Scottish Childminding Association

Scottish Childminding Association SCMA is the only organisation in Scotland dedicated to supporting all aspects of childminding. Thinking about a career in childminding? Many thanks, SCMA

Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) is the only organisation dedicated to supporting childminders in Scotland. Read about the specific communities where childminders are most needed, and get started at https://www.childminding.org/childminder-recruitment. PLEASE NOTE: This page is only monitored during office working hours. We are unable to respond to all comments posted here on our Facebook

page due to the high volume of enquiries we receive. If you have a specific query requiring a personal response, please feel free to call our Helpline (01786 449063), email [email protected] or send us a direct message via Facebook.

June's edition of Childminding News is now out!Make sure to check your inbox and find out all of the latest updates for ...
02/06/2026

June's edition of Childminding News is now out!

Make sure to check your inbox and find out all of the latest updates for childminders in Scotland including:

✅ Top news stories from SCMA
✅ Take a look back at Childminding Week and our Signature Conference
✅ A request from the Care Inspectorate regarding the new 'Manage My Service' portal - (NOTE: The Care Inspectorate were experiencing issues with their email system last week, so you may not have received this email yet. We've been advised that they are working hard to resolve the issue and the emails will be issued asap)
✅ Information about the changes to ARAG's online portal
✅ PLUS key information about opportunities available to you to benefit your practice

Make sure you're up to date with what's happening in the industry, remember to read our monthly Childminding News e-newsletter, or visit the news section of our website: https://f.mtr.cool/umxotucmta

This week we’re supporting the Child Accident Prevention Trust to help children lead active, healthy lives, safe from ...
01/06/2026

This week we’re supporting the Child Accident Prevention Trust to help children lead active, healthy lives, safe from serious injury.

Please share these top tips in your networks to keep children safe: https://capt.org.uk/resources/parents-pack/

Are you, or a childminder you know neurodivergent? 24% of the childminders who responded to our 'Diversity in the Childm...
28/05/2026

Are you, or a childminder you know neurodivergent?

24% of the childminders who responded to our 'Diversity in the Childminding Workforce'
survey said they were neurodivergent, which is higher than the national average. So we are on a mission to find out more about the experiences of neurodivergent childminders, in their own words.

With this in mind, Scottish Childminding Association's partnership with Three Sisters Consultancy continues!

➡️ The next phase of our Neurodiversity and Inclusion project, is a pioneering new survey for our members - the first of its kind - which will be a ‘deep dive’ into the experiences of neurodivergent childminders. It will help us understand what neurodivergent childminders value about their role, their strengths as well as any challenges they face.

📧 Please check your emails, as you will have received the survey from us earlier today. We would appreciate if you take some time to complete the survey and have your say in this important work.

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✅ The survey is completely anonymous, and we will take the care to make sure that any quotes or examples that are in our final report will not be recognisable.

The closing date for the survey is 12noon on Friday 3 July 2026.

📣 We're hiring!SCMA currently has two vacancies for candidates who are passionate about all things childminding!✅ Direct...
28/05/2026

📣 We're hiring!

SCMA currently has two vacancies for candidates who are passionate about all things childminding!

✅ Director of Quality, Practice and Learning-
The successful postholder will work as part of our Leadership Team contributing to SCMA’s overall policy development, strategic planning, budget preparation and control, and lead on quality, learning and practice development.

✅ HR Advisor
The right candidate will provide pro-active and experienced HR advice, support and guidance to line managers on all aspects of our employment policies and practices.

Why work with us?
❤️SCMA is a friendly organisation with a passion for childminding and supporting childminders to provide high-quality childcare for children and families in Scotland
❤️Flexible working that fits around you and your family
❤️Generous holiday allowance and contributory pension scheme
❤️We’re a welcoming team where everyone feels valued!

Please see first comment for the link to apply.

We can’t wait to hear from you – good luck!

Did you attend our signature conference 'The Confident Childminder'? If you haven't already, please do take a minute to ...
25/05/2026

Did you attend our signature conference 'The Confident Childminder'?

If you haven't already, please do take a minute to fill out the feedback form - as your views help us to shape next year's conference (...which we'll begin planning very soon 🤫) as well as other future learning opportunities.

