Early Learning & Childcare Model - Our Response to Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has been consulting on a new funding model and national standards for the future expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland. The expansion of early learning and childcare will offer parents/carers up to 1140 hours of fully funded childcare every year.

We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to investing in high quality, fully funded early learning and childcare (ELC) that aims to offer more choices and flexibility to parents, carers and families.

In our written response to the Scottish Government in tandem with our participation in two of the Government's regional consultation events, we have shared our perspectives, practice, experience and knowledge. 

We are committed to ensuring that all children have the very best start in life, and for some of the 2,000 families we work alongside every year, day to day life can be very challenging.

Alongside our support of the Scottish Government's commitment to including play and outdoor learning, we have called for greater recognition of nurture and support for families to be embedded within the national standards. 

We have called for greater understanding and clarity to be demonstrated across the national standards as they relate to choices and accessibility for all children and families.

In our experience we find that: collaboration; investing in relationships; seeking to trust and be trusted; whilst recognising and understanding differences, allows for the creation of environments that can create and harness opportunities for positive and sustained change in people's lives.

These principles which we harness across our services, are also reflected in our partnerships with other organisations and agencies across Scotland. We hope to see them reflected throughout the revised national standards. 

You can access our response to the Scottish Government here

You can access the Scottish Government's consultation documents here