Funding Follows The Child and The National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: Operating Guidance

Section 2: The National Standard for all Early Learning and Childcare Providers

This section includes guidance to assist settings in interpreting and demonstrating the National Standard criteria and highlights key supporting documents to aid with delivery.

The criteria focus on what children and their families should expect from their ELC experience, regardless of where they access their funded entitlement. This will ensure that, as part of the ‘provider neutral’ Funding Follows the Child approach, there is consistency of high quality provision across all funded provider types. It is also underpinned by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 which applies to all care services across Scotland, including daycare of children^[1] and childminding settings.

Criterion 1 - Staffing, leadership and management

The single most important driver of the quality of a child’s ELC experience is a high quality workforce. The 2017 NHS Health Scotland evidence review on Childcare Quality and Children's Outcomes found that higher qualified professionals, strong leadership and an experienced, competent and confident workforce provide a better quality environment for children. We also know from the Growing Up in Scotland Study that Care Inspectorate evaluations on quality of staffing are linked to children’s outcomes.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders):

• Sub-criteria 1.1 - Care Inspectorate quality evaluations are ‘good’ or better on key questions that relate to quality of staff teams, and leadership (key questions 3 and 4)

How do settings meet this criteria?

Settings are evaluated under the Care Inspectorate Quality Framework – A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare.

Key question 3 reads across to the previous Quality of management and leadership quality theme; whilst key question 4 reads across to the previous Quality of staffing theme.

• How good is our leadership? (key question 3); and 
• How good is our staff team? (key question 4). 

What support is available to help settings meet this criteria?

Service improvement periods allow local authorities to give providers whose Care Inspectorate evaluations fall below the level required in the National Standard time to access improvement support, undertake improvement activity and achieve sustained improvement. Service improvement periods apply to local authority, private and third sector providers.

Service improvement periods should be provided where the local authority, taking account of any information available from the Care Inspectorate and evidence from the provider, is comfortable that the service:

• is fit to continue;
• is engaging or willing to engage in work that leads to improvement;
• with support, has the ability to improve and sustain improvement by the next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation; and
• meets all other aspects of the National Standard as set out in this Guidance.

Where a setting is on a service improvement period, and meets all of the above criteria, and does not receive evaluations of ‘good’ or better at their next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation but is demonstrating capacity for continuing sustained improvement, the local authority may agree to extend the service improvement period until the following Care Inspectorate quality evaluation. This should apply equally to providers in the public, private and third sectors.

If a local authority wishes to continue to work with any service to deliver funded ELC and that service has not received evaluations of ‘good’ or better after a service improvement period and an extension of a service improvement period, this should be notified to the Scottish Government as part of the Improvement Service regular data return, which will collate details of which settings are on service improvement periods, how long each setting has been on a service improvement period and the service’s inspection history.

Any settings on a service improvement period are expected to be drawing on support from the local authority and, where appropriate, the Care Inspectorate’s ELC improvement programme that has been made available for local authority, private and third sector settings which do not currently meet the quality evaluations. Where a setting chooses not to engage with the programme, they are expected to demonstrate what actions they are taking to make the necessary improvements.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders):

• Sub-criteria 1.2 - All support workers, practitioners and lead practitioners/managers working in the setting and included in the adult: child ratios must have either obtained the benchmark qualification for their role or, if they are still within their first period of registration with the SSSC, have started to work towards this.

How do settings meet this criteria?

We recognise that staff qualifications are not the only factor that will affect the quality of staffing. Experience, motivation and the ability to build positive, loving and trusting relationships will also have an important impact alongside key skills in engaging, interacting and enriching children’s ELC experiences. The NHS Health Scotland evidence review on quality of ELC and child outcomes found that highly trained staff are better equipped through training and professional development to deliver the necessary care, nurturing, love and support required for children’s holistic developmental needs.

The registration of the ELC workforce is regulated by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). Since 2011, all registered ELC managers/lead practitioners must either hold the SCQF level 9 benchmark qualification or agree that their registration is subject to a condition that they secure this within their first period of registration. For practitioner grade, the benchmark qualification is SCQF level 7, and for support workers, the benchmark qualification is SCQF Level 6. The full list of qualifications that will be accepted for each role can be found on the SSSC website.

Those working with children in daycare of children settings are required to register with SSSC and maintain their registration in line with SSSC guidance. Staff must achieve their qualification within the SSSC specified timeframe or before. It is therefore possible for someone to be employed for several years before they secure the relevant qualification. The introduction of this sub-criteria ensures that all support workers, practitioners and lead practitioners working in settings delivering the funded entitlement have at least started to work towards their qualification.

The criteria does not apply to support workers or to practitioners who are not included in the adult:child ratios, who may wish to gain some experience of working in the sector before committing to undertaking a professional qualification. It also does not apply to volunteers who work within the setting carrying out non-routine activities on an occasional basis.

If any practitioners or lead practitioners are unable to obtain a place on a qualification course and are, therefore, unable to start working towards their benchmark qualification, they must provide evidence of application and response from the training provider.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

Information about the SSSC recognised qualifications for each level is available on the SSSC website. We have worked with the SSSC and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) to develop tools to recognise prior learning (RPL), and experiences or qualifications - formal or informal, life or work based - to help prepare for progression or obtain advance programme entry level for an ELC qualification.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders):

• Sub-criteria 1.3 - Sustainable staffing structures are in place which meet the recommended adult: child ratios.

How do settings meet this criteria?

The Health and Social Care Standards, which set out what families should expect when using any service within the health or social care sector, including ELC, make it clear that children’s needs should be met by the right number of people and that staff working in the setting should have time to support, care for and to speak with children and their families.

Settings will be expected to plan their staffing structures to meet these ratios:

• For two year olds this is 1:5; and
• For those aged 3 and over it is 1:8 where children attend for more than 4 hours per day, and 1:10 if they attend for less than 4 hours per day.

It should be noted that the Care Inspectorate will be able to vary the ratios where, for example, there are a number of children with additional support needs or the layout of premises means that extra staff are required to ensure children are adequately supervised.

Staff included in the ratios need not have secured their benchmark qualification but they must be registered with the SSSC as either a support worker, lead practitioner or practitioner grade and, as sub-criteria 1.2 makes clear, should have started to work towards the qualification.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

Guidance on the number of children that a setting can accommodate per member of staff is available on the Care Inspectorate website.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders)

• Sub-criteria 1.4 - All SSSC registered staff in the setting are achieving the Continuous Professional Learning requirements as set by the SSSC.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Quality of staffing is not determined solely by the proportion of qualified practitioners working in a setting. Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) can be just as, if not more, important than a formal qualification especially where the benchmark qualification was achieved many years ago.

