Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) – parents' views and use: research findings 2025

Executive summary

Introduction

In October 2022, the Scottish Government set out plans to evaluate the impact of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) from 600 to 1140 hours. The evaluation seeks to assess progress against intermediate outcomes regarding the provision of high quality, flexible, accessible and affordable ELC for all parents and carers, as well as longer term outcomes for children, parents and carers, and families. The evaluation has a number of strands, including this research. The overarching aim of this research was to provide up-to-date information on parents’ and carers’ use, views and experiences of ELC, with an emphasis on funded ELC. The research explored parents’ and carers’ perceptions of the flexibility, accessibility, quality and affordability of ELC, drawing out any relevant comparisons with similar data reported in 2022.

Methodology

The research consisted of two phases. The first was an online survey with an achieved sample of 7,589 parents and carers who had children yet to start school. Survey respondents were self-selecting, therefore the survey is not representative of parents and carers of children under the age of six in Scotland. The sample was weighted to address an under-representation of respondents in large urban areas. The second was in-depth interviews with 33 parents and carers who completed the survey. The experiences of parents with children with additional support needs (ASN) and those who were dissatisfied with the flexibility of ELC were of particular interest for this phase. The survey was live from 23 April to 29 May 2025. The interviews took place from 7 May to 30 June 2025.

Key findings

The experiences of funded ELC were largely positive for a majority of parents, though a range of challenges were also described. The key findings on parents’ experiences of funded ELC, and wider childcare, are summarised below.

Use of ELC

• There was a high take-up of funded ELC hours for three- to five-year-olds (95%) and eligible two-year-olds (83%) among parents who responded to the survey. Local authority (LA) nurseries were the most common type of funded ELC used, followed by private nurseries, for both age groups.
• The majority of those using funded ELC hours were using the full entitlement, though this was higher for three- to five-year-olds (87%) than for eligible two-year-olds (73%). Parents of three- to five-year-olds most likely to use their full entitlement of funded hours were in households: with one child (91%), with at least one child with ASN (88%), and living in accessible areas (88%).
• The main reasons parents did not use their full entitlement were related to personal choice. However, some did not use their full entitlement because the ELC settings did not provide enough flexibility in terms of the days or hours on offer to enable them to do so.
• About one-half (47%) of parents of three- to five-year-olds only used funded childcare. A similar proportion (48%) used funded ELC as well as childcare they paid-for (24%), informal childcare (17%), or a combination of paid-for and informal childcare (7%). Interviews and open-text survey responses showed that this was largely because funded ELC hours alone did not cover their childcare needs.
• A quarter (25%) of all parents used regular or frequent informal childcare. This was higher for those with two-year-olds or children under two.
• Around half (47%) of all parents used paid-for childcare for their children. Families with two parents in work were more likely to use paid-for childcare (38%) than those with one or no parents in work (17% and 2% respectively). Similarly, two-parent households were more likely to be using paid-for childcare than single-parent households (33% compared with 15%).

Affordability

• Of parents who used paid-for childcare, on average £726 per month was spent on childcare. The amount spent on childcare per month was higher for parents with children aged under three (£733 per month was spent on children under three compared with £635 on children aged three to five).
• Of those who paid for childcare, 56% said they had not experienced difficulties affording childcare in the last 12 months.
• However, around two-fifths of those who paid for childcare had experienced either some (32%) or significant difficulties (10%) affording childcare costs in the last year. The number of paid hours, paying for childcare costs upfront and travel to reach the place of childcare made affording childcare difficult. The cost of childcare limited some parents’ ability to work and required some to seek financial support from family.

Accessibility

• Three-fifths (61%) of all respondents had no problems accessing childcare.
• Two-fifths (39%) of all respondents experienced challenges accessing childcare. The most commonly reported challenges were: that there were not enough places available locally (19%); a lack of flexibility in choice of opening hours or sessions (14%); and a lack of provision in school holidays (11%).
• Parents were generally satisfied that funded ELC met their child's ASN: 89% said that they were either satisfied (33%) or very satisfied (56%). The majority of parents of children with ASN also said they had not experienced any difficulties in finding funded ELC that met their child’s ASN (65%).
• However, some parents experienced challenges related to provision for their children with ASN. Challenges included: staff not having sufficient training, experience, skills or time to provide sufficient support to children with ASN; not enough staff being available to meet the needs of the child; and ELC environments not being suitable for children with ASN. Some parents felt that staff did not take their concerns seriously which could result in their children’s behaviour or distress escalating before action was taken.

