Tag: early learning

Parents back funded Early Learning and Childcare

Independent survey shows benefits to children and families

The vast majority of parents using Scottish Government-funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) are satisfied with its quality, according to new research.

In an independent survey with more than 8,000 respondents, 97% of parents and carers with a three to five-year-old said they had accessed funded ELC places since August 2021 – and of those, 97% were satisfied with the quality of provision.

A total of 88% of those with a three to five-year-old were satisfied that they could use their funded ELC hours in a way that meets their family’s needs.

The main reasons parents and carers said they used ELC were to benefit their child’s development, confidence, independence and learning.

Survey respondents also valued the opportunities that funded ELC gave them to work, look for employment or to undertake education and training. Others reported that it alleviated stress and meant they had more time for themselves and their families.

Across Scotland, all three and four-year-olds and two-year-olds who need it most can access up to 1,140 hours of funded ELC a year. If families paid for the 1,140 hours themselves, it would cost them around £5,000 per eligible child per year.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government will invest around £1 billion through local government in funding for the 1,140 hours offer.

Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “I am really encouraged to see such a high level of satisfaction among parents with the quality of the funded Early Learning and Childcare they have received.

“Scotland is the only part of the UK where all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds can access up to 1,140 hours of funded ELC a year. As this independent survey demonstrates, funded high-quality ELC brings a range of benefits to families, including helping children’s educational development and supporting parents’ ability to work and find employment.”

COSLA Children and Young People spokesperson Councillor Tony Buchanan said: “I welcome the publication of this report, which provides valuable insights into parents’ use of, and views on, Early Learning and Childcare provision in Scotland.

“The findings clearly show the significant impact that the increased entitlement to 1,140 hours of funded ELC is having, and indicate high levels of satisfaction and positive experiences amongst those parents who responded to the survey, including in relation to flexibility, accessibility, and quality of provision.  

“Local Government is committed to continuing to work with our partners to ensure that funded ELC provision works for parents, carers, and children, including considering how remaining challenges might be addressed.”

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Parents’ views and use of Early learning and Childcare in Scotland

More families benefit from Early Learning and Childcare savings

A growing number of families are accessing funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) across Scotland. The latest figures show that 121,101 children were in funded ELC places at the end of April 2022 – an increase of 9,527 since January 2022.

The entitlement to funded ELC increased to 1,140 hours in August last year, saving families up to £4,900 annually for each eligible child.

The ELC workforce also continues to increase, up 357 since January 2022, with 18,421 (FTE) staff now working in the sector. This marks a rise of 8,845 since 2016/17.

Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “It is clear funded ELC is making a real difference to families – particularly at a time when so many are struggling with the rising cost of living.

“Crucially, high quality ELC also helps to provide children with skills and confidence to carry into school education, and is a cornerstone for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

“It’s also encouraging to see the workforce continue to grow and I’d like to thank everyone working in the sector for their continued hard work and dedication.”

Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Children and Young People’s spokesperson said: “I’m pleased that today’s figures confirm that over 121,000 children are accessing additional funded early learning and childcare hours from Scotland’s Councils and their partners.

“The increased availability of funded early learning and childcare is allowing children more time to play and learn, and more opportunities for parents and carers to work, study or volunteer, as well as significant financial savings for families. 

“I particularly welcome that there has been a 15% increase in the number of eligible two-year-olds accessing increased hours between April 2021 and April 2022, as we know this will provide support for children and families who will benefit most.”

The figures are set out in the Improvement Service’s May 2022 Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report.

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Early Learning and Childcare: Public Health ‘Blether’

Thursday 19th August from 4 – 4.45pm

The Scottish Government are hosting a Public Health ‘Blether’, facilitated by Education Scotland, aimed at staff working in the Early Learning and Childcare sector to support the understanding of new public health guidelines for the sector.

During the session you will have an opportunity to hear from leading public health professionals, who will aim to provide reassurance and an opportunity for those participating to ask questions and share thoughts.

This event will be held on Microsoft Teams and as there are a limited number of spaces. If you are unable to attend the live event, a recording will be made available for you to watch.

When registering, there is an option to pose a question to the Public Health panel, these questions will then be collated and arranged by theme. A representative will present these questions on the audience’s behalf or we may ask you to unmute your mic and ask your question directly.

This is your chance to hear about updated guidance, connect with colleagues and ask public health officials questions

https://bit.ly/3lTk4pr

Childcare expansion plans on track, says Government

The expansion of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) in Scotland is on course to be delivered from August 2020, says Children’s Minister Maree Todd – but public watchdogs have concerns over the tight timescale. 

