SCEL scoping exercise: early learning and childcare sector in Scotland

In 2013, in response to Teaching Scotland's Future (Donaldson, 2010), at the Scottish Learning Festival, The Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL) was launched as an independent body supporting the leadership development of teachers and early year practitioners who hold the Childhood Practice Award. In order for SCEL to ‘support leadership development at all levels for education practitioners across Scotland’ (SCEL, online) an initial scoping exercise of the educational leadership development needs of the staff who meet the Standard for Childhood Practice Revised (SSSC, 2015) in the Early Years sector, now referred to as the Early Learning and Childcare sector (ELC) (Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014) 1, was commissioned in May 2015. This scoping exercise seeks to consider any adaptations and enhancements required to SCEL’s Framework for Educational Leadership (FEL), which is an online resource launched in September 2015 at the Scottish Learning Festival, to meet the needs of the Early Learning and Childcare workforce. The commissioning of the scoping exercise is an acknowledgement of the ongoing professionalisation and upskilling of the ELC workforce and demonstrates SCEL’s commitment to the incorporation of the ELC sector at the foundation stage of the FEL’s development. Further, SCEL is committed to cross sector involvement and acknowledges the important and crucial role of ELC in the lifelong learning agenda. This scoping exercise therefore is intended to identify issues which need to be addressed in order to meet the needs of this specific group and to identify gaps in SCEL’s work plans. Additionally, advice with regards SCEL’s communication of, and the ELC sector’s awareness of, how to access SCEL’s emerging role will be highlighted. As part of this exercise current provision is examined and where appropriate consideration will be given to the recommendations of the ELC aspect of the recent Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Workforce and Out of School Care (OSC) Workforce carried out by Prof Iram Siraj (2015)2 . The intention of this exercise is to ensure that the programmes, support and resources provided by SCEL meet the needs of early years practitioners who hold a Childhood Practice Award in order that their educational leadership development needs are addressed at each stage of SCEL’s development