Flexibility

• Overall, most parents of eligible two-year-olds (95%) and three- to five-year-olds (90%) were satisfied that they had been offered the flexibility to use funded hours in a way that met their family’s needs.
• Seven percent of parents of three- to five-year-olds and 4% of parents of eligible two-year-olds were dissatisfied with the flexibility of funded ELC. Reasons for dissatisfaction included: limited or no choice in the funded ELC providers they could use locally; hours being insufficient to fit in with work schedules, making it difficult for some parents to work full-time or at all; and the hours provided being too long for their children, either due to the child’s age or their ASN.
• Some parents wanted more flexibility to use their funded hours as they needed, either within existing provision or by increasing the choice of provision in their local area. This included greater flexibility in when they could use their hours week to week, the ability to use funded ELC throughout the year, and to have ELC sessions during local school hours.

Quality

• The majority of parents (88%) reported that they were satisfied with the overall quality of their main funded ELC provider. This included the quality of indoor and outdoor spaces, meal provision, provision for children with ASN, and communication between staff and parents.
• Parents more likely to report that they were satisfied with the quality of their main funded ELC provider were: single-parent households, households with no or one earner in the household, those living in the 80% least deprived areas, households with two or three children, households with at least one child aged under six with ASN, and households in remote areas.
• The 8% of parents who reported being dissatisfied with the quality of their main funded ELC provider gave a variety of reasons including: poor quality outdoor facilities; crowded indoor spaces; limited staff capacity and facilities to meet children’s ASN; poor and infrequent staff communication; unhealthy and small meal portion sizes; and minimal staff supervision during mealtimes.

Impact of funded ELC

The main impacts of funded ELC on parents and their children were:

• Increased opportunities for children to socialise with peers, learn social skills, develop communication abilities and support children's learning in ways that parents could not always replicate at home. The structured environment of ELC helped prepare children for the transition to school. However, longer ELC hours were sometimes viewed as excessive for younger children or those with ASN, leading to fatigue and behavioural issues.
• Increased work opportunities for parents. Three-quarters of parents agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to work or look for work (75%) or consider future opportunities (74%) while 40% agreed or agreed strongly they were able to increase the number of hours they worked and 36% were able to study or improve work-related skills. Longer ELC hours enabled some parents to move from part- to full-time work and improve their finances. For others, the cost of combining funded hours with additional paid-for childcare negated these benefits.
• A positive impact on parents' wellbeing. About half of the survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt happier (48%), less stressed (45%), and had more time for self-care (45%). Parents also valued the additional time for practical tasks, bonding with their other children, and personal relaxation.

There is evidence that positive impacts on family wellbeing and opportunities to take up work vary across different groups of parents. For example, 87% of those earning £60,000 and above per year agreed they were able to work or look for work, compared with 65% of respondents earning less than £16,000 per year.

Provision for younger children

• Around half (51%) of parents with a child under three years old who were not eligible for funded ELC were using private nurseries, while 7% used a childminder. Around one-third (37%) did not use any form of paid-for childcare. Those who did so were more likely to be two-parent households or households with two parents in work, households with a higher annual income, or households in the least deprived areas.
• Two-fifths (41%) of those who were not using paid-for childcare stated that this was because they could not afford it. In addition, some parents not using paid-for childcare also reported that this was because they thought their child was too young to attend childcare (39%) or that they wanted to or were able to look after their child themselves most of the time (38%).

Comparisons with 2022

The key findings in 2025 are broadly similar to 2022. Notable differences are:

• The uptake of the full ELC entitlement: 87% of parents of three- to five-year-olds and 73% of parents of two-year-olds said that they use their full entitlement. In 2022 these figures were 73% and 52% respectively.
• The percentage of parents with three- to five-year-olds using paid-for childcare, which was 34% in 2025 and 22% in 2022.
• However, in 2025 56% said they had not experienced difficulties affording childcare in the last 12 months, compared with 34% in 2022.

Conclusions

Overall, parents who participated in this research were largely positive about funded ELC and reported that they and their children were experiencing a range of positive impacts as a result of funded ELC. However, a number of challenges remain regarding affordability, accessibility, flexibility and quality of funded ELC. The findings underscore the need for continued support and flexibility in funded ELC provision, as well as on-going monitoring and evaluation, in order to make improvements to maximise the benefits of funded ELC for all families in Scotland.