With three years' experience under its belt in Dundee and a pilot scheme in Glasgow, the sitter service set up by One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) has served as a pioneer for schemes planned by Bristol early years partnership and Bradford Gingerbread, according to OPFS director Sue Robertson.
She said that the Borders authority was carrying out a feasibility study, while at least a dozen local authorities in other parts of the UK have contacted the OPFS to find out how the sitter scheme works.
The Dundee and North Lanarkshire schemes supply carers for working and student parents in the child's own home between the hours of 7am and 10.30pm seven days a week. Families are charged an hourly fee on a sliding scale depending on their household income and the charge is levied per household, not per child.
Sue Robertson said a recent survey of lone parents who had found jobs in Sheffield showed that 75 per cent of them did not work standard hours.
'There is potentially a huge demand,' she said. 'Sitter services are urgently needed by parents working shifts and those working unsociable hours. We are delighted that the service will now be available throughout one of the largest authorities in Scotland.'
So far only three sitters have been approved for the North Lanarkshire Scheme which was set up by the OPFS, the local early years partnership and One Plus and formally launched last month by the Provost of North Lanarkshire. The sitters are providing a service to families in Aidrie, Cumbernauld and Shotts. Ms Robertson said they would be joined by another 11 sitters once police checks have been completed.
She said the New Opportunities Fund had agreed that sitter services were 'a valid form of childcare', while grants have also come from Sure Start and the social work department.
Under the pioneering Dundee scheme, 26 sitters currently provide services for 140 families, while a further 100 families are registered. Ms Robertson said, 'It's a tricky service to run as it involves long hours and changing requirements but it's been very successful in Dundee. The demand has been huge. But we have been constrained by the amount of funds available.'
Dawn Harkins, the head of family services at Bradford Gingerbread, said its sitter service - known as a community nanny scheme - had been running for two months, following help and input from the Dundee scheme.
The Bradford scheme currently has seven experienced 'nannies', who are qualified to Diploma in Childcare and Education level and also receive special training from Gingerbread. They are working with 12 families, many of whom are in crisis and need respite care, and provide sessions of a few hours' childcare between 7.30am and 10pm.
Ms Harkins said, 'The scheme is for people who can't access childcare and have no family support. It has worked very well and meets a need that was previously unmet.'
The scheme is funded by money from Children in Need and the National Lottery. Parents also pay towards the service and can claim childcare tax credit, as the service was registered by Bradford council's registration and inspection unit shortly before the transfer to Ofsted.
