Scotland: personal plans and the 1,140 funded hours
Keep every child's personal plan inside the 28-day and six-month rhythm, and handle funded ELC the Scottish way — claimed from your council, never billed to parents.
4 min read
MinderHQ speaks Scotland
If you picked "Scotland (Care Inspectorate)" when you signed up, your whole workspace already works to the Scottish regime: the learning journal tags SHANARRI wellbeing indicators and the Realising the Ambition lenses, your compliance checklist tracks your CS number, PVG renewals and the January–February annual return, and the inspection-day card builds a Care Inspectorate pack.
This guide covers the two routines that matter most week to week: personal plans and funded hours.
Personal plans: the 28-day and six-month rhythm
Every child in Scotland needs a written personal plan within 28 days of starting with you, reviewed at least every six months — sooner if something significant changes or a parent asks. MinderHQ tracks both dates so the rhythm keeps itself.
The plan lives on the child's record, in its own tab beside "Learning".
- 1Open "Children" and pick the child.
- 2Open the "Personal plan" tab.
- 3Fill in the sections in your own words — who they are, their wellbeing needs, how you'll support them. It's the child's plan, not a form for the inspector.
- 4After each review, tap "Mark reviewed" — MinderHQ stamps the date and sets the next review six months out.
Tip: The children list shows an overdue badge when a plan is missing more than 28 days after a start date, or a review has slipped — so nothing creeps up on you. A significant change (or a parent asking) means a review too: update the plan, tap "Mark reviewed", and the six months resets.
Funded hours: claimed from your council, never billed to parents
Scotland's 1,140 funded hours don't work like England's. Under Funding Follows the Child, your council pays you directly at its sustainable rate — parents are never invoiced for funded hours, there are no deposits or top-up fees against them, and any extras must be genuinely optional.
MinderHQ is built around exactly that: funded sessions appear on family invoices as £0 lines (so parents still see the week), and your real money comes through as a monthly council claim summary.
- 1In "Money", open your payment settings and fill in "Council name" and your hourly rates — the sustainable rate(s) your council pays.
- 2Mark each child's funded sessions on their "Schedule" tab, so MinderHQ knows which hours are funded ELC.
- 3Generate invoices as normal — funded ELC shows at £0 for parents, with any paid hours and optional extras itemised separately.
- 4Each month, open the council claim summary in "Money" — funded hours multiplied by your council's rate, ready to check against what the council pays you.
Tip: Every funded session includes a free meal, funded by the council — so don't invoice parents for lunch on funded days.
Quick answers
Do I ever invoice parents for funded hours?
No — never. The council pays you directly at its sustainable rate. Parents only ever pay for non-funded hours and genuinely optional extras; funded sessions appear at £0 so families can still see their child's week.
When is the annual return?
The Care Inspectorate's annual return eForm runs January–February each year. It's tracked in your compliance checklist alongside your other Scottish items.
Does the Care Inspectorate pack include personal plans?
Yes — "Open Care Inspectorate pack" on the inspection-day card brings together personal-plan status, the register, incidents, medication and the rest, grouped under the quality framework headings.