Backed by an unprecedented £2 billion investment, by the end of the expansion more than 900 nurseries will have been built, extended or refurbished since 2018. Meanwhile, 4,310 additional full-time equivalent staff have also been recruited, resulting in a record 40,000-strong workforce.

From August, all three and four-year-olds and around a quarter of two-year-olds, will be entitled to 1,140 hours a year – almost double the current entitlement of 600 hours.

In response to Audit Scotland report on early learning expansion, Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “We are on course to deliver the most generous, high quality early learning and childcare offer in the UK, which can transform the lives of children.

“I’ve seen and heard of the way children’s confidence and communication skills have been boosted by the care and learning they’ve received, while they’re also getting access to opportunities such as outdoor learning.

“Through our strong partnership working with local government, so much has already been achieved. There are already thousands of additional staff in post, and councils will continue to grow their teams over the coming months.

“We have also been delivering a large-scale infrastructure programme to provide high quality settings. Hundreds of nurseries have been built or refurbished, with work continuing across the country.

“We are committed to delivering the roll-out from August and councils have contingency plans in place for all critical projects due to complete this summer, so we can be confident that the places will be there to deliver the expansion for Scotland’s children. The expansion also opens up more opportunities for playgroups, private and third sector nurseries, and childminders to be involved in delivering funded hours.

“The quality of ELC provided is absolutely key. That is why we are investing in the workforce and developing improved learning opportunities for them to increase their skills and share best practice.

“With a passionate and dedicated workforce across all parts of the sector, and fantastic places for children to learn and play in a nurturing environment, there has never been a more exciting time for our childcare sector.”

However while plans to boost early learning and childcare (ELC) hours have made steady progress, risks around buildings and staffing remain, say public sector watchdogs.

The watchdog says the Scottish Government and councils are working well together to increase ELC hours from 600 to 1,140 a year from August and the pace of the expansion is broadly in line with plans.

But around half of the building work required is due to be completed over the summer, and about half of the additional ELC staff still need to be recruited. Private and third sector providers – which are expected to deliver over a quarter of the hours – also continue to report significant workforce challenges that threaten their sustainability.

The Scottish Government’s evaluation plans for the expansion are well advanced but challenges remain. For example, it is not clear how the longer-term economic benefits of the policy, or its impact on family wellbeing, will be measured.

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government and councils have worked well together to increase early learning and childcare hours, and we’ve also seen improvements in how the project will be evaluated.

“But the timeline remains tight and there are big risks around infrastructure and workforce.”

Graham Sharp, Chair of the Accounts Commission said: “Given the amount of work due to be completed over summer 2020, it’s important that councils continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to manage the risks of any delays, including how best to keep parents informed.”

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Major childcare expansion this summer

Families can now enrol children for funded places for August.

A nationwide public information campaign is encouraging families to enrol their children for funded early learning and childcare ahead of a major expansion this summer.

From August, all three and four-year-olds, and around a quarter of two-year-olds, will benefit from 1,140 hours of childcare a year – the most generous offer in the UK.

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.

Backed by an unprecedented £2 billion investment, the increase in funded hours has required significant recruitment and infrastructure – more than 270 nurseries have been built, extended or refurbished since March 2018 and an additional 4,300 full time equivalent staff are already in post.

Due to the phasing in of the increased entitlement, almost 50,000 children are already benefitting from more than the current 600 hours they are entitled to, allowing parents and carers to explore work, education and training opportunities.

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “If you’ve got a child who will be two, three or four, now is the time to see what they could receive from this August.

“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.

“There is no cost to families who take up this offer so the 1,140 hours can save each family as much as £4,500, and we hope that this campaign will let as many families as possible know what they are entitled to.”

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 public information campaign will run for eight weeks from Monday 13 January 2020 across radio, outdoor advertising and social media.

Families should visit the Parent Club website to find out how to enrol for funded early learning and childcare places in their area.

Local authorities have individual application processes and deadlines. The Parent Club website will link to your local authority for more information.

All nurseries, playgroups and childminders providing funded places will be required to meet strict quality criteria as part of the new National Standard, including achieving good or better Care Inspectorate quality evaluations, and are also required to carry out continuous professional development.

Council on course to meet early learning and childcare target

Education, Children and Families Convener Councillor Ian Perry writes about the positive progress being made in meeting the increased 1140 hours early learning and childcare in a year’s time:

Last week heralded one year to go before we have to meet the ambitious target of providing an additional 1140 hours funded early learning and childcare in Edinburgh. Providing double the number of hours for three and four-year-olds plus eligible two-year-olds is a huge undertaking.

