Early Learning and Childcare Consultation

A report was presented at the Children and Young People Committee on Thursday 24th February 2022. We have included a summary of this report.

In line with the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, local authorities are required to consult with families regarding the provision of early learning and childcare within the authority. As the expansion to 1140 hours of early learning and childcare is now implemented, a survey was issued to current and future users of early years’ provision over a 6 week period from 13 October until 24 November 2021. Information gathered in this survey enables us to a) review if the current model of early learning and childcare on offer best meets the needs of families and b) identify any changes required.

289 people across Stirling participated in the survey. Of the total responses 30.80% (89 responses) were from the Balfron learning community, 19.03% (55 responses) were from the Stirling learning community, 14.19% (41 responses) were from McLaren learning community, 11.42% responses (33 responses) were from the Dunblane learning community, 13.84% were from the Wallace learning community and 10.73% (31 responses) were from the Bannockburn learning community.

Overall, 64.17% of families currently prefer the option of being able to access funded early learning and childcare across longer weeks of the year, 25.99% prefer the option of funding in line with the school term time and 9.25% had no preference.

These figures adjusted only marginally for preferred future options with 64.16% opting for extended year, 25.66% opting for term time and 10.18% not expressing a preference. These figures are very much in line with responses received from families across the authority prior to the implementation of the expansion and are what our current model is based on.

74.32% of responses stated that opening hours of 8am to 6pm was their preferred option, 21.62% preferred 9am to 3pm in line with the school day. 4.05% of responses did not express a preference.

The response to the survey has given confidence that the current model of provision is working well for families and is very much in line with feedback given in the parental survey prior to the early years’ expansion. Consideration will be given to increasing the number of term time places available within each learning community area and the option for extended year provision will be considered in areas where this is currently unavailable. This will commence in February when applications for deferred entry are confirmed, allowing us to review the number of additional nursery places required to support the deferred entry pilot. This will enable us to assess any additional flexibility which can be added to the model while considering the number of additional children electing to remain in nursery for a further year.

Families were also given the opportunity to add open comments to the survey. 71 families chose to comment with many comments being very positive and evidencing that the model on offer is working well for them. Other comments requested options that are already available, but which families were unaware of how and where to access. We will address this by issuing clearer information on where families can access hours that best meet their individual needs. A ‘frequently asked questions’ section is currently being developed to add to the early learning and childcare information page on the Stirling Council website.

A small number of comments (4) focussed on children’s eligibility to funding. Stirling Council continues to follow the Scottish Government advice where each child becomes eligible to a funded early learning and childcare place in the term after their 3 birthday. 

A small number of families (4) requested longer opening hours, for example from 7.30am and beyond 6pm. This option is available with some of our partner provider nurseries, we will make sure this information is also readily available.

A few families (6) requested 30 hours per week during the hours of 8am to 6pm term time only. This option is available at the moment in Cambusbarron Nursery and Fintry Nursey, and with some private provider nurseries and childminders. We will analyse if this option could be made available in other settings where uptake is lower than the nursery Care Inspectorate registration.

Three families stated they would like free childcare from birth and 6 families commented on the cost of childcare. Planning is already underway by the Scottish Government to increase eligibility to childcare, beginning with eligible one year olds then increasing to include all one and two year olds. We will work within these guidelines when they are introduced. No further information is available at this current time regarding this increased eligibility. Stirling Council as an authority has always maintained affordable hourly charges for unfunded childcare. Current charges are £19.00 per session, equivalent to £3.80 per hour.

Ten families commented on flexibility of provision. We aim to take all comments into consideration when planning for academic year 2022-2023, however it may not be possible to meet every individual need. We will endeavour to add flexibility where possible in nursery settings when this is can be accommodated. Due to demand in certain areas, restrictions of Care Inspectorate registrations and the anticipated addition of possibly 100 or more additional children opting for a deferred year with the increased eligibility, this will not be possible in every nursery. We will, however, aim to have flexibility across a learning community through a range of options within local authority nurseries and with private providers, including childminders.

Some families (15) also used this opportunity to comment on out of school care provision.  While this was not the purpose of this survey, comments gathered will be taken into consideration as part of the plans for the extension of out of school care provision in line with Scottish Government timescales