply to ELC paid for directly by parents as well as to the funded hours?

The National Standard applies to the setting offering the funded entitlement. For example, the Care Inspectorate looks at the registered service as a whole, including children who are not receiving the funded entitlement. Therefore, if the setting has been accepted as a funded provider, the quality of ELC in the whole service will need to be evaluated as 'good' or above. This should provide some reassurance that the non-funded element of the setting is also of a high quality.

The real Living Wage commitment applies to childcare workers in the setting delivering the funded entitlement. Whilst it is our ambition for all childcare workers to be paid at least the real Living Wage, it is not for the Scottish Government or local authorities to provide funding to cover the hours that staff spend delivering non-funded hours in these settings. It is therefore a business decision for funded providers as to whether they provide the additional resource to uplift the salaries for all workers in their settings, including those not engaged in delivery of the funded entitlement, to the real Living Wage.

3. Does the National Standard apply to funded providers who deliver the funded entitlement in an outdoor setting or through Gaelic medium?

Yes. The National Standard criteria apply regardless of setting characteristics such as whether the provision is being delivering through English or Gaelic medium, in a Catholic or non-denominational setting or through indoor or outdoor provision.

4. How will local authorities assess whether funded providers are meeting the National Standard?

It is expected that local authorities have clear and concise procedures in place for assessing a setting's eligibility to become a funded provider. Further support materials on how to assess this evidence will be produced by March 2019 and this will include what key features to look for in the evidence provided. We are working with the Service Models Working group to develop this further and gain a shared understanding of how the National Standard can be applied consistently across the country. We would encourage local authorities to work together and support each other through this change of approach, and to ensure that there is parity and equity in how the National Standard is applied.

Templates for applications to become a funded provider will also be made available for local authorities to consider as they develop their processes. We expect local authorities to consult local providers on the development of these processes and to review and evaluate new processes within the first few years.

5. Why does the National Standard quality criteria only reflect Care Inspectorate quality evaluations?

The expertise within each inspection body for ELC means that they bring a different perspective to their evaluations of settings and both bring their own strengths to supporting improvement. Education Scotland inspections are a valuable source of evidence in understanding the quality of ELC provision in a setting. However, it would not be appropriate to require funded providers to meet the same criteria in respect of Education Scotland quality evaluations. Firstly, only a small proportion of settings are selected for evaluation by Education Scotland. It would therefore be unfair to expect settings to meet a criteria that is not universally applied. Secondly, Education Scotland do not inspect settings sufficiently frequently to allow us to stipulate that quality evaluations must be returned to good or better within a specific 'service improvement period'.

It is, however, important that Education Scotland evaluations are taken into account in assessing the quality of funded ELC provision. Sub-criteria 4.2 of the National Standard states that if one of the quality evaluations covered by the inspection is less than good, this must be addressed within the setting's improvement plan. In addition, the findings from any Education Scotland inspection will be scrutinised by the local authority as part of their procedures for monitoring compliance against the National Standard. Should the findings of the Education Scotland inspection suggest other criteria are not being met, a 'service improvement period' will begin.

6. What if a funded provider receives a quality evaluation below 'good' in any of the Care Inspectorate themes following scrutiny activities?

As guarantors of quality for the National Standard, the local authority will play a key role in ensuring each child receives a high quality experience during their funded hours. If a funded provider fails to meet the Care Inspectorate quality evaluation criteria, they will be subject to a 'service improvement period'. The local authority will need to be clear about which criteria are not being met and how the funded provider can improve the quality of provision to ensure children receive high quality ELC. It is expected that communication between the local authority and the Care Inspectorate is clear under these circumstances to ensure that any 'enhanced improvement support' is consistent between the two organisations.

The local authority will be expected to offer 'enhanced improvement support' to improve the quality of provision in order to promote consistency and continuity of care for children and their families, where possible.

In addition, the Care Inspectorate may offer support for improvement, in line with their current procedures.

Quality of environment exemption: Of each of the four themes inspected by the Care Inspectorate, some settings are likely to have least control over quality of environment, which could be subject to the owner of a premise agreeing to investment or temporary change due to the need to undertake repair work or (especially in the context of ELC expansion) refurbishment and/or extension work. We also recognise that some settings that rent space in buildings owned, for example, by a church or local council, will have limited control over the timing of repair work. We therefore recommend that, where a setting fails to restore its quality of environment grading to 'good' by this next inspection, the setting will be required to submit, within 2 weeks of the inspection report, improvement plans that provide sufficient reassurance that good quality will be restored within appropriate timescale agreed between the Care Inspectorate and the local authority. These plans would be submitted to the local authority but the Care Inspectorate would also have a role in reviewing these.

