The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training and childcare services in England do so to a high standard for children and students. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools. It also inspects childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training, and regulates early years childcare facilities and children's social care services.
A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern nannies, like other domestic workers, may live in or out of the house, depending on their circumstances and those of their employers. Some employment agencies specialize in providing nannies, as there are families that specifically seek them and may make them a part of the household.
Education in Scotland is provided in state schools, private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Mandatory education in Scotland begins for children in Primary 1 (P1) at primary school and ends in Fourth Year (S4) at secondary school. Overall accountability and control of state–education in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland, with additional responsibility for nursery schools being the joint responsibility of both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Scotland's private schools are overseen by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Children in Scotland sit mandatory National Standardised Assessments in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7) at the end of primary school, and Third Year (S3) in secondary school, which assist in monitoring children's progress and providing diagnostic data information to support teachers' professional judgement.
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), child care typically refers to the care provided by caregivers that are not the child's parents. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an equally important and often overlooked component of child's developments.
Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb estyn meaning "to reach (out), stretch or extend". Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and standards in education and training provided in Wales.
The General Social Care Council (GSCC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom which was the regulator of social workers and social work students in England between 2001 and 2012. It set down codes of conduct for social workers and social work employers, and maintained a register of around 100,000 social workers and students, using a conduct model to regulate and discipline registrants.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is a non-departmental public body and is responsible for raising standards in the country's social work, social care and children and young people's workforce.
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, supported by seven special non-geographic health boards, and Public Health Scotland.
The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body which supports improvement. They look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. Where improvement is needed, they support services to make positive changes. The Care Inspectorate was set up in April 2011 by the Scottish Government as a single regulatory body for social work and social care services, including child protection and the integration of children's services. The new organisation took on work in these areas previously carried out by:
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom provide emergency care to people with acute illness or injury and are predominantly provided free at the point of use by the four National Health Services (NHS) of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is only free to UK residents and a charge may be made to those not entitled to free NHS care.
An inspectorate or inspectorate-general is a civil or military body charged with inspecting and reporting on some institution or institutions in its field of competence. Inspectorates cover a broad spectrum of organizations which vary in a number of terms, notably whether and to the degree to which they become involved in criminal investigations; the extent to which they achieve independence from the institutions being inspected; as well as the nature of their inspection regimes and reporting processes.
Breast Cancer Care is the only specialist UK-wide charity in the UK providing care, support and information to anyone affected by breast cancer. The charity's headquarters are in London, with additional offices in Sheffield, Cardiff, and Glasgow. It is regularly quoted by media looking for the perspective of patients on breast cancer.
GamCare is an independent UK charity founded by Paul Bellringer in 1997 to raise awareness and aid those affected by gambling harms across Britain.
111 is a free-to-call single non-emergency number medical helpline operating in England, Scotland and Wales. The 111 phone service has replaced the various non-geographic 0845 rate numbers and is part of each country's National Health Service: in England the service is known as NHS 111; in Scotland, NHS 24; and in Wales, NHS111 Wales.
Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) is a charity and membership organisation based in London and working in England and Wales. A standard-setting organisation, it promotes best practice and support childcare professionals to deliver high standards of care and learning.
The Northern Ireland Childminding Association (NICMA) is a charity and membership organisation, based in Belfast, that represents childminding in Northern Ireland. It promotes quality home-based childcare and learning for the benefit of children, families and communities in Northern Ireland and its services include a childminding information and vacancy helpline.
Home care in the United Kingdom is supportive care provided in the home. Care may be provided by licensed healthcare professionals who provide medical care needs or by professional caregivers who provide daily care to help to ensure the activities of daily living (ADLs) are met. In home medical care is often and more accurately referred to as home health care or formal care. Often, the term home health care is used to distinguish it from non-medical care, custodial care, or private-duty care which is care that is provided by persons who are not nurses, doctors, or other licensed medical personnel.
The National Children’s Centre (NCC) renamed the Yorkshire Children's Centre in 2013 to better reflect its scope, is a child-care centre which was founded in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England in 1975 by the National Educational Research and Development Trust (NERDT). Brian Jackson, co-author with Dennis Marsden of Education and the Working Classes, founded the trust. NCC remains the centre's legal name.
Sonia Jackson, is a British academic and Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Education, University College London. As of 2021, Jackson is semi-retired but still in active collaboration with colleagues at the Thomas Coram Research Unit and internationally. Her main areas of research are the education of children in care, foster care, social exclusion, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), and international comparisons of children's services.