This applies to support workers, practitioners and managers/lead practitioners. We would expect to see this suitably spread over each year of the registration period so that CPL is routinely embedded in practice.

Time that staff spend working towards their benchmark qualification can be counted towards the CPL requirement but this will not preclude them from undertaking other learning and development opportunities.

Teachers working in ELC will be subject to their registration conditions with the General Teaching Council of Scotland and will be expected to undertake a minimum of 35 hours a year of CPL, in line with their requirements.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

There is a wide range of CPL available to the ELC sector. To help staff identify and access this, we have developed an online directory that allows ELC professionals to search for opportunities and filter results to meet individual needs. We have also developed a national programme of online CPL modules that are fully accessible and free of charge. These resources are hosted by the SSSC and will soon be collated onto a single portal for professional learning on their website.

Sector bodies who deliver professional learning should consider how best to maximise the accessibility of their professional learning offer by working with providers across the sector to inform this and by, for example, considering flexible timings and methods of delivery.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders)

• Sub-criteria 1.5 - Staff new to delivering funded ELC within the last year are familiar with the content of the most up-to-date version of the national induction resource.

How do settings meet this criteria?

The ELC workforce has grown significantly to deliver the expansion to 1,140 hours. This includes managers/lead practitioners, practitioners and support workers and it is vital that they are all properly inducted into their new roles and supported in their practice. To ensure that children continue to experience high quality care and support, the induction of newly recruited staff will need to be carefully planned and resourced.

The National Induction Resource[SG1] [SG2] has been created for all staff who are new to delivering ELC to ensure that they are well supported in developing the skills and understanding they need in their role. New staff working in ELC must ensure they are familiar with this resource to meet this criteria.

The SSSC Codes of Practice for Employers already requires employers to give their staff clear information about their roles and responsibilities, relevant legislation and the policies and procedures they must follow in their work. Many employers will therefore already have a local induction programme for new staff.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The National Induction Resource is available on the Scottish Government website and linked to through Learning Zone on the SSSC website. It provides consistent information to new staff about, for example, codes of practice, standards and qualifications and also makes them aware of the range of existing and new support available. In addition, it offers some reflective questions that new staff could explore with their mentor during their first few months in post.

To support mentors, the SSSC has developed a mentoring app and other useful resources including Step Into Leadership which provides a range of mentoring tools to the wider social services sector, and the guidance SSSC%20Mentoring%20guidance.pdf">SSSC Mentoring: Supporting and promoting Professional Learning and Development.

There is also a 23 Things ELC Leadership resource available on the SSSC Learning Zone.

Criteria for Childminding Settings:

• Sub-criteria 1.1- Care Inspectorate quality evaluations are ‘good’ or better on key questions that relate to quality of staff teams, and leadership (key questions 3 and 4)

How do childminders meet this criteria?

Settings are evaluated under the Care Inspectorate Quality Framework – A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare. Key question 3 reads across to the previous Quality of management and leadership quality theme; whilst key question 4 reads across to the previous Quality of staffing theme.

• How good is our leadership? (key question 3); and 
• How good is our staff team? (key question 4). 

What support is available to help settings meet this criteria?

Service improvement periods allow local authorities to give providers whose Care Inspectorate evaluations fall below the level required in the National Standard time to access improvement support, undertake improvement activity and achieve sustained improvement. Any settings on a service improvement period are expected to be drawing on support from the local authority.

Service improvement periods should be provided where the local authority, taking account of any information available from the Care Inspectorate and evidence from the provider, is comfortable that the service:

• is fit to continue;
• is engaging or willing to engage in work that leads to improvement;
• with support, has the ability to improve and sustain improvement by the next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation; and
• meets all other aspects of the National Standard as set out in this Guidance.

Where a setting is on a service improvement period, and meets all of the above criteria, and does not receive evaluations of ‘good’ or better at their next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation but is demonstrating capacity for continuing sustained improvement, the local authority may agree to extend the service improvement period until the following Care Inspectorate quality evaluation. This should apply equally to providers in the public, private and third sectors.

If a local authority wishes to continue to work with any service to deliver funded ELC and that service has not received evaluations of ‘good’ or better after a service improvement period and an extension of a service improvement period, this should be notified to the Scottish Government as part of the Improvement Service regular data return, which will collate details of which settings are on service improvement periods, how long each setting has been on a service improvement period and the service’s inspection history.

Criteria for Childminding Settings:

• Sub-criteria 1.2 - Childminders delivering the funded entitlement must have either obtained the benchmark qualification for ELC practitioners or, if they are still within their first 5 years of delivering the funded hours, be working towards achieving this qualification.

How do childminders meet this criteria?

The introduction of a minimum qualification requirement for childminders delivering the funded entitlement provides reassurance, in respect of quality of provision, for parents and carers when they are making their choice of ELC provider.

This means that childminders delivering the funded entitlement are required to hold, or be working towards, the same qualification level (SCQF Level 7 with at least 68 credits) as a practitioner working in an ELC setting. This will help ensure that, as part of the ‘provider neutral’ approach, there is consistency in quality across all provider types.

If a childminder is unable to obtain a place on a qualification course and is, therefore, unable to start working towards their benchmark qualification, they must provide evidence of application and response from the training provider.

The qualification requirement will not apply to childminding assistants.

Childminders will continue to register as settings with the Care Inspectorate.

What support will be available to help childminders meet this criteria?

Information about the SSSC recognised qualifications for each level is available on the SSSC website. We have worked with the SSSC and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) to develop tools to recognise prior learning (RPL), and experiences or qualifications - formal or informal, life or work based - to help prepare for progression or obtain advance programme entry level for an ELC qualifications.

For childminders already in practice and wishing to undertake a work-based qualification that builds on their experience and prior learning, the SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) is likely to be an attractive route.

There is also the Care Inspectorate’s Your Childminding Journey, a learning and development resource for childminders. This helps childminders gather evidence of prior learning, understand what evidence might be relevant to present to colleges and training providers and identify any gaps in their knowledge and areas for further study before deciding on a route to qualification.

The Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) have also developed a workplace award that offers 12 credits at SCQF level 7. This qualification has been mapped by the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) to the SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) practitioner level qualification which means that childminders who complete units, or the whole workplace award, will generate evidence that can be used as recognition of prior learning and give them some credits towards the full benchmark qualification.