If these plans are considered by the Care Inspectorate and the local authority to be inadequate, the setting will be given feedback on what else needs to be included and an opportunity to resubmit the plan within a further two weeks. If the resubmitted plan still fails to provide adequate reassurance, funded status will be withdrawn.

7. What if there is not a recent quality evaluation for one of the themes included under the sub-criteria relating to Care Inspectorate quality evaluations?

Under the Care Inspectorate's proportionate approach to its scrutiny activities, some settings will only be inspected against two of the four quality themes which are linked to the National Standard criteria. These settings are deemed as low risk and, therefore, are subject to a low intensity inspection. This would mean that the setting's quality evaluations will only be linked to two of the quality themes, one of which is always 'Quality of Care and Support'.

If concerns arise about other themes during the inspection process, the inspection can be changed to a high intensity and other quality themes can be scrutinised. The Care Inspectorate takes a responsive approach to the intelligence it gathers to plan inspections and, if there is evidence to suggest performance under a quality theme needs further investigation, this theme can be looked at within the inspection process.

If there are no concerns about a particular quality theme, and the Care Inspectorate has not decided to scrutinise the theme further, local authorities can be confident that the setting is operating at a 'good' quality for those themes which have not been inspected.

We will work with the Care Inspectorate to identify the key features which define 'good' quality ELC provision under each theme. We will also work with them to identify when themes may be covered during an inspection in addition to the themes included in the original inspection plan.

8. What if a funded provider falls below a quality evaluation of 'good' in any of the quality indicators evaluated by Education Scotland?

The local authority as the primary guarantors of quality should support the funded provider to improve by agreeing a clear improvement plan that identifies any areas for development through the scrutiny activity. Local authorities should also explore the findings from Education Scotland inspections to ascertain compliance with the National Standard. If this information highlights that a funded provider is not meeting one or more of the criteria, the local authority should use this information to begin relevant procedures to improve the quality of the service by instigating a 'service improvement period'.

Where necessary, Education Scotland may be able to provide follow up support to funded providers where inspectors evaluate the quality of learning and education provision to be less than good. This will ensure that identified areas for improvement are addressed within the setting's improvement plan and the funded provider is supported to implement the actions required to improve children's ELC experience.

9. What if a provider is not meeting the National Standard by the end of the transition period to 2020?

Existing settings who are already offering funded hours

If the setting does not meet the National Standard, they will not be eligible to become a funded provider from August 2020. However, support will be available to help providers to meet the standard, with additional support provided through the Delivery Support Plan for Providers. The local authority may also offer support to ensure improvements are made to achieve the National Standard in the transition to 2020 and. If it is clear that an existing funded provider is not going to meet the National Standard from August 2020 then communication with parents will be necessary to ensure they have time to make alternative arrangements if this is what they wish to do. The local authority will also contact parents and carers to inform them that the setting will not be a funded provider in the local authority area. Parents and carers will still have the choice to use the setting on an non-funded basis as long as they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. If this is the case, settings must make it clear to parents and carers that they will not receive funding for their ELC hours and they should also be made aware that other options are available.

After August 2020, the provider can re-apply to become a funded provider as long as they can show how they are meeting the National Standard at this point.

Existing and new settings who wish to provide funded hours

Those existing and new settings who wish to provide the funded hours who are not yet meeting the National Standard can use the operating guidance to plan improvements in their setting to meet the quality criteria. As improvements are made or during the registration process, evidence of compliance can be collected for the application and we would recommend that the setting contacts the local authority to find out what evidence will be required when applying to become a funded provider.

10. What 'enhanced improvement support' can funded providers expect from local authorities in the transition period, if they are not meeting the National Standard?

Existing settings who are already offering funded hours

If a setting is not yet meeting the National Standard, but is currently providing funded hours, the local authority may offer support to ensure improvements are made to achieve this Standard, in line with their current resources and processes. They will also be able to use the commitments made in the Delivery Support Plan for Providers to support these settings in becoming a funded provider. It is ultimately the responsibility of the setting to make the necessary changes to meet the National Standard and local authorities will make it clear which criteria in the National Standard have not yet been met.

If the setting has received a quality evaluation below good through Care Inspectorate scrutiny activities, the setting may be provided support from the Care Inspectorate under Section 44(1) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 which places a general duty of furthering improvement on the Care Inspectorate. It will be for individual settings to set this agreement with the Care Inspectorate and work with them to make improvements in this case.

