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What it Takes

Teaching Stem in OSC

Seeing the Whole Child

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Celebrating Out of School Care

Activity and Wellbeing 29/11/2022

OSC Practice during COVID

Networking Meetings

Networking Meetings - May and June 2021

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Delivering a Playful and Active Summer 2021

Scottish Government School Age Childcare Update

Care Inspectorate Update and 'Q and A' Session

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SOSCN Professional Development Book Club - First Book

06/12/2024

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We hope you enjoy the holidays and wish you all the best for 2025

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02/04/2024

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Social Care: Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland - call for evidence

Scottish Government

Call for Evidence where you can share your written views on how you think inspection and regulation can ensure social care support services can continually improve now and in the future.

16/12/2022

soscn-response-irisr-call-for-evidence.pdf

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Reaching Out! Growing your community presence. Wednesday 18th September 2024

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In-person training this August looking at the important knowledge and skills required to help new staff to school age childcare hit the ground running

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17/04/2024

practice-focus-health-and-safety-apr-24.pdf

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About SOSCN

The Scottish Out of School Care Network is a Scottish registered charity, 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 of 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) and the Playwork Principles. We also 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.

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Understanding Financial Support to Parents to Pay for Childcare

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Essential Guidance For School Age Childcare Services

Documents and guidance most relevance currently to registered school age childcare services

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It is vital that in addition to expert childcare knowledge, services need to have good business knowledge

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Regular information focusing on areas of best practice within the school age childcare, out of school care and playwork sector

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Limited or Lack of Local School Age Childcare

Irene Audain MBE

14/06/2023

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SOSCN's letter to First Minister Candidates

Irene Audain MBE

01/03/2023

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Children's safeguarding at risk in unregulated out of school settings in England

Irene Audain MBE

09/01/2023

2022

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Staying Safe and Professional Online as a Social Care Worker

Andrew Shoolbread

07/12/2022

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Reconnecting - to care for others you need to care for yourself

Andrew Shoolbread

18/11/2022

Access to Childcare Fund - The Learning So Far

soscn

Andrew Shoolbread

14/11/2022

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26/03/2024

soscn-newsletter-mar-2024.pdf

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soscn-newsletter-jun-2023.pdf

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What is School Age Childcare?

Daycare of children is defined by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 as a service that provides care for children on non-domestic premises for a total of more than two hours a day and on at least six days per year.

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).