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Publication - Advice and guidance

Funding follows the child and the national standard for early learning and childcare providers: guidance on criteria 7 - business sustainability

Published
29 April 2019
Topic
Education
ISBN
9781787817937

This guidance will support implementation of the business sustainability criteria of the national standard.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Section 3: Roles and Responsibilities

22. As part of the process to become a funded provider, the local authority and providers have roles and responsibilities around the information that they provide each other. This should be done in a spirit of genuine partnership to ensure a simplified, fair and transparent approach for all parties.

23. It is important to highlight that local authorities have two distinct roles in this process as both a commissioner of ELC services and also in delivering funded ELC through local authority settings.

24. Table 1, below, demonstrates the roles and responsibilities of both parties (where the local authority is the commissioner of services to deliver funded ELC), in terms of reviewing evidence of business sustainability.

Table 1: Roles and responsibilities

Role

Responsibilities

Local Authority (commissioning funded ELC)

Local authorities are the guarantors of quality and key enablers of flexibility and choice with the statutory responsibility to ensure that the funded entitlement is available to all eligible children in their area.

They must assure themselves that providers who wish to offer the funded entitlement meet the National Standard and monitor whether funded providers continue to meet the National Standard during the contract.

They must be satisfied that the setting can be sustained and offer continuity of care to children and families as part of their funded entitlement to ELC.
  • Ensure a fair, transparent and compliant process to become a funded provider, including requesting sufficient evidence of Business Sustainability in line with the National Standard.
  • Take cognisance of their own procedural orders, including Standing Orders and Financial Regulations, when requesting evidence.
  • Request evidence that is proportionate to the type of provider.
  • Provide clear guidance on the evidence requested and what should be submitted.
  • Assure themselves that the provider meets the National Standard criteria, including where additional evidence is required.
  • Communicate openly and transparently about decisions made about the National Standard, including on Business Sustainability.

Role

Responsibilities

Provider

Providers must submit evidence of business sustainability (in line with that requested) to the local authority in a timely manner.
  • Read guidance provided by the local authority and ask for clarification if it is required.
  • Provide accurate information that gives a true and accurate representation of the setting(s).
  • Provide evidence in the format and timescale requested by the local authority.
  • Provide additional information if and when the local authority seeks it.
  • Communicate in an open and transparent way with the local authority to ensure constructive communication throughout the process.

Contact

Email: euan.carmichael@gov.scot

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