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

3 Use of early learning and childcare (ELC)

This chapter explores the use of early learning and childcare (ELC) for children who have not yet started school. It discusses the types and hours of childcare used for different age groups of children.

3.1 Use of childcare

The majority of parents (98%) in the survey used some form of childcare for their pre-school children. Table 3.1 shows the types of childcare used by the age of the child and indicates that the use of childcare increased with the child’s age, from 63% for children under two years old to 98% of three- to five-year-olds. A similar pattern was observed in 2022.

Base: Households with children aged under six includes all parent respondents. Childcare usage combines all children aged under six years old in the household therefore parents could be using more than one type of childcare. This excludes the % using ‘None of these’ (which can be seen in Supplementary Table B1a-B3d) as this is shown at household-level under ‘Total not using any childcare.’

The type(s) of childcare used also varied by the age of child. Almost all three- to five-year-olds in Scotland are entitled to funded ELC, so it is not surprising that 95% of this age group in the sample were using this. A smaller proportion of two-year-olds are entitled to funded ELC, and one-fifth (19%) of the sample were using this. Around one-third (34%) of three- to five-year-olds used paid-for childcare compared with two-thirds (66%) of two-year-olds. Only 3% of children under two-years-old were in funded ELC^[7].

These findings are largely similar to 2022, except for the percentage of parents across all age groups using paid-for childcare has increased. For example, the proportion of three- to five-year-olds using paid-for childcare was 22% in 2022 and 34% in 2025. The increase was smaller for the other age groups.

Table 3.2 shows the combinations of types of childcare that parents used for their pre-school children. The most common type of childcare used by three- to five-year-olds was funded ELC only (47%), followed by a mix of funded ELC and paid-for childcare (24%) and a mix of funded ELC and informal childcare (17%).

The most common types of childcare used for two-year-olds was paid-for childcare only (37%) followed by a combination of paid-for and informal childcare (28%). Fifteen percent used funded ELC only, which reflects the fact that around a quarter of two-year-olds in Scotland are entitled to it^[8].

Base: Parent respondents excluding those who used a combination of no childcare for one child and another form of childcare for another child within their household

3.1.1 Use of childcare for three- to five-year-olds

As in 2022, households with two parents in work were more likely to use paid-for childcare or informal childcare and less likely to rely solely on funded ELC than those with one or no parents in work. For example, 39% of households with two parents in work used only funded ELC compared with 68% with one parent and 92% with no parents in work. The figures can be seen in Supplementary Table B4a. Two-parent households were also more likely to use paid-for childcare in addition to funded ELC compared with those in single-parent households (33% compared with 15%).

While there was no difference in use of funded ELC alone by area deprivation, those in the 20% most deprived areas were more likely to use funded ELC in combination with paid-for childcare (35%, compared with 17% in other areas) and less likely to use funded ELC in combination with informal childcare (8% compared with 20% in other areas).

3.1.2 Use of childcare for two-year-olds

Similarly, parents of two-year-olds more likely to use funded ELC only were:

• Single-parents (50%, compared with 7% of two-parent households).
• Households with no parents in work (76%, compared with 25% of households with one parent in work and only 2% of households with two parents in work).
• Households in the 20% most deprived areas (41%, compared with 10% in other areas).

Similar patterns were seen in 2022. These patterns are to be expected given the eligibility criteria for access to ELC when a child is aged two and data on the characteristics of households of eligible two-year-olds accessing funded ELC^[9].

3.1.3 Use of childcare for under-two-year-olds

Children aged under two years are not eligible for funded ELC although may access a place at the discretion of the local authority^[10]. Similarly to 2022, around one-third (35%) of parents did not use any childcare for their child aged under two years, and 28% only used paid-for childcare. As observed in 2022, households with only one child were more likely to use paid-for childcare only (52% compared with 36% of households with two or more children) or a combination of paid-for and informal childcare (37%, compared with 22% of households with two or more children). Meanwhile parents with two or more children were most likely not to use any childcare compared with those with one child, as shown in Figure 3.1.

Base: Households with a child under the age of two, n=1,712

Similar variations in use of childcare for under-two-year-olds by household employment and income were seen as in 2022. Households with no parents in work and those on the lowest incomes were least likely to use any form of childcare. For example, 81% of those with no parent in work did not use any childcare, compared with 55% of households with one parent in work and 25% with two parents in work. Sixty-one per cent of households on an annual income of less than £16,000 did not use any childcare compared with 25% of those with incomes over £60,000.

3.2 Hours of childcare use

In the survey, parents who used paid-for childcare were asked how many hours they used in an average week (Table 3.3).

Base: Parents who use paid-for childcare

The average number of hours used per week during term time was higher for children under three years old. This is to be expected as three- to five-year-olds are more likely to be using funded ELC during term time. There was little difference between term time and school holiday use of paid-for childcare for children under three, but use of paid-for childcare for three- to five-year-olds increased from 22.0 hours during term time to 24.6 hours during the school holidays^[11].

Similarly, hours of informal childcare did not differ for children under three between term time and school holidays, but informal childcare was also used more frequently for three- to five-year-olds during school holidays (Table 3.4)^[12].

Base: Parents who use informal childcare