Nursery boss backs proposals
Calls for 1140 free care hours
A nursery owner has backed calls from the Labour Group in South Lanarkshire to deliver 1140 hours of free early learning and childcare as soon as possible.
T h e S NP G ov e r n me n t d e f e r r e d t h e statutory deadline for completing Scotland’s flagship early years expansion from this month to August 2021 due to the COVID crisis.
Ye t L a b o u r- l e d No r t h L a n a r k s h i r e Council are continuing with the expansion as planned.
This has led to Leader of the Labour Group, East Kilbride Central North Councillor Joe Fagan, saying families here are missing out.
And Moria Fell, who r uns t he pr i vate Sweetie Brae Nursery in Strathaven, believes the promised flagship 1140 for all three and four-year-old can be achieved.
She told the News: “This should be done as soon as possible and many private nurseries are already providing this as the council have agreed the funding with us.
“The problem is many private nurseries have plenty of space especially in the East Kilbride and Hamilton areas.
“However the council seem to be ignoring or not placing children within these nurseries.
“In Strathaven, I believe t here are no available places for three to five year-olds due to a council-build being delayed, which caused huge problems for parents as they had previously arranged work in line with their child’s nursery applications.
“If councils consulted and worked with the private sector in true partnership then the 1140hrs could be achievable. “
Mr Fagan said: “A whole range of services have been disrupted by the COVID pandemic but we want to get them back on track as soon as possible – and that includes the flagship early years expansion.
“We w a n t t h e S N P t o b r i n g S o u t h Lanarkshire into line with Labour-led North Lanarkshire Council as a priority and give every eligible child 1140 hours of free early learning and childcare as originally intended.
“Eighty three per cent of eligible families are re c ei vi ng t he c hi l dcare t hey would otherwise be entitled to if the COVID crisis hadn’t struck but that means 17 per cent are not.
“Labour councillors believe that ever y child should have the best start in life and we can help give them that by delivering 100 per cent of the childcare expansion.”
Tony McDaid, E xecuti ve Direct or of Education Resources, said: “I would stress that the safety of our children and staff will always be our paramount concern.
“The council has been planning towards the implementation of the 1140 hours since August 2017.
“Since then, following the phased approach to full implementation, each year we have increased provision for eligible 2-5 year olds in areas across the council.
“We were on target for full implementation of 1140 hours until the COVID-19 epidemic, whic h de l aye d c o ns t r uc t i o n work a nd prompted the Scottish Government to revoke the legislation and August 2020 deadline.
“We awa i t c o n f i r mat i o n o f t h e n e w implementation date for the 1140 hours from them.
“However, as a council we can confirm that the vast majority of children are currently receiving 1140 hours and this number will increase as our remaining new nurseries are completed throughout this session.”
He added: “We have been working with p r i v a t e p r ov i d e r p a r t n e r s t h r o u g h o u t this process and will keep all parents fully appraised of any developments.”