Childminders from across Scotland have been involved in writing and developing this resource from the start. They have used their wealth of experience and knowledge to design a useful tool to help support you in your career as a childminder. They have inspired and shaped the layout and format and made suggestions about what they think will be useful to childminders in developing a high quality service.
The project was funded by the Scottish Government and has been developed by the Care Inspectorate. The resource is designed to help you to identify knowledge skills and understanding you will need to provide the best outcomes for children. You don’t need to work your way through all the stages. Think about which stage is most relevant to you. The resource contains a series of statements which reflect quality childcare provision. Use these quality statements and supporting information to reflect on your service, what you do well and how you could improve. It is not an inspection tool and there is no expectation from the Care Inspectorate that you provide evidence against each quality statement. We recommend that you seek additional support and training for any areas that you feel need to improve.
There are several agencies which can help support you in your training and development as a childminder;
- The Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) is a national organisation supporting childminders in Scotland. They offer advice, support and training which is open to all childminders in Scotland
- In Highland and Moray, Care and Learning Alliance provide support and training to childminders
- Your local authority may also provide support and /or training to childminders as part of their early years team.
There are three stages to this resource. The first is aimed at you if you are considering a career in childminding but have little or no experience. The statements give some general advice about childminding and have been written by experienced childminders, which should help you decide if childminding is the right career choice for you. It also gives information about how to apply for registration with the Care Inspectorate. We strongly recommend that you also complete induction training to support you through the registration process and setting up your business.
The second stage is for you when you have successfully registered with the Care Inspectorate and will support you through setting up and developing your service.
The third stage is for you if you are an experienced childminder and will support you to reflect on your practice and help you identify training and development needs.
Whichever stage of your childminding career you are at, we hope the resource will help you reflect on your service, identify areas of good practice and areas for improvement.
As one childminder put it “…(the resource) is about developing yourself and your service in a way that’s right for you and the children”