Scottish government to launch childcare ad campaign

From August all three- and four-year-olds, and around a quarter of two-year-olds, will be eligible for 1,140 hours of childcare a year.

The increased entitlement has been phased in gradually, and the government claims that almost 50,000 children are already benefiting from more than the current 600 hours they are entitled to.

The public information campaign will run for eight weeks from Monday (13 January) across radio, outdoor advertising and social media.

Families are told to visit the Parent Club website to find out how to enrol for funded early learning and childcare places in their area, as local authorities have individual application processes and deadlines.

Parents or carers can register through their local authority and apply for the option that suits their needs, from the choices available locally - whether a local authority, private or third sector nursery, playgroup or childminder.

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said, ‘Tens of thousands of children are already benefitting from high-quality early learning and childcare, and I’ve heard first-hand how it’s helped to boost their confidence and communication skills, and given them access to more opportunities such as outdoor learning.

‘I’ve also heard how it has made an enormous difference to families in terms of enabling mums and dads to get back into, or spend more time studying, working or training.

‘I would encourage all parents with eligible children to get in touch with their local authority to identify the funded option that is best for their child from the great choices available, and find out when to apply.’

Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Children and Young People’s spokesperson said, ‘Local government is committed to getting the best outcomes for all our children, and that’s why we are working with our partners to almost double the number of funded Early learning and Childcare hours available to families from August 2020.

'It’s fantastic that over 50,000 children have already benefitted from these additional hours, which will give children new opportunities to play and learn, and give parents the opportunity to return to work, take up training or just have more flexibility in their childcare arrangements.

‘With the launch of this new campaign, we are encouraging parents to get in touch with their council to find out what their options are locally.’

The National Day Nurseries Association said that local authorities and the sector needed to work in partnership to ensure the funding rates were right and would allow nurseries to deliver on the promises being made to parents.

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, ‘Parental choice is crucial to this policy and it’s important that they know they can access these hours with any provider that best suits them and their child. This campaign is important to raise awareness amongst parents about what is on offer.

‘However, there remain some real challenges for implementing this plan. Nurseries across Scotland remain worried about the levels of funding being planned for delivering these places. Costs continue to rise year on year while new requirements from August, like paying the Real Living Wage, will have a dramatic impact on running costs.

‘At the same time, our research shows that private and voluntary nurseries are facing a workforce crisis as staff leave to work in public sector nurseries. Childcare businesses, like nurseries, currently get business rate relief from the Scottish government for the work they do in supporting early learning and childcare across the country and it’s vital that they continue to receive this help.'