We will also work with SVQ training providers to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place that allows childminders to access training in a flexible way that does not require them to take time away from delivering their services to children. The SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) is already offered by several colleges in a flexible way that meets the needs of childminders.

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.

Criteria for Childminding Settings:

• Sub-criteria 1.3 - The staffing structure in the setting is adequate to meet the recommended adult: child ratios.

How do childminders meet this criteria?

When working on their own, the maximum number of children a childminder can be registered to care for is six under 12 years with no more than three not attending primary school and no more than one being under one year old. These numbers are inclusive of the childminders own children whether they are present or not.

Childminders who have their own children between the age of 12 years to under 16 years may want to apply to increase their numbers to eight, but this circumstance is assessed on a case by case basis.

Childminders will be expected to plan their service to meet these ratios.

What support will be available to help childminders meet this criteria?

Guidance on the number of children that a childminding setting can accommodate per member of staff is available on the Care Inspectorate website.

Criteria for Childminding Settings:

• Sub-criteria 1.4 - All childminders delivering the funded entitlement are achieving a minimum of 12 hours per year of Continuous Professional Learning.

How do childminders meet this criteria?

Since 2021 childminders who are delivering the funded hours are required to achieve the same Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) requirement as the wider early years workforce as set by the SSSC.

This creates parity in expectation of professional learning across all funded providers and ensures that, as part of the ‘provider neutral’ approach, there is consistency in quality across all provider types.

What support will be available to help childminders meet this criteria?

SCMA, The Care and Learning Alliance, and Early Years Scotland as well as a range of other organisations provide a range of flexible CPL for childminders.

Local authorities delivering CPL to funded providers will be expected to make their other professional learning accessible (as many already do) to childminders delivering funded hours in their area.

There is a wide range of CPL available to the ELC sector. To help staff identify and access this, we have developed a national directory of CPL that allows ELC professionals to search for opportunities by topic and local authority area. We have also developed a national programme of online CPL modules that are online, fully accessible and free of charge. These resources will soon be collated onto a single platform for professional learning, hosted by the SSSC.

Criteria for Childminding Settings:

• Sub-criteria 1.5 - All childminders newly registered to deliver ELC within the last year have undertaken appropriate induction.

How do childminders meet this criteria?

Childminders should be able to evidence that they have undertaken an appropriate induction whether through their local authority, through a national organisation or other channels.

What support will be available to help childminders meet this criteria?

In addition to the above mentioned, there is a range of induction support specifically available to childminders. The Care Inspectorate’s ‘Your Childminding Journey’ not only supports established childminders to identify professional development needs, but also provides induction guidance for new childminders. It sets out clear quality statements that childminders should aim to meet at application, registration and post-registration stages and also provides links to useful resources. The resource is free and accessible to all childminders.

In addition, the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) offer induction training which includes guidance on setting up and running a business as well as on how to deliver the best outcomes for children.

Other organisations and some local authorities also have induction programmes which childminders may be able to access including Care and Learning Alliance's (CALA) childminding team who deliver inductions.

Criterion 2 - Development of children's cognitive skills, health and wellbeing

We know that the poverty-related outcomes gap in children’s outcomes opens up well before children start primary school. Narrowing this gap in the years before school must be part of our strategy to promote equity and excellence for all.

Development of children’s cognitive skills, health and wellbeing should underpin all aspects of practice in ELC and this criteria sets out how settings can demonstrate how they are supporting outcomes for children in relation to these aspects of their development.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 2.1 - Care Inspectorate quality evaluations are ‘good’ or better on the key question relating to quality of care, play and learning (key question 1).

How do settings meet this criteria?

Settings are evaluated under the Care Inspectorate Quality Framework – A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare. Key question 1 reads across to the previous Quality of care and support quality theme.

• How good is our care, play and learning? (key question 1)

What support is available to help settings meet this criteria?

Service improvement periods allow local authorities to give providers whose Care Inspectorate evaluations fall below the level required in the National Standard time to access improvement support, undertake improvement activity and achieve sustained improvement. Service improvement periods apply to local authority, private and third sector providers.

Service improvement periods should be provided where the local authority, taking account of any information available from the Care Inspectorate and evidence from the provider, is comfortable that the service:

• is fit to continue;
• is engaging or willing to engage in work that leads to improvement;
• with support, has the ability to improve and sustain improvement by the next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation; and
• meets all other aspects of the National Standard as set out in this Guidance.

Where a setting is on a service improvement period, and meets all of the above criteria, and does not receive evaluations of ‘good’ or better at their next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation but is demonstrating capacity for continuing sustained improvement, the local authority may agree to extend the service improvement period until the following Care Inspectorate quality evaluation. This should apply equally to providers in the public, private and third sectors.

If a local authority wishes to continue to work with any service to deliver funded ELC and that service has not received evaluations of ‘good’ or better after a service improvement period and an extension of a service improvement period, this should be notified to the Scottish Government as part of the Improvement Service regular data return, which will collate details of which settings are on service improvement periods, how long each setting has been on a service improvement period and the service’s inspection history.

Any settings on a service improvement period are expected to be drawing on support from the local authority and, where appropriate, the Care Inspectorate’s ELC improvement programme that has been made available for local authority, private and third sector providers which do not currently meet the quality evaluations. Where a setting chooses not to engage with the programme, they are expected to demonstrate what actions they are taking to make the necessary improvements.

• Sub-criteria 2.2 - The setting must have a framework to support children’s learning that is informed by national guidance and is appropriate to support individual children’s development and learning through child-centred play pedagogy.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Each setting’s framework for learning, or curriculum, will be unique to that setting, taking account of local needs and circumstances and based on agreed shared values. It is within this framework that settings provide experiences and opportunities to support individual children’s learning and development.

The setting’s framework to support children’s learning should:

• be informed by national guidance and pay close attention to achieving challenge and enjoyment, breadth, progression, depth, personalisation and choice, coherence and relevance;
• have a clear purpose which is understood by practitioners;
• promote equitable outcomes for all;
• secure children’s wellbeing and rights and reflect children as capable and competent learners; and
• reflect the changing and unique needs of children, families and communities.

The experiences and opportunities that settings offer to children should:

• be based firmly in play and supported through child-centred play pedagogy;
• be well matched to the stages of development of children attending, and build on their previous experiences;
• actively promote and develop the essential aspects for early learning: wellbeing, communication, curiosity, inquiry and creativity;
• support children to develop early literacy and numeracy skills and health and wellbeing;
• be carefully planned to ensure all children experience continuity and progression in their learning;
• take full account of individual children’s needs, personalities, interests and stage of development ;
• be flexible, responsive and provide opportunities for children to take forward their own ideas and interests;
• be enriched by contributions from partnerships with parents, carers and the wider community; and
• provide opportunities for children to experience high quality play both indoors and outdoors.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

Settings will find support for self-evaluation for self-improvement in this area in Quality Indicator 2.2: Curriculum of How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare?. Professional learning resources and case studies to support practice are also available on the National Improvement Hub.

