Early education and childcare up to the age of 16
Annex C: Information on SSSC registration
In March 2004 the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) set the qualification requirements for early education and childcare workers for registration with the SSSC.
Since there are a wide range of job titles used in the sector the SSSC has categorised the parts of the Register for early education and childcare workers on the basis of job functions. Therefore, there will be a part of the Register for each of the following categories of early education and childcare workers:
Support workers are workers who have delegated responsibility for providing care and support to children.
Practitioners are workers who identify and meet the care, support and learning needs of children and contribute to the development and quality assurance of informal learning activities and/or curriculum. They may also be responsible for the supervision of other workers.
Managers/lead practitioners are workers who hold responsibilities for the overall development, management and quality assurance of service provision including the supervision of staff and the management of resources.
Examples of jobs in early childcare and childcare linked to categories for registration
| Support Worker | Practitioner | Lead Practitioner/Manager |
| seasonal play worker | play leader | manager |
| nursery assistant | nursery nurse | officer in charge |
| play assistant | nursery officer | co-ordinator |
| support for learning assistant | nursery assistant | play manager |
| breakfast club assistant | play assistant | early years manager |
| wraparound care assistant | playgroup worker | out-of-school care co-ordinator |
| early education and childcare worker | ||
| early years workers |
Applicants for registration who do not hold a required qualification may, if they meet all the other eligibility criteria for registration, be granted registration subject to the condition that they achieve the required qualification within a specified period of time, normally the first three years of the registration period. Access to registration will have to be gradual to allow sufficient time for workers to access and achieve the required qualifications.
There is a range of qualifications that can meet the requirement for registration. To obtain a copy of the full list go to www.sssc.uk.com or telephone 01382 207101 or email enquiries@sssc.uk.com
