SINA director Yvonne McLellan, who was involved in the working group that drew up the guidance, said, 'The working group worked well together. There was a lot of information-sharing. My concern is that it's only guidance.
SINA would like to see all local authorities using it, so that there could be some consistency.'
The document, Guidance on commissioning pre-school education partners, available on www.scotland.gov.uk,says that one of the most common subjects of letters received by the Scottish Executive since the pre-school education service started to expand has been partnership contracts. It says, 'An unclear contract can make it difficult for private and voluntary providers to make the best decision about their service.'
The guidance goes on to identify a list of points that should be included in each pre-school education contract, including the rate and date of payment to the provider and arrangements for funding when a child transfers. A model contract is available on the Scottish Executive website.
The guidance also recommends, 'To provide as much choice as possible for parents and to reduce the potential for accusations of unfair competition, local authorities must consider equal treatment regarding payments for centres that meet the same quality conditions across the sector.'
For example, some local authorities have made funding available for pre-school education from the day after a child's third birthday, extending the legal entitlement, which is from the term following the third birthday - but only at the centres they run.
The guidance suggests that councils should consider giving each partner centre a contribution towards the cost of training. They should also consider setting up an early years working group as a sub-group of their local childcare partnership to oversee the development of pre-school education.