The Education Scotland national practice guidance Realising the Ambition: Being Me includes advice on supporting children’s learning and development and curriculum.

The Scotland’s Curriculum website provides straightforward information on Curriculum for Excellence for those working with children from age three.

The Care Inspectorate have also produced Our Creative Journey which showcases good practice examples of promoting creativity in ELC as well as other children’s services. It is based on the Getting it Right for Every Child wellbeing indicators and is aimed at promoting good practice in all types of ELC settings, to help all services aspire to be the best they can be and have the greatest impact on children’s lives.

Education Scotland's professional learning website includes a module on understanding curriculum rationale for the ELC sector.

Criterion 3 – Physical Environment

As we work to realise the benefits of expanded ELC provision, it is important that we have the right learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, to improve outcomes for children. This includes the space but also appropriate and stimulating care and learning environments for all children in ELC.

Outdoor play is already an integral, everyday part of ELC in Scotland. It is our vision that children in Scotland’s ELC sector will spend as much time outdoors as they do indoors and time outdoors will happen every day, in every setting. We know the benefits of outdoor learning, exercise and play for children. Playing, learning and having fun outdoors helps to improve wellbeing and resilience, improve health through physical activity, provides children with the opportunity to develop a life-long appreciation of the natural world and has a positive impact on educational outcomes.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 3.1 - Care Inspectorate quality evaluations are ‘good’ or better on the key question relating to quality of the setting (key question 2).

How do settings meet this criteria?

Settings are evaluated under the Care Inspectorate Quality Framework – A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare. Key question 2 reads across to the previous Quality of environment quality theme.

• How good is our setting? (key question 2)

What support is available to help settings meet this criteria?

The Space to Grow design guidance for early learning and childcare and out of school care services aims to maximise positive experiences for children and improve the quality of care and learning by helping ELC services to think innovatively about the design of their settings. Although the guidance provides many insights into what constitutes good design, illustrated through case studies from Scotland and further afield, it acknowledges that all environments are unique. The focus throughout remains on the positive impact a well-designed indoor and outdoor environment has on improving outcomes and experiences for children.

The national practice guidance Realising the Ambition: Being Me offers a concept of the environment. It supports ELC settings to consider different learning environments in terms of interactions, experiences and spaces both outside and in, to support children’s learning.

Service improvement periods allow local authorities to give providers whose Care Inspectorate evaluations fall below the level required in the National Standard time to access improvement support, undertake improvement activity and achieve sustained improvement. Service improvement periods apply to local authority, private and third sector providers.

Service improvement periods should be provided where the local authority, taking account of any information available from the Care Inspectorate and evidence from the provider, is comfortable that the service:

• is fit to continue;
• is engaging or willing to engage in work that leads to improvement;
• with support, has the ability to improve and sustain improvement by the next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation; and
• meets all other aspects of the National Standard as set out in this Guidance.

Where a setting is on a service improvement period, and meets all of the above criteria, and does not receive evaluations of ‘good’ or better at their next Care Inspectorate quality evaluation but is demonstrating capacity for continuing sustained improvement, the local authority may agree to extend the service improvement period until the following Care Inspectorate quality evaluation. This should apply equally to providers in the public, private and third sectors.

If a local authority wishes to continue to work with any service to deliver funded ELC and that service has not received evaluations of ‘good’ or better after a service improvement period and an extension of a service improvement period, this should be notified to the Scottish Government as part of the Improvement Service regular data return, which will collate details of which settings are on service improvement periods, how long each setting has been on a service improvement period and the service’s inspection history.

Any settings on a service improvement period are expected to be drawing on support from the local authority and, where appropriate, the Care Inspectorate’s ELC improvement programme that has been made available for local authority, private and third sector providers which do not currently meet the quality evaluations. Where a setting chooses not to engage with the programme, they are expected to demonstrate what actions they are taking to make the necessary improvements.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 3.2 – Children have daily access to outdoor play and they regularly experience outdoor play in a natural environment as part of their funded ELC offer.

How do settings meet this criteria?

It is vitally important that outdoor play is offered daily in line with the Health and Social Care Standards which state that ‘as a child I play outdoors every day and regularly explore a natural environment’.

Outdoor play is an essential part of developing children’s holistic wellbeing and offers a wide range of learning opportunities. When children are attending settings for full days, at least part of that day should be spent outdoors. Indeed, it is our vision that children in Scotland’s ELC sector will spend as much time outdoors as they do indoors. Wherever practical this should include the freedom of choice to move between indoor and outdoor spaces. The Care Inspectorate defines an outdoor play area as:

“any area out of doors, that is available to the children attending the service. The area may be shared with others or available to the wider community”

As part of their funded entitlement, children should also have the opportunity and be encouraged to spend time outdoors within a natural environment. We would define the natural environment as ‘green space’, which could include but not be limited to, wild landscapes such as woodlands, forests, beaches, hillsides but also public parks, gardens, and open green areas.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The ‘Out to Play’ guidance provides practical advice on how to create safe, nurturing and inspiring outdoor learning experiences for children. The latest chapter, ‘Caring for our Outdoor Spaces’, sets out sustainable ways to explore, look after and care for outdoor spaces. There are also sections on outdoor play in the guidance on Childminding Settings, Out of School Care Providers, and Practitioners supporting children with additional support needs.

In My World Outdoors, the Care Inspectorate highlights the importance of outdoor play, provides guidance for practitioners and shares best practice (including case studies) from across Scotland. This guidance sets out the Care Inspectorate’s position on the risks to children from playing outdoors and addresses some of the myths that have built up regarding regulation.

In addition, the Care Inspectorate resource, My Active World, provides practical, case studies to inspire practitioners to build on the good work already present by making small changes that promote children’s rights to be healthy, have fun and be physically active throughout the whole day.

There are a wide range of resources and case studies available on the National Improvement Hub to provide support for professional development in outdoor learning across the 3-18 curriculum. These resources identify the links and themes in national guidance to assist practitioners to take a holistic approach to learning and play. There are toolkits, self reflections and good practice examples of putting the curriculum into practice.

