Early learning and childcare (ELC): provision for 1 and 2 year olds in Scotland

4. Conclusion

In the 2021 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to extending funded ELC to 1- and 2-year-olds, starting in this Parliament with the families that will benefit most. This report contains information on current ELC provision for 1-and 2-year-olds in Scotland to inform the design of a new offer.

The research included analysing data from the Care Inspectorate (CI) to understand nationwide provision, a focus group and interviews with sector stakeholders, a survey administered to all local authorities (LAs) in Scotland, and interviews and a survey to understand the views and experiences of local councils, the CI and providers in four selected LAs. In what follows, we summarise the findings from the different phases of the report, highlighting the main themes and implications for the design of the new offer, and recommend avenues for future research.

4.1 National ELC provision for 1-and 2-year-olds

Across Scotland, childminding and nurseries were the most common types of ELC for 1-and 2-year olds, with playgroups also being relatively widespread, as reported by LA representatives. Fewer LAs responded that they have children and family centres and creches. LA representatives also discussed additional provision models for 1- and 2-year-olds, including parent and toddler groups (e.g., Stay and Play), family support programmes (e.g., Parents as Early Education Partners and the Psychology of Parenting Project), community childminding, Home Start, Baby Massage, and Incredible Years. Analysis of secondary data from the Care Inspectorate supported these findings, with nurseries being the most common type of group based ELC provider for 1-and 2-year-olds. While age disaggregated data on childminders were not available, the count of childminder settings was higher than the count of any other provider type.

Care Inspectorate data also showed that ELC provision for 1- and 2-year-olds relies on the private sector. More specifically, only 5% of LA providers offer ELC services to 1-year-olds and only 29% to 2-year-olds, compared to 61% and 67% of private providers respectively (excluding childminders).

In all areas of Scotland, there are fewer ELC places in formal group based settings for 1-and-2-year-olds, as compared to 3-and-4-year-olds. Nationally, in December 2021, there were only 0.25 ELC places per 1-year-old child and 0.47 per 2-year-old child, compared to 0.89 and 0.99 for 3- and 4-year-olds respectively. These numbers do not include places in childminder settings due to data limitations. This is an important limitation as childminders provide a significant proportion of ELC for 1- and 2-year-olds. Although the numbers above are underestimates of available ELC places, they still showcase the significant variation in the availability of ELC places across different age groups of children. The stakeholders' views and experiences of the current ELC provision for 1- and 2-year-olds were consistent with our findings from the data analysis, with stakeholders mentioning that there are fewer providers and places compared to provision for older children and long waiting lists for the available places.

According to LA representatives, the gaps in ELC provision are present across all types of provision. Out of the 26 LAs participating in our survey, only two responded that they do not have provision gaps in their area. The gaps in 19 out of the 26 responding LAs were described as being specific to 1- and 2-year-olds.

4.2 Regional and local ELC provision for 1-and 2-year-olds

ELC provision for 1-and 2-year-olds varies significantly by region and local authority. The number of places per child for all age groups in rural and remote areas is usually lower than in urban areas. For example, in the Orkney Islands, the number of places per child for 1-year olds is only 0.11, while in the City of Edinburgh there are 0.45 places per child for the same age group. Because these figures are adjusted for the population of each LA, it suggests that there is significantly less ELC capacity for 1-and 2-year-olds in remote, rural, and island LAs. Stakeholders highlighted that the issue of having not enough places and long waiting lists is even more pronounced in rural and island communities. In these areas families have fewer options due to sparse populations and low demand, and long travel distances for both families and staff.

Rural and remote regions may be more reliant on local authority providers than other regions. Analysis of secondary data also shows that Southern Scotland and the Highlands and Islands regions have a higher share of local authority providers than other regions. This suggests that financial viability may be an issue for private providers in rural and remote regions. Highlands and Islands is also the only regions where the share of LA providers with places for 1-and 2-year-olds is higher than the share of private providers with places for 1-and 2-year-olds.

Rural and remote areas are also much more reliant on nurseries, which indicates that parents and carers in urban areas may have more choices across ELC types than in rural areas, as there may be only a handful of providers within a feasible distance to travel.

4.3 Challenges

Several challenges were highlighted by stakeholders. The LA case studies highlighted that (i) there is a need for additional experience and expertise on the needs of young children in terms of both practice and leadership, (ii) there are gaps in provision and lower capacity than demand, with rural areas being challenged more, (iii) facilities need to be adjusted to ensure that the needs of younger children can be met, and (iv) providers will need to be supported with training and resources to provide appropriate care to children with ASN and identify symptoms early on.

The recruitment and retention of staff were emphasised as primary challenges in the sector, with stakeholders concerned there is not sufficient capacity in the current workforce to deliver a new offer. The PVI sector and providers in rural and island communities have additional challenges. For example, PVI providers often lose staff to LA settings because of higher pay and more employment benefits, while in rural and island communities it is often challenging for people to access the necessary training and thus they turn to sectors (e.g., hospitality) with no such requirements. While recruitment of new staff to increase capacity is necessary, there was also a concern from stakeholders that many staff do not have experience caring for the younger age group.

Furthermore, one of the key challenges anticipated by the stakeholders related to the increased demand for ELC services for younger children was the need for infrastructure and facility changes and additions to meet the needs of this age group. The Care Inspectorate requires that providers serving younger children have additional facilities such as places to change nappies. This could be a barrier in increasing the number of places for 1-and 2-year-olds, where infrastructure changes may consitute a significant investment.