If the Standard is not met by implementation of the Funding Follows the Child approach in August 2020, the local authority will begin to make contingency arrangements to ensure that parents and carers can make informed choices about their child's access to their funded hours.

Some local authorities may recognise that there are areas in which the capacity to offer funded hours will be low and may prioritise enhanced improvement support to services in these areas to ensure that local needs are met. This may be in relation to areas of deprivation where a commitment to the funded entitlement may not be fulfilled or in areas where current provision for funded hours is low. It is for local authorities to decide how they plan their resources to meet the commitment and this will be based on the needs of the local authority as a whole, in line with local ELC delivery plans.

Existing settings who wish to provide funded hours

There will be no expectation from a local authority to provide 'enhanced improvement support' if the setting is not currently offering funded hours. There may be circumstances where the local authority contacts a setting to arrange some development work if they are considered to be located in an area where there is the need for more capacity to ensure all children receive their funded hours. This will not take the form of 'enhanced improvement support' and it is ultimately the responsibility of the setting to make improvements to meet the National Standard.

The Care Inspectorate may offer some improvement support in line with their legislative commitment to help settings develop where the quality of provision requires significant improvement. This type of support would need to be agreed between the provider and the Care Inspectorate and would focus on areas which have been identified as part of the inspection process rather than against the National Standard.

New settings who wish to provide funded hours

There will be no expectation from a local authority to provide 'enhanced improvement support' in new settings. There may be circumstances where the local authority contacts a new setting to arrange some development work if they are considered to be located in an area where there is the need for more capacity to ensure all children receive their funded hours. This will not take the form of 'enhanced improvement support' and it is ultimately the responsibility of the setting to make improvements to meet the National Standard.

The Care Inspectorate may offer some support in meeting the National Standard during the registration process. This type of support would need to be agreed between the provider and the Care Inspectorate and would focus on areas which have been identified as part of the registration process rather than against the National Standard.

11. What is a 'service improvement period' and how long is this?

A 'service improvement period' will apply when a funded provider is not meeting one or more of the National Standard criteria. This may be in relation to the quality evaluations from Care Inspectorate scrutiny activities or based on other intelligence such as Education Scotland inspections findings or feedback from parents and carers.

The 'service improvement period' gives the funded provider an opportunity to improve the quality of their provision within a fair timescale. The local authority can instigate a 'service improvement period' when one or more of the National Standard criteria are not being met.

If this is in relation to Care Inspectorate scrutiny activities, the 'service improvement period' will begin upon publication of the inspection or scrutiny report.

If the local authority has other evidence of non-compliance against the National Standard criteria, the 'service improvement period' will begin when communication is sent from the local authority to the funded provider detailing the National Standard criteria which are not being met.

In both circumstances, the local authority must detail to the funded provider:

• which National Standard criteria and sub-criteria are not being met;
• what evidence they have that the criteria is not being met;
• how the service can improve their practice to meet the criteria;
• what enhanced improvement support will be available to ensure the quality of provision improves; and
• the specific review dates for monitoring during and at the end of the 'service improvement period'.

The length of the 'service improvement period' is 12 months or, if the criteria not met are related to Care Inspectorate quality evaluations, the 'service improvement period' will end upon publication of the next inspection report. At this time, the local authority will make a decision about whether the setting will remain a funded provider, based on the evidence of progress over the 'service improvement period.'

12. What happens if the service does not meet the National Standard criteria within the 'service improvement period'?

The priority when making this decision is to ensure that the continuity and consistency of care for children is well managed and that the impact on families is reduced, where possible.

If the local authority finds that the funded provider is not meeting the National Standard criteria after the 'service improvement period', they will communicate with the funded provider the reasons for their decision and detail the criteria which are not being met. At this time, a transition phase to remove funded provider status will begin. We would expect that, in order to ensure a smooth transition for children and their families, that this transition phase would last around 3 months. A confirmed date for the removal of funded provider status will be given by the local authority when confirming their decision.

Communication with parents and carers about the process for removing funded provider status will be essential from both the local authority and the setting. Parents and carers must understand the various options available to them, including other funded providers who may be able to offer their child their funded hours or options to remain in the setting on a non-funded basis. They should also be told the date when their funded entitlement in the setting will be withdrawn.

13. How will the National Standard take account of any changes to the inspection frameworks of the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland?