Criterion 4 – Self-evaluation and Improvement

Self-evaluation (or self-assessment) has been a feature of ELC improvement for many years. The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland national self-evaluation frameworks are designed to promote effective self-evaluation as the first important stage in the process of achieving self-improvement. Effective, collaborative self-evaluation, as part of a wider quality assurance approach, requires a cycle of activity based around answering three questions:

• How are we doing?
• How do we know?
• What are we going to do now?

Using this framework will help provide an effective structure that will support ELC settings to undertake on-going self-evaluation and to identify and set out actions to secure further improvement.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 4.1 – The setting uses relevant national self-evaluation frameworks to self-evaluate and systematically identify strengths and areas for improvement.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Settings should use relevant self-evaluation frameworks and national best practice guidance to reflect on and evaluate their current provision. This should be completed in collaboration with children, parents, carers and staff. Systematic and responsive self-evaluation is an important part of developing the service.

Robust and transparent quality assurance systems should be used to create a culture of continuous improvement. There should be clear evidence of how decisions about change have been made and what the service plans to do to achieve this change. Any improvements identified should be focussed on improving outcomes for children and families in line with the National Improvement Framework, alongside local and setting specific priorities.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

“How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare?” has been developed by Education Scotland to support settings to self-evaluate and identify strengths and areas for improvement.

The Care Inspectorate has developed guidance on self-evaluation and supporting continuous improvement for settings in line with the Health and Social Care Standards.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 4.2 – The setting has a clear plan, developed in line with self-evaluation evidence, evidence from Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate scrutiny activities, research and national practice guidance, to continuously improve the quality of provision and outcomes for children and families.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Children and families should benefit from a service which is well-led and managed. Settings should proactively recognise areas for improvement and plan effectively to make changes which will positively impact on children’s ELC experience.

Developing a manageable, measurable improvement plan with a small number of well-considered priorities will support settings to continuously improve. Staff should be motivated and engaged in taking forward improvements in the setting and should be able to show how the changes they have made have improved outcomes for children and families. By planning improvements systematically and sharing this plan with everyone in the setting, the service will support the success of any improvements and minimise the risk of continuity in ELC being jeopardised.

The plan should be a working document which is regularly reviewed to help ensure progress towards achieving the identified outcomes and improvements. For settings who operate more than one type of service, for example, where a nursery is linked to a primary school, it could be developed as part of the wider improvement plan or as a stand-alone plan for the ELC setting.

Where settings have been inspected by the Care Inspectorate and/or Education Scotland, they should ensure that any areas for improvement which are identified through this process are included as a part of the improvement agenda for the setting. Clear links to these evaluations should be made within the improvement plan and key actions to address any areas for improvement included. If the service falls below ‘good’ in any of the areas evaluated by Education Scotland or the Care Inspectorate, the local authority, as the primary guarantors of quality should support the setting to improve. Where necessary, the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland may also provide follow-up support to a setting to help them address any areas for development identified through their scrutiny activity.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

Education Scotland have developed improvement planning guidance aligning with the advice created on improvement planning for the National Improvement Framework.

Criterion 5 – Parent and carer engagement and involvement in the life of the setting

High quality ELC should support parents and carers in their role as the primary influence on children’s outcomes. Promoting parent and carer engagement in their children’s learning is a key factor in helping children to achieve. Parental involvement in a child’s ELC setting provides 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.

Families should feel accepted, valued and respected by the service as this is an essential part of promoting relationships that impact positively on the consistency and continuity of care and learning for children in ELC. By having these close relationships, families will feel secure and valued, promoting a collaborative culture where everyone can be involved in the life of the setting, including identifying and taking forward developments.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 5.1 – There is open and regular communication with parents and carers about the work of the setting and families are meaningfully involved in influencing change.

How do settings meet this criteria?

In terms of communication and collaboration, settings should:

• create a welcoming, loving and supportive culture where everyone is accepted, valued and treated with respect and dignity;
• develop information and advice related to the setting in consultation with parents and carers, ensuring this is accessible in a format or language that is right for them;
• develop a range of simple and effective ways to communicate and collaborate with parents and carers which is in line with their needs and circumstances, including the use of social media or other forms of electronic communication;
• ask parents and carers what would work for them;
• facilitate opportunities for parents and carers to be involved in self-evaluation and planning improvements in the service, directly impacting on change and quality, for example, through Parent Forums or regular consultation strategies; and
• nurture a mutually supportive link between the home, the setting and any other organisations involved in the child’s early years.

Parents and carers should understand the role they can play and feel empowered to contribute to decisions.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The Care Inspectorate published guidance to support the development of personal plans in ELC. This ensures settings are clear on their legislative requirements and supports them to develop plans which improve children’s outcomes in consultation with parents and carers.

In addition, a module on supporting parents and carers to further engage in their children’s development is included in the national online programme of CPL developed for the ELC sector.

Education Scotland has a range of professional learning resources including the ‘Engaging Parents and Families Toolkit’ .

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 5.2 – Parents and carers are supported to engage in their child’s learning and development.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Parents and carers should be actively involved in determining and planning for the holistic wellbeing needs of their child. Being a part of creating and reviewing their child’s personal plan will allow them to be involved in ensuring their child’s holistic wellbeing is well supported. It is important that they, and their child, are recognised as experts in their own experiences and settings need to work closely with them to best meet the needs of the children in their care. Positive and trusting relationships between staff and families is essential to the success of this approach.

In addition, research suggests that parents and carers’ engagement in their child’s learning is a key indicator in improving outcomes for children. Settings should support parents and carers to regularly and meaningfully engage in their child’s learning at home and within their setting, where possible.

Communication with parents and carers should include a focus on how they can meet the learning needs of the family as a whole as well as the child. This promotes lifelong learning in the setting. This should be planned in a way which helps families to learn and develop as a whole and focussed on ensuring children have the best start in life.

This could mean: discussing with parents and carers what is happening with their children’s learning at home and in the setting; encouraging parents and carers to share skills and knowledge to enrich the curriculum; providing them with information, advice and guidance on child development generally; supporting them to engage in their children’s learning at home; providing or sign-posting to opportunities for families to learn together; and offering targeted support to families to help them to engage in a variety of learning opportunities which meet their individual needs.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The Care Inspectorate published guidance to support the development of personal plans in ELC. This ensures settings are clear on the legislative requirements and supports them to develop plans which improve children’s outcomes in consultation with parents and carers.

In addition, a module on supporting parents and carers to further engage in their children’s development is included in the national online programme of CPL developed for the ELC sector.

Education Scotland has a range of professional learning resources including the ‘Engaging Parents and Families Toolkit’ .

