UNISON Scotland welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Scottish Executive's Consultation Paper, the Draft National Care Standards for Childcare Agencies.

· a mixture of high quality care and education for all children from birth to school age;

· childcare provided by trained and valued staff;

· provision which suits the working lives and pockets of UNISON members and all parents.

UNISON SCOTLAND welcomes the initiative taken by the Scottish Ministers to develop national standards for childcare agencies. The Standards focus on what the parent/guardian and child can expect when they receive childcare from a childcarer employed by or introduced by a childcare agency. While we appreciate the necessity of this perspective, UNISON Scotland believes that the Consultation Paper should also include Standards that must be met on behalf of the childcarers. UNISON is particularly interested in childcare workers as we represent classroom assistants, welfare assistants, local authority play workers and other childcare professionals. The two main issues which concern UNISON in relation to childcare workers are pay and conditions, and training.

UNISON Scotland accepts the proposal that the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care Standards should be used to monitor the quality of care services and their compliance with the Act and the regulations.

We agree that the information about the childcare agency and the services that it provides should be well presented and in a language and format that is easy to understand for all users.

We concur that users should receive a written service agreement that clearly defines the service provided to meet all their needs.

We acknowledge that users should be provided with a childcare arrangement which meets their identified needs.

While UNISON Scotland concurs with the proposals that there should be a Standard of quality for childcarers, we believe that this is too vague. The Draft Consultation Paper states that the childcarer will,

"interact effectively and enthusiastically with the child(ren)".

How will this be done?

It goes on to state that childcarers will,

"choose from activities that will take into account individual needs of children, cultural needs and any safety issues".

This is too vague. What qualifications will childcarers have in order to carry out these duties? UNISON Scotland believes that the Consultation Paper should include Standards for childcarers. It needs to be more specific with regards to childcarers' qualifications and training and the necessity for a job description.

3.) UNISON Scotland is concerned with the section regarding management and staffing arrangements. There is no explicit reference to pay or training of staff, or management. With regards to management arrangements, the document states under the third point in this section,

"You can be confident that the manager or anyone responsible for placing childcarers will demonstrate a high level of professional competence and skill and a thorough understanding of childcare issues".

How will this be done? There is no mention of qualifications for the management. Unison Scotland believes that the Consultation Paper should include the need for specific qualifications and a job description.

5.) As far as the childcarers are concerned, again there is no mention of any kind of qualifications. In the fifth point in this section, the document states,

UNISON Scotland believes that it is necessary to address the issues of pay, training and development to enable childcarers to deliver a high quality service. This underlines the need to ensure that staff are valued and supported, and receive decent pay and training. Continuity of staff will only be achieved where employees are contented and supported in their roles, so that staff turnover and illness can be minimised.

For many years childcare has been regarded as "woman's work", an extension of a woman's "natural" skills and therefore not worthy of proper recognition or recompense. This in turn has led to the undervaluing of this work and to low pay. To increase the supply and recruitment of trained and motivated childcare workers UNISON believes it is vital to improve the status of these jobs. Childcare is not simply an extension of parenting skills. Useful as these may be for giving people relevant experience, they are not essential. Many excellent childcare workers will have no children of their own. It is more important to ensure that people who want to enter this area of work are properly trained. Good childcare, can have lifetime beneficial effects on recipients. Childcare is about developing children's social skills and confidence as well as preparing them for school and providing physical care. As a job it involves developing a complex range of skills. As a career it lacks recognition, structure or adequate pay. UNISON believes that all of these issues must be addressed to attract people to become childcare workers. Of course, childcare can take many forms from after school care for older children to full-time day care for young babies and the range of skills and depth of knowledge will vary accordingly.

As the largest union representing childcare workers, as well as local authority registration officers, UNISON would expect to be consulted formally on the development of a training and qualification framework. In the private sector, childcare workers are less likely to be qualified. Under five workers in all sectors have been subsidising childcare by accepting low wages. Many private sector nursery managers and owners, with whom UNISON has contact, have confirmed this. Their view is that parents can only pay up to a certain amount and they recognise this necessarily means keeping staffing costs down. Many childcare workers are concerned about the lack of any coherent career structure.

6.) With regards to the selection criteria of staff, UNISON Scotland agrees that there must be a strict criteria regulating the selection of childcarers. It is vital that clients are confident that the childcare agency interviews and selects childcarers, volunteers and office staff through a process that takes account of safe recruitment practices and codes of practice of the Council. However, with regards to the inclusion that the agencies may also,

"cross referencing, where appropriate, the list of individuals considered unsuitable to work with children (1); verification of the right to work, checked in line with relevant legislation (2); and international criminal records checks, where possible".

UNISON recommends that the Consultation Paper stresses the importance of the rights of individuals. Clearly we do need to protect children from individuals who may cause them harm. However, we are concerned that there is no right for an individual to appeal against or challenge their inclusion on the list before their name is placed on that list.

The list has to be accessible to organisations working with children, in order that they are able to check the list to verify their employees. All organisations and employers who work with children should be informed of any changes to legislation which will have a direct impact on them, and given access to appropriate training or guidelines on the impact of the legislation.

However, UNISON is also concerned that the list of unsuitable persons could be used to stigmatise or persecute those individuals who are named upon it. The details that are to be included are important given that the list needs to be accurate so that people with the same names etc. can be distinguished.

UNISON believes that the disclosure of information from the Child Protection List to unauthorised persons should be a criminal offence. Information from the list is of a highly sensitive nature, it should be treated as such, and details from the register should not be used in a malicious manner by any parties.

(1) The Protection of Children (Scotland) Bill, currently being developed, includes reference to such a list.

(2) Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and the Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) Order 1996.