The National Standard reflects the current scrutiny and inspection frameworks of the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland. When changes are made to these inspection frameworks, criteria relating to quality evaluations will be updated to reflect this and ensure consistency between the scrutiny work of the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland. The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland are currently developing a shared inspection framework for all ELC settings.

14. If a provider doesn't have a framework for play and learning yet. How can they be supported to develop this?

There are a number of support resources available on the National Improvement Hub which may be of help as settings define their approach to ELC, in line with their ethos, vision and values. In addition, some of the settings identified to receive support from the Innovation Fund focus on pedagogy and setting frameworks for play and learning. These can be used to draw inspiration and identify key theories for developing and creating a framework for play. Smaller settings may be able to evidence this within their individualised planning approaches while larger settings may be more comfortable producing an overall statement and direction for the service as their framework.

Local authorities may decide to support settings to access training and development opportunities which detail the expectations of this criteria. While generalised evidence will be asked for nationally, some local authorities may have specific local priorities which need to be reflected in a funded provider's framework for play and learning. Holding consultation sessions and development workshops may help to ensure that a coherent and consistent approach is taken across each area in consultation with all funded providers.

15. If a funded provider has been asked to provide funded hours for a child with additional support needs, what can local authorities do to support the setting and the child best through this process?

Most settings will be well equipped to manage children's varying needs. If a setting has any concerns about being able to meet a child's additional support needs, then we expect all parties to be able to come together to have meaningful, respectful conversations to support good decision-making that has the child's best interests at the centre.

We would expect that the current approaches in local authorities to supporting children with additional support needs are used to ascertain the best place for each child to access their funded hours. Multi-agency meetings can be used to discuss the variety of options available, gather the views of parents and carers and to hear the opinions of the proposed funded provider on how they plan to meet the child's individual needs. Decisions about where the child should access their funded hours should be made in line with the Additional Support Needs (2004) Act and details of the choice made should be explained using the Getting It Right For Every Child wellbeing indicators. This will ensure that there is clarity and consistency in the approaches to placing children with additional support needs in a local authority area. Key to the success of this will be the inclusion of the funded provider the parent has chosen in informing the decisions made.

If it is decided that reasonable changes to the care and learning environment can be made within the funded provider to ensure that children's additional support needs can be met, clear timescales should be set for the child starting in the service. The funded provider must agree to attend all multi-agency meetings for the child to promote consistency and continuity of care and ensure that their additional support needs do not provide a barrier to them accessing a full range of experiences.

Should a decision be taken that the child will not attend a particular setting, clear reasoning and evaluation of the case should be communicated to the funded provider by the local authority about why this decision has been taken and why it is felt that this will be of more benefit to the child's development.

Should a decision be taken against the wishes of the parent, clear reasoning and evaluation of the case should be communicated to the parent to help them understand why this decision has been taken and why it is felt that this will be of more benefit to the child's development.

16. If a provider doesn't have a clear and comprehensive policy for the provision of healthy meals and snacks for children how can they be supported to develop this?

Setting the Table includes a section on 'Food Policy Development' under the 'Putting Guidance into Practice' alongside other advice to create a healthy eating policy for different types of settings which impacts positively on practice. This document is currently under review and it may be beneficial for local authorities to arrange training and development opportunities for funded providers to support the development of these practices across their local area.

In addition, the Care Inspectorate has published good practice guidance on food in ELC titled 'Food Matters: Nurturing happy, healthy children'. It is a resource that highlights examples of good practice from across ELC. They have worked alongside the sector to enable settings, practitioners and families to tell their own stories of how they are supporting children to eat well and enjoy good food every day.

We will work with delivery partners to develop a national resource of communication materials that settings can distribute to parents and carers. This will include material on healthy eating and the free meal commitment. We will also create online platforms for settings and local authorities to identify and share best practice on innovative collaborative solutions to delivering the commitment.

From 2020, we are also proposing that nursery milk is delivered as part of the funded entitlement. Alongside this, we are considering including an offer of a daily healthy snack such as a piece of prepared fruit or vegetable. We will confirm the final details of the nursery milk and healthy snack offer in early 2019 following the confirmation of the policy position in light of the Welfare Foods consultation.

17. Do I need to provide a hot meal as part of the child's funded hours?

No. We understand that settings may want to operate different models for providing meals and snacks which best meets the needs of the children and families experiencing the service. Some settings may not have the facilities to offer hot meals and parents and carers may choose for their child to opt out of the free meal entitlement. As long as the child receives a meal which is healthy, nutritious and in line with best practice guidance, the setting will meet the criteria. The meal does not have to be a lunch and we would recommend talking to parents, carers and children about what would suit them best when planning the provision of meals. This will ensure that what is offered is meeting the needs of those using the setting.

