New alliance formed to help transform Scottish childcare

The Alliance, made up of a network of partners, aims to drive forward an ambitious agenda for change in the sector, recommending what Scottish Childcare might look like in the future.

Backed by a number of third sector organisations, it will seek to identify practical and sustainable ways of organising, delivering and funding quality childcare.

Alongside this, a new accompanying Partnership Commission for Childcare Reforms has been formed to drive the Alliance's work by consulting with employers, childcare providers and families.

A priority of the Commission will be to understand how a new model of childcare provision could support employers, and what sources of funding could sustain this model in the long-term.

Based on its findings, the Partnership Commission for Childcare Reforms will report back to the Childcare Alliance in summer 2015 with a series of recommendations on how childcare should be re-shaped.

Jackie Brock, chief executive of Children in Scotland, which will be spearheading the Alliance, said, ‘We need significant change in this country when it comes to childcare. We know that current provision is inflexible, unaffordable and inaccessible for thousands of families across the country affecting child development, family prosperity and the economic output of the country as a whole.

‘It is welcome that the issue has come to the forefront of political debate, but most of the discussion has centered around plans to extend subsidised childcare. It needs to go deeper than this.

‘Through our new Alliance and Partnership Commission for Childcare Reform we will be providing a platform for civic society and the business community to talk to each other about policies, practices and funding models that are sustainable and effective. Crucially ,this is about driving forward real and meaningful change.’