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about
who we are and what we do
training
bespoke school age childcare training and consultancy
shop
templates, toolkits, and useful resources
Free Downloads
Free downloads for our members
Parent Finance October 2024
October Break 2024 update
Parent Finance
Customisable posters to help you advertise to your parents how much your service could actually cost if they access Universal Credit or Tax-Free childcare
Summer Activities Booklet
A variety of resources and activities for fun holiday experiences
Policy Bundles
Collections of policies and procedures for all areas of your organisaiton.
all policies bundle
All the policies in the Core, Rights, and Leave Policies Bundles
subscribers:
£45
non-subscribers:
£70
sale:
£60
clearance:
£30
core policies bundle
A collection of 8 core policies for your organisation and your staff.
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£30
leave policies bundle
A collection of 7 policies for different types of staff leave and pay.
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£30
rights policies bundle
A collection of 7 policies looking at rights within your organisation.
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£30
Shop Info
Shop information and instructions
policies
a selection of template policies for school age childcare services
menopause policy
menopause policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
time off for dependants policy
time off for dependants policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
staff data policy
staff data policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
sick pay policy
sick pay policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
shared parental pay and leave policy
shared parental pay and leave policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
redundancy policy
redundancy policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
recruitment policy and procedure
recruitment policy and procedure
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
paternity policy
paternity policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
parental leave policy
parental leave policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
parental bereavement pay and leave policy
parental bereavement pay and leave policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
other statutory leave entitlements note
other statutory leave entitlements note
subscribers:
£1
non-subscribers:
£2
absence policy
absence policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
maternity policy
maternity policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
holiday entitlement
holiday entitlement
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
health and safety policy
health and safety policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
grievance procedure
grievance procedure
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
equality and inclusion policy
equality and inclusion policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
disciplinary procedure
disciplinary procedure
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
complaints procedure
complaints procedure
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
compassionate or bereavement leave policy
compassionate-or-bereavement leave policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
carer leave policy
carer leave policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
adult support and protection policy
adult support and protection policy
subscribers:
£4
non-subscribers:
£8
toolkits
a selection of tookits for school age childcare services
Risk Assessment Toolkit
A selection of Daily Checklists and Risk-Benefit Assessment (RBA) Templates
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£30
Recruitment Toolkit
Everything you need for the recruitment process, including job descriptions, application forms, advert templates and more
subscribers:
£18
non-subscribers:
£27
sale:
£10
Medication Management Toolkit
Medication storage, administration and record keeping
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£10
sale:
£1
Personal Plan Toolkit
Everything you need to create personal plans within your service
subscribers:
£15
past-subscribers:
£20
clearance:
£10
membership
Become one of our members
BLOG
Thought and opinions from SOSCN staff and other colleagues
2023
June
Limited or Lack of Local School Age Childcare
This survey addressed the issue of whether parents and carers have access to sufficient school age childcare to meet their needs
March
SOSCN's letter to First Minister Candidates
We have sent a letter to each of the three candidates for First Minister
January
Children's safeguarding at risk in unregulated out of school settings in England
The UK Government Department for Education published a report in November 2022 which has raised serious concerns about the safety and wellbeing of the millions of children in England who attend out of school settings
2022
December
Staying Safe and Professional Online as a Social Care Worker
November
Reconnecting - to care for others you need to care for yourself
Access to Childcare Fund - The Learning So Far
September
It's good to chat - SSSC Codes of Practice Conversation
Having a ball in the holidays
August
Superheroes are real- they work in school age childcare
March
A time for change- reflection on the 2021 OSC Workforce Survey Results
2021
August
Stories of Summer 2021
April
Scottish Parliament Election Manifesto Overview 2021
March
The longest year- a reflection
February
The Finnish way to a happier childhood - Putting Children First
2020
November
Reflections on the Week
September
Re-opening services - keeping your staff onside!
Low pay and limited hours are push and pull factors which create a churn in the Out of School Care Workforce
April
Reflections on our journey and the way ahead
March
Coronavirus Covid-19 Potential Impact on Out of School Care, Breakfast and Holiday Clubs
Coronavirus Covid-19 Information Update Monday 2nd March 2020
February
Promising Children - a brief overview of the Care Review
2019
November
OSC draft framework consultation- the time to have your say is now!
Working to live or struggling to get by? Why the Real Living Wage is important.
October
Welcome proposal for free holiday childcare
Giving Parents and Children a say in the Framework for Out of School Care
Out of School Care in Scotland Continues to Grow
April
Success for our STEM Champions in Out of School Care
OSC Workforce - Most Recent Scottish Social Services Council Statistics
Training Opportunities for Out of School Care services- a selection of what's available
March
Supporting OSC Across the Country
February
Recent International policy and research briefing for members February 2019
Equal play? Does your service support or challenge gender stereotypes and roles?
CHANGE Project and T.I.C.T.A.C.S. - low cost quality template test of change
2018
August
Animal Magic- animals in care settings and children in animal settings...
July
Top free foody activities you can do over the summer break
March
Out of School Care - believing that children matter
SOSCN's letter to First Minister Candidates
SOSCN's letter to First Minister Candidates
We have sent a letter to each of the three candidates for First Minister

We have sent the letter below to each of the three candidates for First Minister. We have used some compelling quotes from parents in the ongoing survey link here (https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/VlhLgrUT), to demonstrate the need for school age childcare. We have asked for a continued commitment to the plans for the development and expansion of school age childcare and also what they will do about the current workforce and financial sustainability issues facing the sector.

