Funding boost for early years
LAST week, I got to do one of my favourite things as First Minister and spend some time at a nursery in Edinburgh.
It’s always great watching young children play and see their imaginations at work.
I was there to announce a new fund to help families with disabled children access their free childcare entitlement by providing training and equipment to nurseries.
That announcement formed one of 31 steps announced to Parliament on Thursday in our Action Plan to double free early learning and childcare for all three and four-year-olds and more than a quarter of two-yearolds in Scotland by 2020.
We know that every child and family is different and childcare needs to work for the individual needs of parents and children.
So we are moving to a model where funding will follow the child and parents will have real choice of provision, whether it is from the local council, a private business or a local charity.
A new national standard for all nurseries and centres means parents can feel confident that what they choose for their child and their family’s needs is of the highest quality.
Quality really matters, particularly as research shows high quality learning in the early years can help close the attainment gap for children from the poorest communities.
By increasing free early learning and childcare in Scotland from 600 hours to 1140 hours a year – saving families up to £4500 per year per child – we will deliver the strong foundations all our children need to succeed at school and in life.