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 the final version of the standards following an opinion poll of parents who said they should be the ones to decide.
The proposed Scottish standards, on the other hand, say that accommodation should provide a 'safe, hygienic, smoke-free, pleasant and stimulating environment' and that workers, in partnership with parents or carers, should 'promote positive behaviour, challenge bullying and respond to difficult behaviour in a caring and sensitive manner without the threat of or use of physical punishment'.
Maggie Simpson, the Scottish Childminding Association's national development officer, said, 'It's the way it's always gone in Scotland - it's not the sledgehammer ban, but a much more sensitive approach to a very sensitive issue.'
Another difference is that Scotland is proposing one set of national standards for all kinds of childcare provision, while England has different national standards for childminding, sessional care, creches, out-of-school care and full daycare. Also, the Scottish standards focus on outcomes that should be achieved for children whatever setting they are in, but do not specify the physical details, or 'inputs', necessary to achieve the outcomes, and so do not cover qualification or space requirements or staff:child ratios, for example. England's national standards are a mix of both 'inputs' and desirable outcomes.
This means the Scottish Executive has not yet tackled one of the most controversial points - the required level of staff qualifications in a day nursery. Practice currently varies across local authorities and the issue is problematic because of the general shortage of qualified staff.
In England, the Government's proposals that half the staff in a daycare setting should be qualified to NVQ2 - lower than the NVQ3 standard required in many English local authorities - prompted Nursery World to launch its 'Stop the Drop' campaign, which attracted strong support from across the early years sector. In the end, the Government said staff in a 'supervisory role' would be qualified to NVQ3. It is understood that the Scottish Executive wished to avoid a similar showdown.
The Scottish Executive also plans to draw up standards for agencies providing childcare in the child's home, such as nanny and sitter services, and the early education and childcare working group is also adding extra standards for over-night care.
Tricia Pritchard, professional officer for the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, said, 'This is an initiative we applaud. We were told a voluntary kite-marking scheme for agencies would be introduced in England, but it has failed to materialise.' The draft standards for early education and care in Scotland are available on the internet at www.scotland.gov.uk