Criterion 6 – Inclusion

As the Funding Follows the Child approach offers more flexibility and increased choice for parents and carers, it is vital to ensure that provision remains accessible for all children. An inclusive approach, with an appreciation of diversity and an ambition for all to achieve to their full potential, is essential to getting it right for every child and raising attainment for all. Inclusion is the cornerstone to help us achieve equity and excellence in education for all of our children and young people.

ELC provision must therefore be delivered in a way that ensures equality of access for, and accounts for the varying needs of, all children. Children should be able to learn free from discrimination and in settings which actively tackle health and social inequalities. Additional support may be required, over the short or the long term, to overcome needs arising from the care and learning environment, family circumstances, health needs or disability or social and emotional factors. Those that may require additional support may include, for example, children with disabilities, children with English as an additional language, Gypsy/Travellers, highly able children, asylum seeking / refugee children and children from Armed Forces families.

The Early Learning and Childcare Statutory Guidance makes it clear that additional support for learning is required to help a child or young person to overcome a barrier to their learning. The support need not be provided in an educational establishment, and is directed to learning in its broadest sense. It also outlines the importance of joint partnership planning and working – for example between NHS Boards and other local authorities – to deliver additional support for learning where required.

While not every setting will be able to meet the needs of every child, settings will be expected to adhere to the following:

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 6.1 – The setting must comply with the duties under the Equality Act 2010.

How do settings meet this criteria?

The setting should ensure that the practice, policies and procedures in their setting are in line with the Equality Act 2010. The setting should be able to show how they are meeting the Health and Social Care Standards related to this criteria such as:

“I am accepted and valued whatever my needs, ability, gender, age faith, mental health status, race, background or sexual orientation.”

Training and development for staff on the main features of the Equality Act 2010 may be beneficial and staff should be able to understand how their practice ensures excellence and equity for all.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The Equality Act 2010 protects children from discrimination, harassment and victimisation based on ‘protected characteristics’. The Act makes it unlawful for a setting to discriminate against a child in relation to: admissions; the provision of education; access to any benefit, facility or service;^[2] exclusions; and any other detriment.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission published updated technical guidance on the Equality Act 2010 in November 2022 in relation to the provision of education, which also covers that provided in ELC settings.

In addition, the Care Inspectorate has launched a support resource with Zero Tolerance on Gender Equal Play in early learning and childcare which may support settings in this aspect of the Equality Act 2010.

Criteria for All Settings

• Sub-criteria 6.2 – The setting will be willing to provide appropriate support, including making any reasonable changes to the care and learning environment, in order to meet the individual needs of the child. This will ensure that children’s additional support needs do not provide a barrier to them accessing a full range of experiences.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Although the setting must be willing to provide appropriate support, including making any reasonable changes required to the setting, it will not necessarily be expected to meet the costs associated with this.

Education authorities have a duty under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their children. The Act also applies to ‘eligible pre-school children’ which was extended, as a result of part 6 of the Children and Young People’s Act 2014 (the 2014 Act), to include eligible children aged two. This applies regardless of whether the child is accessing the funded hours in a public, private or third sector setting, including childminders.

The duties under section 6 of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 are explained in the Statutory Guidance to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. Additional support falls into three overlapping, broad headings: approaches to learning and teaching; support from personnel; and, provision of resources (which could include making changes to the setting). This makes clear that decisions regarding what can be considered adequate and efficient provision can only be judged in the light of each child’s circumstances.

It also makes clear that cost should not be the primary consideration in determining what provision is to be made but that decisions have to be taken in light of the local authority’s duties to secure best value and service improvement. Expenditure may therefore be unreasonable where the cost incurred would be completely out of scale with the benefits to the child or young person or where suitable alternative provision is available at a significantly lower cost. It may also be considered unreasonable where substantial expenditure on new facilities would be completely out of scale to the benefits to the wider community. For example, the local authority will wish to consider whether the expenditure in providing for a particular child may be of benefit to others in the future.

In the interest of openness and transparency, the local authority must inform the person who made the request for additional support of their decision and explain their reasons for their conclusions. They must also notify the person making the request about mediation services (in the case of parents and young people) and dispute resolution procedures.

It must be noted however that local authority settings, grant-aided schools and independent schools (including any ELC provision within these) also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 Act to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have published technical guidance on the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the provision of education, which also covers that provided in ELC settings. Chapter 6 covers the duty to make reasonable adjustments and page 85 sets out factors to be taken into account when making decisions. However, funded providers in the private and third sectors, including childminders, are instead covered by the separate EHRC Statutory Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations. Chapter 7 explains the duties with regard to making reasonable adjustments.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

A specific learning module on building confidence in identifying and responding to additional support needs is included in the national online programme of CPL developed for the ELC sector.

In addition, Education Scotland have developed a free online inclusion resource aimed at practitioners and local authorities and provides an introduction to inclusion and equality within the Scottish educational context.

Enquire, the national advice and information service on additional support for learning funded by the Scottish Government, provides advice and information to young people, families and professionals, including information about children’s rights during their early years education and how they can be supported at early learning and childcare settings and during their transition to primary school

Criterion 7 – Business Sustainability

A financially sustainable setting is important for the child, particularly in ensuring consistency and continuity of care.

Consistency in setting and staff is key to a child’s development. When young children come into a setting, they need a happy, secure environment, rich in opportunities which promote learning and physical activity which at the same time are calm, comforting and responsive.

Providing stability and continuity in provision will allow practitioners to build up strong relationships with children through consistent care, in a familiar and safe environment.

Criteria for All Settings

• Settings wishing to deliver the funded entitlement must be able to demonstrate that they are financially viable providers.

How do settings meet this criteria?

The Business Sustainability guidance sets out the specific information that settings have to provide to local authorities to demonstrate that they meet this criteria.

In summary:

• Existing settings delivering the funded entitlement must ensure that they are able to demonstrate – when required – that their business model continues to be financially viable through the provision of appropriate financial information, for example, accounts and business forecasts/projections. A Business Continuity Plan must also be in place.
• Newly registered settings wishing to deliver the funded entitlement will have had a financial viability check completed by the Care Inspectorate upon registration and this can be used as evidence of business sustainability in the funded provider probationary status period. When the probationary funded status is under review, the criteria for existing settings will apply.
• Childminding settings wishing to deliver the funded entitlement will be expected to have a contingency plan in place, detailing arrangements for the children in their care should they stop providing the service e.g. if the service was temporarily unavailable due to illness or the service was closed permanently.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

When registering a daycare of children service, the Care Inspectorate carry out an assessment of the financial sustainability of the proposed provider. This process ensures that the setting will be able to operate in their first year and ascertains the business model for the setting moving forward.