It presents many challenges but thanks to innovative thinking by the Council and early years staff and full Scottish Government funding we are making positive progress towards meeting this ambitious target.

Our exciting and forward-thinking plans, underpinned by four key themes of quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability, are transforming the early years learning and childcare landscape in the Capital.

Unlike some other local authorities Edinburgh started implementing the additional hours two years ago giving us plenty of time to take on board any lessons learnt and adapt our plans going forward.

We already have over 3,000 children benefitting from the extra hours and our proactive approach to taking our partner providers with us on this journey has resulted in 79 of them coming on board and five forest kindergartens up and running by late October to add to the mix.

There’s no doubt that two of the biggest challenges are recruiting staff and providing the necessary infrastructure.

Through our recent national recruitment drive we have an additional 360 staff already in place ranging from senior early officers and practitioners to modern apprentice trainees. Add to this our own Early Learning and Childcare Academy which is helping grow and develop our workforce by delivering training and upskilling staff.

Our new state-of-the-art early years settings are all designed on sector-leading research to support children’s learning and development and aim to be nurturing environments which are homely, inviting and calming.

New buildings have already opened at Corstorphine, Davidson’s Mains, Ferryhill and Leith primary schools with early years centres also opening at Granton and Tynecastle.

We are currently on site building five more nurseries this coming year at Craigentinny, Granton, Nether Currie, St John Vianney and St Mark’s primary schools. Each of these will provide between 64 and 137 places and are expected to open their doors in Spring 2020.

Other innovative ideas to meet the additional hours include our partnership with the Scottish Childminding Association and our successful Forest Kindergarten project which is going from strength to strength.

We now have three fully operational forest kindergartens sites at Laurieston Castle, Cammo and Cliftonhall and a further two sites will be ready in October at Craigmillar and Newbattle providing a blended model of early learning and childcare for around 200 children.

There are now 11 local authority settings open from 8am to 6pm all year round and we are considering proposals to open more settings for 50 weeks a year.

Obviously, we will continue to engage with the community as our plans progress and are always wanting to hear innovative and new ideas.

This is an exciting time for early learning and childcare in Edinburgh. We and our partners are grasping this opportunity with both hands to ensure our children get the best possible start in life on their journey to becoming successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Children’s language classes: as easy as uno, dos, tres!

Edinburgh based Language School Applauds Duchess of Cambridge for Teaching Royal Tots Spanish

The owner of an Edinburgh based children’s language business has praised Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, for teaching Prince George and Princess Charlotte to speak Spanish.

Giselle Dominguez, who runs Lingotot North Edinburgh, delivering classes in Broughton and Leith  for pre-school and primary school aged children across Edinburgh was delighted to hear the news that Prince George can already count to ten in Spanish and his little sister is also learning the language. The revelation was made during a visit to a charity farm project in Gloucestershire, where the Duchess shared the news with a group of schoolchildren.

The royal tots join a growing number of youngsters learning a second language, including Sam Faier’s son Paul who learns Spanish after appearing on ITV Be series the Mummy Diaries with Lingotot.

Up and down the country Lingotot teaches 10,000 children aged 0-11 each week to speak a range of modern foreign languages including French, Spanish, German, Arabic and Mandarin and here in Edinburgh the number of children grows month on month.

Giselle said: “I am delighted to hear that the young royals are learning a second language with the help of Kate and the children’s Spanish nanny. Research suggests that children who know two languages can gain an academic advantage over those who speak only one. Linguist experts say that between birth and five years of age, the human brain is hard-wired for learning multiple languages and after this age it becomes much harder.”

She went on: “At Lingotot we understand that not everyone has the resources to hire a nanny and in our lessons we teach the parents too, giving them top tips on how to use the language at home every day. We share our multilingual songs, stories and games with the whole family.

Giselle Dominguez invites you to come and try a Lingotot class for free at one of their venues  and your little one will be saying ‘uno, dos, tres’ before you know it!

First Minister visits North Edinburgh Childcare

FM announces £1 million for early learning and childcare trials

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A report into what more the Scottish Government and others can do to tackle poverty in Scotland has been welcomed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Ms Sturgeon used today’s visit to North Edinburgh Childcare to announce £1 million funding to support new early learning and childcare initiatives. Continue reading First Minister visits North Edinburgh Childcare

Help them shine

new ad campaign to support childrens’ literacy and numeracy

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Parents and families have a key role to play in helping their children to read, write and count well and a new TV and supermarket-based advertising campaign has been launched to encourage and help parents to support their children’s learning beyond the classroom. Continue reading Help them shine