Island tots are missing out

In recent years, there has been a big focus (rightly so) on care provision for elderly residents, particularly on Argyll’s more remote islands.

But what about our children, who have a different type of deprivation from those on mainland Argyll, but deprivation none the less?

In Scotland, a two-year old will get an Early Years place if they meet certain ‘vulnerable’ criteria. Unfortunately, many island children won’t meet that criteria, but are just as vulnerable, in some ways more so.

Household income is not the prime factor in whether a two-year old gets to socialise with their peers – a crucial part of their development. On islands like Coll, a two-year old child can be left with no other children to socialise with from Monday to Friday because all other children are in Early Years. This needs to be addressed by policy, and not continue to be something parents have to fight for.

Early Years is nowhere near capacity here and the council knows, from its own estimates, that capacity is very unlikely to be reached in years to come, so why not give the place to those children who desperately need it as part of their key development stages?

Let’s not fail to give today’s children the ‘best start in life’ just in case there’s a sudden influx of families to the islands in the future.

On the mainland, a child who isn’t eligible for Early Years can be taken to BookBug, parent and toddler groups and so on. When there’s only one child ‘left out’, these groups obviously don’t exist. I’d urge our incoming councillors to flex policy to ensure that it adequately meets the needs of Argyll’s island children, rather than just meeting the Scottish average for provision, because Argyll is not ‘average’.

In addition, if the council could work with Atlantis Leisure Centre in Oban to ensure that island children have a chance of attending holiday camps, and even week-block swim lessons, that would ensure this provision becomes available to all Argyll children, and not just those living on the mainland. Island families need at least six months notice of such events if they are to be able to secure accommodation in the Oban area. What a wonderful opportunity it would be for island families if they could take part in these events.

Let’s include our island children. Let’s make sure our policies work for them. And if Scottish Government legislation isn’t flexible enough to work for them, challenge that.

Alison Jones, Isle of Coll.