In addition, there is general business support available to providers through a range of routes. The Scottish Government has been working with delivery partners, in particular Business Gateway, to identify the parts of the childcare sector where there is a need for targeted support offers, and to raise awareness of existing support.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting this diversity of provision and to ensuring a sustainable and thriving childcare sector. This includes continuing to collect evidence in order to monitor the impacts of wider economic conditions on the sector, including through our Financial Sustainability Health Check of the Childcare Sector in Scotland reports.

There have been a number of developments since 2020, which have impacted the sector including the global COVID-19 pandemic, the costs crisis, and wider workforce pressures. Many funded providers will have restructured their business models, and invested in their settings, in order to support delivery of the expanded ELC offer.

Alongside this, demographic changes will also have an impact on overall demand within the sector, and the recruitment and retention of staff remains a key challenge for the sector.

As the Financial Sustainability Health Check, published in July 2023, has highlighted these factors may continue to present challenges for some providers delivering funded ELC. This may present continued challenges for some funded services to provide the required evidence on Business Sustainability. Application of the Business Sustainability guidance by local authorities should take account of these wider economic impacts on settings.

Local authorities have a vital role in managing risk regarding the delivery of funded ELC. In order to help them manage risk, and to support settings, local authorities may wish to request or review information relating to the financial viability of settings on a more regular basis (particularly if the level of risk in the setting is assessed to be higher).

If increased public health measures were required again, which impacted on the capacity of services (including partial or full temporary closures), local authorities should consider the impact of the continuation of contracted, or expected, revenue streams to funded providers to promote short and long term sustainability.

Criterion 8 – Fair Work Practices, including payment of the Real Living Wage

The most important driver of the quality of a child’s ELC experience is a high quality workforce. The promotion of fair work practices is a key way of supporting a high quality workforce.

The Scottish Government believes that employers whose staff are diverse, treated fairly, well-rewarded, well-motivated, well-led, and have access to appropriate opportunities for career development, are likely to deliver a higher quality of service. This can be supported by the adoption of fair work practices across the sector in each of the dimensions of Fair Work defined in the Fair Work Convention’s Framework (Security, Respect, Opportunity, Fulfilment and Effective Voice).

Through our Fair Work First approach, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that Fair Work principles should extend to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as possible.

Fair Work asks employers to commit to:

• appropriate channels for effective voice, such as trade union recognition;
• investment in workforce development;
• no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts;
• action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace;
• providing fair pay to workers (for example, payment of the real Living Wage)
• offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of their employment; and
• oppose the use of fire and rehire practice.

Ensuring that staff are fairly remunerated – through, for example, supporting payment of at least the real Living Wage – is a key aspect of demonstrating commitment to fair work practices.

Relatively low levels of pay can present a barrier to some people entering the sector, resulting in recruitment challenges, and can also result in higher levels of staff turnover. This could have potential implications for continuity of care.

Prior to the expansion to 1140 funded hours, the Scottish Government published a Financial Review of the ELC Sector, and Cost of ELC Provision in Partner Provider Settings (the latter produced by Ipsos MORI) in September 2016. Analysis in these reports highlighted that levels of pay for staff working in partner settings in the private and third sector was low. In 2016, around 80% of practitioners and 50% of supervisors in private and third sector settings delivering the funded entitlement were paid an hourly rate below the real Living Wage.

The Scottish Government’s aspiration is for all workers in the childcare sector to be paid the real Living Wage as a minimum. To support this for the delivery of the funded ELC entitlement, the sustainable hourly rates set and paid by local authorities for the delivery of funded ELC will continue to be set at a level that enables the payment of the real Living Wage to childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement. This commitment will be delivered in line with the supporting guidance on transition options.

The Scottish Government can only provide funding for payment of the real Living Wage in relation to the hours spent delivering the funded entitlement. A contract will be agreed by the provider and the local authority for the delivery of these funded hours. If funding were provided for non-funded hours then this could be interpreted as a subsidy and therefore could be in breach of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

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 at least the real Living Wage. However, providers are encouraged to adopt fair work practices, including fair pay, to ensure fair and equal pay across all relevant staff within their setting.

Criteria for All Settings (Excluding Childminders Who Do Not Employ Staff):

Settings, including childminders where workers are regularly employed to provide direct care to children, who agree to deliver the funded entitlement will pay at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement and commit to adopting and demonstrating Fair Work practices in their setting.

In committing to Fair Work practices, settings must take into account:

• a fair and equal pay policy across their setting, (including a commitment to paying at least the real Living Wage);
• support for progressive workforce engagement, including trade union recognition or alternative arrangements to give staff an effective voice, for example, through regular staff meetings, surveys, employee forums and line management relationships.
• ELC managers/lead practitioners/employers (in the case of childminders who employ staff) have clear managerial responsibilities to nurture talent and help individuals fulfil their potential;
• providing appropriate channels for effective worker voice, such as trade union recognition
• promoting equality of opportunity and developing an inclusive and diverse workforce;
• security of employment and hours of work, avoiding exploitative employment practices such as inappropriate zero hours contracts, or pregnancy and maternity discrimination; and
• consideration of patterns of working (including for example part-time working and/or term-time working) and support for family friendly working and wider work life balance.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Providers should make use of the following resources to assist in adopting fair work practices:

• Fair Work First Guidance
• Fair Work Employer Support Tool
• Fair Work Convention self-assessment tool
• Fair Work Convention Framework
• The CIPD Fair Work Resources

Settings of different size/nature will offer Fair Work practices that are relevant to their organisational structure and focus. Whilst effective voice and fair pay (including payment of at least the real Living Wage) are a primary driver for a high quality workforce this must not be at the cost of other aspects of the Fair Work Framework which must also be recognised through a proportionate and balanced approach (in particular when applying to the criteria to childminding settings).

