Scotland to rule out 'smack and smoke'

Scotland's proposals for the future regulation of daycare are likely to create significant differences between acceptable practice for childminders north and south of the border by ruling that all children should be cared for in a smoke-free environment without the threat of physical punishment. The national standards for childminding in England, which come into effect in September, say that childminders can smoke in the presence of children and smack them if their parents have given written consent. This was bitterly opposed by the National Childminding Association and other early years practitioners during the consultation period, but was pushed through into...