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2023
June
Limited or Lack of Local School Age Childcare
March
SOSCN's letter to First Minister Candidates
January
Children's safeguarding at risk in unregulated out of school settings in England
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
Staying Safe and Professional Online as a Social Care Worker

A recent online session delivered by the SSSC focused on the use of social media and cyber security.

It is important to note for most social media apps, there is a minimum age limit of 13, and as such, the vast majority of children attending OSC services should not be accessing social media. In terms of social media requests from children/young adults you have worked with in the past, SOSCN would advise that you do not accept friend requests. Although you may have had a friendly relationship it was still very much a professional one which should be maintained at all times even beyond them attending the service- in the physical world, would you have a friendship with the child outside of the service? No, and this should be guiding you in your decisions in the virtual world. How much personal information would you actually share? Only a very limited amount. Remember it is easy to overshare in the virtual world and social media may seem like a private place but it is very much a public forum.

The following information is taken from the online session and is not childcare specific but general to all social care workers:

Should you personally use social media?
  • People underestimate how 'findable' they are. No social media providers can guarantee your confidentiality.
  • Other people can easily access and see your posts- how accessible are you online?
  • Remember, everything you post online is public. People can easily find, copy and share your posts without your knowledge, and even if you delete a post, it 'may already be out there'.
  • Stop and think before you post: is this something you should be sharing? Private or confidential information about services users cannot be posted and you shouldn't criticise or talk negatively about your employer or colleagues.
  • Never use social media to raise a concern or escalate an issue.
  • Follow your own organisation's social policy media use.
Should you promote your service on social media?
  • Many services do successfully use social media, however as for personal use, there is a number of things which should be taken into account.
  • Never post confidential or personal information relating to service users and carers.
  • If you are taking and sharing photographs make sure you have consent to use them, or ensure that individuals are not identifiable. (In the case of children and young people, in addition to seeking parents'/carers' consent SOSCN advises that you should seek the young person's consent.)
Duty to report other social care workers if they are posting inappropriate or concerning material
  • Under Codes of Practice (Employee) “3.5 Tell my employer, or an appropriate authority, when a colleague's fitness to practise may be impaired.”, this includes personal social media posts.
Cyber Security & online safety security
  • This could be hacking of computers, websites, social media accounts etc or it could also be scammers defrauding people.
  • There are three types of organisations which can be targeted:
    • Those which will be targeted
    • Those which have been targeted
    • Those which don't realise they have been targeted
      In other words, all organisations and individuals can be targeted.
  • Where do scammers get their information? Everything which is shared online.

Organisations and individuals need to know what the online risks are and how these can be minimised- the SSSC has produced various resources to support this learning.

Social Media Guidance for Social Service Workers- policy (pdf)

https://www.sssc.uk.com/knowledgebase/article/KA-01068/en-us

Youtube Video- SSSC Social Media Guidance

Pensions
SOSCN Professional Development Book Club - First Book
Social Care: Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland - call for evidence
Communication and Engagement with Parents and Carers
National Outcomes Review 2023
Inquiry into Child Poverty and Parental Employment
Adverse Weather and Extreme Temperature
Dec 2023
A Quality Framework for Early Learning and Childcare, School Aged Childcare and Childminding Services
Mar 2024