You can share your feedback directly here, (form will be open until 9am Monday 1 June): https://f.mtr.cool/uwwwhxuwdy

Missed the conference this year? Or are you looking forward to catching up on the other breakout session you missed? The full recording will soon be available to view on your Membership Dashboard – we will let you know when it’s ready.

The feedback from you all so far has been fantastic! Here are just a few 👇

🌟 Special thanks to our brilliant speakers who truly made the event empowering and memorable 💪🌟

🔸Graeme McAlister (SCMA Chief Exec)
🔸 Audrey Donnan (Care Inspectorate)
🔸 Ben Kingston-Hughes (Inspired Children)
🔸 Clare Josa (Soultuitive Leadership)
🔸 Karen Watson (The Scottish ASN Teacher)
🔸 Nyree Cooper (SCMA)
🔸 Juliet Hancock (SCMA President)

This week we celebrate Bookbug, a national programme loved by children, families...and childminders! We know many of yo...
22/05/2026

This week we celebrate Bookbug, a national programme loved by children, families...and childminders!

We know many of you attend or run your own Bookbug sessions regularly. The JOY that this brings to children is immeasurable, not to mention the HUGE benefits to their language, social skills, relationships, wellbeing and development 🧸❤️

🛍️ Bookbug gifts children across Scotland with age-appropriate book bags that they can take home and share with their families to make sure no child in Scotland is without a book of their own.

This week, one of SCMA's Childminding Development Officers, Wendy Smith, was honoured to join the panel tasked with selecting the next round of books that will feature in these bags. Wendy is also a registered childminder in Falkirk, and was lucky enough to sample these books before the panel met so she could get the seal of approval from her own minded children 👍

You can find out more about here: https://f.mtr.cool/pwpcdqyujy

Considering starting an SVQ Qualification?Join Nyree Cooper, SCMA's Quality & Learning lead, and Nicola McCormick, from ...
21/05/2026

Considering starting an SVQ Qualification?

Join Nyree Cooper, SCMA's Quality & Learning lead, and Nicola McCormick, from West Lothian College on Tuesday 26th May, 7pm – 8pm.

⭐You can find out more about what’s involved, the support available, when working towards your SVQ, while also exploring how gaining an SVQ can benefit your practice, and much more!

Book the online session here 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/qyhjwahvrf

🔹MORE THAN NUMBERS🔹It's been less than one week since we held our annual conference, and we've not stopped talking about...
21/05/2026

🔹MORE THAN NUMBERS🔹

It's been less than one week since we held our annual conference, and we've not stopped talking about it.

Graeme's powerful opening address shared a stark warning about the number of local authorities who are making decisions independently of national guidance and agreement of how parents can access ELC funded services for their children.

To read about this in more detail, as well as a summary recap of Graeme's presentation, please click here to view our latest news item: https://f.mtr.cool/ckumbazikq

This poses a threat to the wellbeing of families, children, and partner providers including childminders, that truly cannot be ignored. Here are the facts:

➡️ The impact of these decisions risks putting more families into poverty when others are working hard to reduce this
➡️ Women and partner providers (childminders, private, voluntary and independent nurseries) are disproportionately impacted
➡️ Children are being viewed at a policy level just as numbers, without regard to their needs or parental preference
➡️ Departing from the guidance independently is undermining parental choice and the founding principles of ELC (Funding Follows the Child and Provider Neutrality)

🗣️👉 Please share far and wide, and help us reinforce the message that children are far more than numbers!

We'd like to send a massive THANK YOU to everyone who got involved in celebrating and marking Childminding Week 2026 (11...
18/05/2026

We'd like to send a massive THANK YOU to everyone who got involved in celebrating and marking Childminding Week 2026 (11-16 May) and gave a right good !

Looking at the stats, together we reached more than 80k people across social media last week which extends far beyond the childminding workforce - and this is all thanks to YOU!

AND almost four thousand of you got involved with sharing photos, stories and videos....your engagement and interactions have helped us spread the word and share our key messages with thousands of people across Scotland. It's been amazing to see all your photos and hear your stories...

Plus, a massive congratulations and well done go to our Childminding Week 2026 prize draw winners:

Big Teddy Bears Picnic Prize Draw: Lisa Headley, Highlands
Where is Charlie today? Louise Gibson, Lanarkshire
Childminding Week BINGO: Ruth Ritchie, Edinburgh

Address

Argyll Court, Castle Business Park
Stirling
FK94TY

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+441786445377

Website

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