Dear Members - Happy New Year!

Welcome back, we hope you all had a good break. It is going to be a busy time for SOSCN over the next few months, leading up to our national conference taking place in March. Further details on this can be found below, as well as a couple of other items of news.

SOSCN National Conference, March 2020

Join us for a celebration of Out of School Care, featuring a range of keynote speakers, video presentations and workshops, as well as an opening address from Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Children and Young People.

Tickets

To book tickets please see this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebrating-out-of-school-care-in-scotland-tickets-81720617567

We are delighted to announce our national conference for 2020 - 'Celebrating Out of School Care in Scotland'.

Date and Time

Monday 23rd March 2020

10:00am – 3:00pm (registration and refreshments from 9:30am. Buffet lunch provided before afternoon session)

Location

Hilton Glasgow1 William StreetG3 8STwww.hilton.com/glasgow

Accommodation Discount

Participants to the event are entitled to a 20% discount on the hotel's 'Best Available Bed and Breakfast Rate' for the night (22nd March) before the event. Rates are discounted on the best available rate; therefore rates will fluctuate dependant on demand. A weblinkto obtain this offer will be provided on booking.

How to book

Tickets to the event are for sale at Eventbrite.com for £65 (including booking fee) and are on a first-come first-served basis.You can purchase tickets at this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebrating-out-of-school-care-in-scotland-tickets-81720617567

Refunds are not available; however, delegates can be substituted prior to the event.

We want to celebrate the many examples of good practice in our sector so early in the year will be going out to innovative services to make short filmed interviews with service staff, children and parents, let us know if you want to be part of this or have shortvideos yourself you could contribute.

Get Physical!

We are delighted to announce that SOSCN and CALA have co-produced a new e-learning module: 'Supporting Activity and Wellbeing'.

The module is based upon SOSCN's successful 'Physical Activity and Wellbeing- First Steps Training' and can be accessed for FREE from https://calaelearning.co.uk/product/soscn-supporting-activity-well-being/

We hope that the module is a useful addition to online training opportunities for services- we would be interested to hear what you think of it.

You can watch the promo video for this module on our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=473145613612552

On-site Physical Activity Training

If you would like to book a physical activity session directly with Greig to take place in your service, then you can find out everything you need at this link https://soscn.org/participate/active-training

Out of School Care in Scotland - a draft framework for consultation

Thanks to all of you, and children and parents, in out of school care for responding to the Out of School Care in Scotland: Draft Framework which had more than 1200 responses!

Achieving Quality Scotland Update

Thanks to funding support from Glasgow City Council we will be launching a new programme of AQS for Glasgow out of school care services on 13th January.

Find out more about AQS here: https://soscn.org/quality

Flexible Childcare Services - Flexibility Pathway Launch Conference

Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS) offers children, families, and childcare providers, a unique early years and childcare model that delivers a high quality, flexible and affordable service that is inclusive and accessible to all.

Due to the success of this, FCSS has developed a new form of software which is free to all registered childcare providers in Scotland; the Flexibility Pathway, a childcare management software with parents and staff apps that will enable early learning and childcare providers to adapt their existing models to increase bookings, be more flexible and manage staffing more efficiently.

To find out more, and to take advantage of these free tools, join them on Saturday 1st February at Bonar Hall in Dundee at a Conference to launch the software. The event will be Chaired by BBC Scotland's Catriona Shearer and speakers include representatives from Scottish Government and experts from the early learning and childcare sector including Steph and Lyndsey from the Curiosity Approach. The Curiosity Approach is a modern-day approach that fits perfectly in current changing technological times. Bringing curiosity, awe and wonder into early childhood & creating the 'thinkers & doers' of the future.

There will also be a wide range of interesting exhibitors at the event for you to browse around and chat to during the breaks in the Conference.

The event is free and welcomes leaders, professionals and practitioners from across Early Years and Primary Education. Tickets are going fast, so to ensure your place at this event make sure you book early.

Register For Tickets Now - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flexibility-pathway-supporting-your-route-to-flexible-childcare-tickets-82198699523