Setting the Table is currently under review and we hope to include a variety of hot and cold options for settings to consider when planning the meals and snacks they want to offer. In addition, guidance on offering meals and snacks in outdoor settings is being developed within an online 'How to…' Guide for practitioners on how to access outdoor spaces to create safe, nurturing and inspiring outdoor learning experiences.

Local authorities are expected to work in partnership with funded providers to support them in identifying solutions to deliver the free meals commitment, particularly where funded providers do not have onsite catering facilities.

18. If a child takes their funded hours using a blended model, who provides the child's meal?

Where the child's funded hours are being delivered using a blended model, involving more than one provider across the day, it will be for the individual funded providers to agree with parents and carers as well as the local authority who will provide the meal.

19. How will the local authority assess the business sustainability of funded providers in the private and third sectors?

We are currently working with Scotland Excel and the Care Inspectorate to ascertain the parameters for demonstrating business sustainability based on a risk model. Evidence such as business forecasts/projections and accounts will be used to define the perceived risk of a setting and determine whether they are financially viable providers.

More information on these checks will follow with the support materials to be published by March 2019 and will be user tested with colleagues in local authorities before being finalised.

20. I am a childminder who wants to become a funded provider but I don't have a qualification yet. Where can I get support to get my qualification in the next 5 years?

Childminders who want to become a funded provider should be able to demonstrate that they have applied and have been accepted onto a relevant qualification. We are currently working with training providers and colleges to explore how relevant prior experience, training and qualifications can be recognised and accredited towards a mandatory qualification. So far, many of these organisations have been positive about the development of a resource which could support childminders to collate evidence of their existing practice and used towards assessment for the SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 7. We are doing this by making links from their practice to the relevant National Occupational Standards at SCQF 7. This could support childminders to value and recognise their own experiences and knowledge which can be directly used as evidence towards a qualification.

We are also looking at how this process could be supported and funded. Currently, provided the applicant's individual income does not exceed £25,000 per annum, fee grants for part-time courses are available from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). Another source of part-funding is the Skills Development Scotland Individual Training Account. We will explore whether other dedicated funding needs to be made available to help childminders to fund their qualifications.

In addition, childminders have been involved in the development of the 'My Childminding Journey' resource to support experienced childminders who are providing good quality care as a way of enabling access to a qualification. 'Your Childminding Journey' was designed to help childminders reflect on their practice and we are currently developing the Childminding Route Planner to help support them in this process. Evidence collated could be used for self-assessment, supporting the inspection process, quality assurance and quality improvement processes, providing recognition of prior learning towards qualifications and in assisting childminders to choose the best route towards qualification for their individual situation.

Some local authorities are already offering funding to childminders to support them in gaining a qualification. This is based on certain criteria and is locally managed. Local authorities may wish to explore if this option would benefit their ability to offer the funded entitlement across their area.

21. Do I need to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) if I am a childminder?

No. There is no legal requirement for childminders to register with SSSC and they are already registered with the Care Inspectorate. The National Standard (sub-criteria 1.2 and 1.4) asks childminders to meet the requirements and Codes of Practice that SSSC require from registered practitioners and this is sufficient evidence to show they are meeting this aspect of the National Standard. It is recommended that childminders have a good understanding of the SSSC Codes of Practice as this will support them to understand the expectations of the workforce as a whole. It may also support them to show how they are meeting the National Standard in their application to become a funded provider.

22. I'm planning to open a new setting and I want to become a funded provider. What do I need to do?

The best way to get a good understanding of what is expected is to work with the Care Inspectorate to discuss ways to meet the National Standard during the registration process. Going through the process of registration should support new settings to understand the expectations of the sector and will support their development to meet the National Standard. Part of the process of registration requires each setting to collate evidence which may also be helpful when applying to become a funded provider with a probationary status. There will be other requirements the Care Inspectorate will expect in order for the setting to become a registered care service but, in order to become a funded provider, settings will also need to meet the criteria set out in the National Standard.

New settings may also want to discuss their aspirations with the local authority directly before making an application. The local authority will be able to communicate what can be expected when they apply and may be able to point new settings in the direction of funded providers who are currently high performing.

In addition, organisations such as Early Years Scotland, SCMA, Business Gateway, the Enterprise Networks, Just Enterprise and Social Investment Scotland may be able to support the new setting in developing aspects of their business model.