Do please keep encouraging your parents to complete the survey, especially those on waiting lists or who you know want school age childcare but cannot access it, or all they need.

You may also want to contact the candidates yourself, especially if you are in one of their constituencies.

Letter

Scottish Government Commitment to develop School Age Childcare

We are writing to you to ask about your plans, if elected as First Minister, to support the commitments already made in the Programme for Government to develop school age childcare in Scotland.

Considerable work has already undertaken towards this commitment, and we would like to be reassured that this work will continue with the resources promised. School age childcare: progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We also would like to hear your views on the workforce staff shortages across the childcare sector, which is felt more acutely in school age childcare, given that this is part time, low paid work, with a largely female workforce. These staff shortages, in turn affect the financial viability of services, leading to offering fewer childcare places, or in some cases, closing altogether.

Again, we would ask what are your plans to address these financial challenges in the sector?

Childcare for all ages of children is needed to help enable women to stay in or get into worthwhile careers, parents tell us of impossible challenges trying to get care before school, after school and all-day during holidays, childcare they need in order to work or train. Here are some quotes from our current ongoing survey with parents who need, but cannot access, school age childcare:

“Children spend more time alone/entertaining themselves e.g., toys, on devices.”

“Having to work evenings and weekends to catch up on hours lost to school pick up and having child at home till end of the working day.”

“My child is disadvantaged by not having an after school childcare setting after hers closed. She used to enjoy interacting with different age groups. She is having to occupy herself for 1.5hrs each week as I cannot reduce my hours any further and my husband needs to maintain his in order to keep as much income as possible.”

“Not performing well at work as have to leave meetings/tasks early to get kids from school. Working late at night to make up time.”

“Having to use annual leave/unpaid leave when schools are off and holiday club is closed.”

“There is no before school club, or breakfast club at our school. As I am a teacher it means that I cannot work full time because I cannot get to work in time for the start of my school day. This is because my partner works away those days and we have no other option. Even a breakfast club from 7:45 or 8:00 would be a huge game changer for us. I could then access more work opportunities, work full time again, advance my career, and ultimately ensure our family is more financially secure.”

“I work in a hospital and many shifts start before my child school day starts, this causes difficulty with rostering at work and puts strain on family and friends helping.”

And even when they do access school age childcare parents worry about not being able to do their essential work if the service closes:

“If our OOSC and holiday club couldn't run I would have to significantly cut my working hours or even leave my job as an NHS Consultant.”

“We have (just) managed to get enough but the threat of losing it may mean we work less (NHS workers)”

“having a negative impact on us and the health service I have good access to childcare after school hours, but do not have access to a breakfast club for before school hours”

The impact on parents, often essential public staff, is clearly illustrated in the above quotes, and parent’s concerns for their children’s wellbeing is also evident here.

We look forward to hearing your response to our questions on the ongoing commitment to developing school age childcare, and how you plan to address the current workforce and financial issues in the sector.

With best wishes,

Irene Audain MBE
Chief Executive, Scottish Out of School Care Network

The Scottish Out of School Care Network (SOSCN) is a Scottish registered charity (SC020520), established in 1991 and is the national infrastructure umbrella organisation providing support, mentoring, training, information and resources to the nearly 1,000 school-aged childcare services in Scotland, which provide childcare, play and learning to over 50,000 children.

All our work is underpinned by a commitment to supporting and promoting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), in particular Articles 31; the right to culture leisure, rest and play; Article 12, the right to consultation and Article 18; states parties to develop appropriate services to support families, including assistance with childcare for working parents. We also have a particular focus on children in need or on poverty (Article 22) and support the provision of care for children with disabilities (article 23). We are also committed to promoting and delivering the outcomes of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC). We engage strategically at national and local levels to assist in the development and delivery of policies relating to childcare, children's rights and family support.

soscn.org

School Age Childcare

This is breakfast clubs, after school care services and all daycare during school holidays for mainly primary school children. Services are registered with the Care Inspectorate and staff are regulated by the Scottish Social Services Council. Staff in school age childcare are required to achieve the same qualifications and levels for their posts as staff in early learning and childcare.

The school age care childcare sector is the largest provider of play, care, and informal learning opportunities for school-aged children. There are nearly 1000 registered school age childcare services in Scotland, 588 breakfast clubs and 482 holiday services. More than 50,000 children of school age are registered in childcare. (Care Inspectorate, 2021).

Downloads of Letters

Ash Regan MSP: https://soscn.org/downloads/blog/fm-candidate-ash-regan-msp-letter.pdf

Humza Yousaf MSP: https://soscn.org/downloads/blog/fm-candidate-humza-yousaf-msp-letter.pdf

Kate Forbes MSP: https://soscn.org/downloads/blog/fm-candidate-kate-forbes-letter.pdf

Staff Interactions with Children
Key UK Budget announcements October 2024
Social Care: Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland - call for evidence
National Outcomes Review 2023
Inquiry into Child Poverty and Parental Employment
Adverse Weather and Extreme Temperature
A Quality Framework for Early Learning and Childcare, School Aged Childcare and Childminding Services
Personal Plan Toolkit
subscribers:
£15
past-subscribers:
£20
clearance:
£10
£10
Medication Management Toolkit
subscribers:
£20
non-subscribers:
£10
sale:
£1
£1
Recruitment Toolkit
subscribers:
£18
non-subscribers:
£27
sale:
£10
£10