Majority of nursery places are for half days only, study claims

More than two thirds of three to fiveyear-olds attending council nurseries have places for just three hours and 10 minutes per day, a new report says.

A study by childcare campaign group Fair Funding for our Kids found that 68% of all council nursery places for three to five-year-olds in 2017/18 were for half days only.

Almost half (48%) of all nursery places in Scotland were half days only, while less than 3% of all nursery places are for full days all year round, according to responses to Freedom of Information requests submitted by the group.

Last night the Scottish Government narrowly avoided defeat in a Holyrood vote on a motion criticising their handling of the early years expansion.

Children aged three to five are entitled to 600 hours a year of free childcare, however, campaigners said that half-day places, many of which are offered in term time only, are almost impossible for working parents to make use of. A campaign spokesman said: “Early years care is so important, but working parents continue to miss out.”

The Scottish Government has vowed to raise free childcare entitlement to 1,140 hours a year by 2020.

A Cosla spokesman said: “This information is historical. The commitment to the 1,140 expansion means that all families will benefit from longer and more flexible approaches.”