Scottish government says childcare expansion on track, despite some delays
Katy Morton
Friday, January 3, 2020
While more than one in three eligible children are taking up the expanded 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare in Scotland, there have been delays to increasing provision in some areas.
According to official figures from the Scottish Government, almost 50,000 three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds are benefitting from the expanded entitlement, which will roll out nationally from August.
A number of local authorities across Scotland are already offering the 1,140 hours – nearly double the number of funded hours children were entitled to at 600 hours.
The figures, which were compiled from data provided by local authorities up to the end of September 2019, show that the majority of places are being delivered by local authority-run provision.
However, the Scottish Government says that data from local authorities suggests that capacity is lower than forecast in some areas due to delays in projects being completed or in new staff completing the PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) checks.
Up to the end of September 2019, 273 infrastructure projects had been completed since March 2018 to prepare for the introduction of the 1,140 hours. Projects include new builds, extension and refurbishment of existing childcare settings.
A small number of local authorities noted delays in projects being completed meaning that some settings due to begin delivering the expanded hours had not yet been able to.
As of December 2019, 162 projects were still in construction and 447 were in development.
Recruitment
Recruitment of additional early years staff was slightly lower than predicted in September 2019, the figures reveal.
Some local authorities said they continued to find recruiting for specific roles, especially managerial and senior early years practitioner positions, challenging.
Children’s minister Maree Todd commented, ‘We want Scotland to be the best country in the world to grow up in and I am very pleased that more than a third of children are already benefitting from the expanded entitlement. This means children can learn in a stimulating environment while giving parents more flexibility to return to work, learning or training.
‘While there is a lot of work to do to ensure that all eligible children can access their increased entitlement from August, the figures released show that we are well on our way to delivering and broadly in line with council forecasts.’