Regarding the current offer of ELC to eligible 2-year-olds, stakeholders also highlighted that additional clarity around eligibility was needed and that all types of provision should be promoted and supported equally.

4.4 Examples of good practice and innovative programmes

Several examples of good practice and innovative programmes emerged through the research, and especially through the LA case studies.

The importance of a holistic approach to ELC for younger children and their families was emphasised, including working with both children and parents, providing family support services, and hosting sessions for parents on topics related to parenting skills. For example, the funded ELC places in Fife combined with parenting classes and support from voluntary organisations like Home Start and Gingerbread were discussed in the context of supporting the whole family. Additionally, the Early Years centres in Scottish Borders were described as a good practice example following such an approach. These programmes demonstrate how 1- and 2-year-olds and their families can be holistically supported, and could be a key component of ELC as part of a new offer.

The benefits of tailored programmes to meet the different needs of each family were also emphasised, including programmes and schemes designed for children and families that might need additional support or have additional vulnerabilities, e.g., community childminding to provide short-term respite and the Young Parent Support Base in Glasgow City designed to support young parents to continue their education. The Early Years centres in Scottish Borders also consult families once a year on what types of services would be beneficial to them, in order to best tailor programmes to families needs. The success of these programmes suggests that multiple models of provision should be on offer for families of 1-and 2-year-olds, and parents should be regularly consulted to ensure programmes are best meeting their needs.

Additionally, a few good practice examples of delivery models that work well for children with ASN were also identified, including developmental nurseries in Moray providing one-to-one support and nurseries having the ability to have a lower number of children per adult to be able to support children with ASN appropriately.

4.5 Suggestions on the way forward

Although this was not a formal consultation on the new offer and the discussions were focused on current provision, stakeholders provided their suggestions and ideas on the way forward. The suggestions were based on their experience of current ELC provision for 1- and 2-year-olds, as well as the current offer for older children.

According to stakeholders, the new offer should be designed to fit the needs of 1- and 2-year-olds. This includes attachment led models, with stakeholders stressing that caregivers should priortise building relationships with children and focusing on children's needs and interests. Some stakeholders highlighted that childminders might be well placed to offer a nuturing environment and continuity of care for younger children. Furthermore, stakeholders stressed that the new offer should provide flexibility to ensure that all families' needs are met, support providers to enable them to provide quality care to all children and those with ASN, and that parents and carers should be actively involved in ELC provision. Additionally, the need for smaller groups of children and tailored physical spaces was highlighted.

Regarding children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), stakeholders suggested additional training to recognise early signs and symptoms. Additionally, ELC should be packaged with other services that children with ASN may access, such as health and social care, and providers need to be funded appropriately to enable them to deliver high-quality ELC for children with ASN, particularly if additional training and one-to-one support for children is needed.

There is also a need to increase the capacity of the sector to deliver the new offer. This could be achieved by training staff and tailoring workforce learning and development pathways to reflect the skills needed for this age group, as well as supporting all providers (of different types and sectors). Along with the recruitment of new staff to the sector, experienced staff members should be supported to stay in the sector, as they can share knowledge with newly qualified colleagues. Based on the above, according to stakeholders, it is important to ensure adequate funding will be available to allow the provision of high-quality ELC to 1- and 2-year-olds. The importance of supporting the PVI sector and ensuring their inclusion in the offer was also emphasised due to reliance of ELC provision for younger children on this sector.

Finally, stakeholders proposed that the new offer should be slowly implemented over time and that it should be ensured that the details of the offer and who it applies to are clear to both families and providers.

4.6 Recommendations for future research

Although the research presented in this report provides a comprehensive overview of current ELC provision for 1- and 2-year-olds as well as key insights from a wide range of stakeholders, there are numerous elements of the research that could be expanded on further. Our recommendations for future research are listed below.

As discussed in the report, age-disaggregated data on places provided within childminder settings were not identified. Further research could explore additional data sources or undertake a national survey of childminders focusing on places they have available and childminder-specific experiences and challenges.

Although our LA survey achieved a very high response rate, 20% of LAs are not represented in our findings. Additionally, we only engaged with one LA representative from each LA through the survey and conducted interviews with only four LAs. Consequently, there might be LA-specific information that is not captured in this report. Further research could engage with all LAs through in-depth interviews, allowing for more than one representative to engage with the research and share information (e.g., an interview could involve the whole ELC team of an LA or multiple interviews per LA may take place).

The providers' views were mostly captured through the survey and interviews conducted for the case studies, with the engagement being limited and the sample of participants not representative of the whole area. Consequently, a national survey of providers could be implemented to understand the different types of provision and programmes provided to 1- and 2-year-olds, as well as good practice examples across the country. Additionally, for more in-depth analysis a sample representing all different types of provision could be selected (e.g, including interviews with staff from creches and family centres, as our research mostly involved nurseries and childminders). Finally, additional case studies could be explored to ensure that areas with particular characteristics are captured and considered, e.g., remote and island communities, areas with severe gaps in provision, or deprived areas.

Identifying informal ELC provision for 1- and 2-year-olds is particularly challenging and needs extensive stakeholder engagement. Consequently, a natural next step would be an attemp to zoom in further in some areas by engaging with local ELC organisations, parent groups, and charities to identify these informal types of provision as well as innovative programmes and approaches that are not regulated or categorised as ELC provision.