Council waits for results of survey

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “At present the community are undertaking a survey to gauge the need for childcare in the Highland area. The survey closed at the end of last week.

“Once the survey has been collated there will be a further meeting arranged to explore potential local childcare options.

“In addition this was raised at the Highland action partnership and they are planning to organise a subgroup to look at childcare.

“In recognition of the challenges for accessing childcare in Highland Perthshire, the expansion of funded pre-school hours to 1140 - which will be in place nationwide from August 2020 - will be introduced in the nursery class at Pitlochry High School from Monday, October 22, and was available from local partner provider Puddleduck Nursery from the start of this term.”

The spokesperson continued: “The introduction of 1140 hours provides real opportunities for people looking to work in the childcare sector across the whole of Perth and Kinross.

“We are working to promote opportunities for training/ retraining to encourage more people to join the early years and childcare career.

“We offer support to anyone considering becoming a childminder by offering free introductory and preregistration training courses. In fact, there are sessions coming up in September and November.

“If there was sufficient interest in the Highland Perthshire area then we would look to organise localised sessions.

“Our award-winning Men in Childcare programme is also designed to show that childcare isn’t just an option for women.”