ELC Real Living Wage Commitment

Key points to note on implementing the real Living Wage commitment:

• The real Living Wage should not be confused with the National Minimum Wage (including the “national Living Wage” for those aged 23 and over) which is the legal minimum an employer must pay an employee and is set by the UK Government.
• The real Living Wage is a voluntary wage rate of pay which is estimated at a level which is sufficient to ensure that the recipient may enjoy an acceptable standard of living. These figures are calculated annually and are generally announced in November each year.
• Employers who pay the real Living Wage can, if they wish, seek to become Living Wage accredited through Living Wage Scotland. Some providers who deliver ELC in Scotland are Living Wage accredited employers, however, it is important to note that whilst the Scottish Government encourages more providers to become Living Wage accredited, it is not a requirement for becoming a funded provider.
• The commitment covers all ELC staff providing direct care to children who are receiving funded hours, regardless of age and qualification and of the setting in which they are employed.
• In line with the requirements for Scottish Living Wage accreditation, apprentices do not have to receive the real Living Wage – this is in recognition that, particularly in the earlier stages, apprentices may spend more time training than working. However, it is good practice to ensure pay rises over the course of the apprenticeship.
• In line with the Fair Work criteria above, employers must demonstrate a fair and equal pay policy.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

The Scottish Government is committed to providing local authorities with the funding to allow them to set sustainable rates for providers in the private and third sectors that enables them to pay all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement the real Living Wage.

Criterion 9 – Payment Processes

As set out in legislation, the funded hours must be provided free of charge regardless of which setting the hours are being delivered in. This is a long-standing legal requirement set out under section 33(1) of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000. This duty applies to local authorities and is extended to funded providers in the private, third and childminding sectors when they enter into a contract to deliver the funded hours. Further information is set out in the Early Learning and Childcare: Statutory Guidance.

This ensures that parental choice regarding the setting where the funded hours are to be used will not be restricted by upfront payments or top-up fees in relation to the funded hours, or any requirements to purchase additional hours beyond the funded hours in order to access their child’s funded entitlement at a setting. Where parents and carers are accessing a mixture of funded and non-funded hours from a setting, it is expected that any charges are presented clearly and transparently to parents and carers.

Payment for the delivery of the funded hours is provided by local authorities to funded providers in the private, third and childminding sectors. In order to support the sustainability of funded providers, and to ensure that funded provider’s cash flows are healthy, it is vital that they are paid promptly and efficiently for delivering the funded entitlement.

Criteria for All Settings

Settings delivering the funded entitlement must ensure that access to the funded hours are free at the point of access to the child and that parents and carers are not subject to any fees in relation to the funded hours. The setting must ensure that:

• parents and carers are not asked to make any upfront payment, including a deposit or any other payment, in respect of the funded early learning and childcare entitlement;
• no top-up fees are charged to parents and carers relating to the funded early learning and childcare entitlement;
• parents are not required to purchase additional hours beyond the funded early learning and childcare entitlement in order to access their child’s funded early learning and childcare entitlement;
• additional charges to parents and carers relating to the funded hours must be optional, and limited to, for example, snacks (excluding snacks provided through the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme), costs of outings or extracurricular activities. These optional charges include where a setting offers an additional optional service such as the provision of localised cover arrangements required by parents and carers (for example acting as the emergency contact for a child, cover for shift patterns, holiday cover, etc.) which requires the setting to retain a place in order to meet this demand during the hours that the child is receiving part of their funded early learning and childcare entitlement at another setting as part of a split placement; and,
• where parents and carers choose to purchase further hours in addition to the funded hours, the associated fees and hours must be transparent and clearly set out in any parental communication and invoices.

How do settings meet this criteria?

It is important to note that the criteria listed above relates only to the delivery of the funded hours.

Any fees or charges not associated with the funded hours will continue to be at the discretion of individual settings. It is expected that these fees and charges will be set with reference to local market conditions, and reflect individual business models and underlying cost structures.

It is not for local authorities or the Scottish Government to seek to comment on or intervene in fees charged outwith the funded entitlement.

Some settings may offer optional extras which are in addition to the funded hours. It is expected that settings make it clear that these are optional charges and that if the parent chooses not to purchase these optional extras then this will not prevent them from accessing their child’s funded early learning and childcare entitlement at the setting.

It is expected that such charges, where required, are charged for at a rate that reflects the cost of delivery.

It is also expected that settings are considerate of any financial challenges that households may experience as a result of wider economic or health related impacts (for example, during a period of relatively high inflation, or a pandemic).

It is important that local authorities and funded providers, as part of the partnership working approach that is central to Funding Follows the Child, work closely together to manage the take-up of places across settings within the local authority area.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

Further information on the delivery of funded ELC without the payment of fees, and on optional charges, is set out in the Early Learning and Childcare Statutory Guidance.

Criterion 10 – Food

ELC experiences provide children with an important opportunity outwith the home for maximising nutrition and establishing healthy eating habits in the earliest years. The early years is identified as a crucial time to reduce health inequalities. Providing healthy and nutritionally balanced meals and snacks in ELC settings is important, particularly for families who need it the most.

Criteria for All Settings

• Settings must have a clear and comprehensive policy for the provision of healthy meals and snacks for children. This should be consistent with Setting the Table and should ensure that individual cultural and dietary needs are met. There should be consultation with parents and carers about how other dietary preferences might be accommodated.

How do settings meet this criteria?

Meals can be provided as a breakfast, lunch or dinner. They can be prepared by the funded provider, delivered by the local authority or purchased from an external provider (directly by the funded provider).

The meal does not need to be hot but all meals and snacks must meet the most up-to-date nutritional guidance provided for ELC (Setting the Table). For up-to-date advice on choking in young children settings should refer to Care Inspectorate’s Good practice guidance: prevention and management of choking episodes in babies and children.

All providers are required to follow proper food safety and hygiene practices. ELC providers involved in the provision of food must adhere to the Food (Scotland) Act 2015. Settings must check with their Local Authority’s Environmental Health Department for food safety guidance.

Childminders who are providing a meal are also required to register as a food business operator. Advice and guidance is available from the Food Standards Agency, in particular through Safer food, better business for childminders.

What support will be available to help settings meet this criteria?

In December 2018, the Care Inspectorate published good practice guidance on food in ELC titled Food Matters: Nurturing happy, healthy children and in November 2022, the Care Inspectorate published a Mealtime Practice Note. These are resources that highlight examples of good practice from across the ELC sector. They have worked alongside the sector to enable all ELC settings, practitioners and families to tell their own stories of how they are supporting children to eat well and enjoy good food every day.

The expansion of funded ELC to 1,140 hours means many of our youngest children are spending more time in ELC settings and as part of this, ELC settings can also register with their local authority, to provide a drink of milk or non-dairy alternative and a healthy snack through the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme. The Scheme offers a serving of milk or specified non-dairy alternatives and a portion of fruit or vegetables to all preschool children, each day they attend a registered setting for 2 hours or more per day. Whilst it is not a requirement of the National Standard for settings to register for the scheme, in doing so, settings can access funding to help cover the costs of providing milk, specified non-dairy alternatives and a healthy snack and have the flexibility to use funding in a way that best suits local needs and circumstances.