Families with the greatest need often face the most significant barriers to accessing early years support. The Family Childminding Partnership (FCP) pilot was developed by the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) to address this gap, providing targeted, enhanced childminding placements for families identified as most in need.

Alma Economics conducted a process evaluation and preliminary impact assessment of the pilot. 

The evaluation was carried out in three phases between 2024 and 2025, combining; 

• A scoping and framework development stage 

• A baseline evaluation using qualitative interviews and surveys with childminders, referrers, and local authority representatives 

• A follow-up evaluation was conducted 15–18 months later across all five authorities to assess whether early findings were sustained over time.