Types of childcare

There are many types of childcare available in Scotland, including:

• Local authority nursery (including pre-school)
• Private nursery (including pre-school)
• Third sector nursery (including pre-school)
• Childminder
• Playgroup
• Family centre
• A relative or friend

Some parents/carers choose to use one of the above types of childcare or a mix of two or more types. Others choose to use no childcare. Overall, 83% of households with a child aged two to five years and not yet at school used at least one of the above types of childcare, similar to other years (Table 1).

In 2024, the most common forms of childcare used were a local authority nursery and a private nursery, used by 40% and 32% respectively. Use of a private nursery has increased from 24% in 2018, while use of a local authority nursery has stayed broadly similar (43% in 2018). Childcare was provided by a relative or friend for a further 22%. 5% used a childminder, a decrease from 10% in 2018. 17% of households used no childcare, similar to other years (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Figure 1 Types of childcare used by year

Types of childcare used by households with a child aged between 2 and 5 years old not yet at school by year. Households could select more than one type of childcare. This data is also available in Table 1.

Nurseries were the most commonly used type of childcare for households with a child aged four or five years old (and not yet at school), with 65% using a local authority nursery and 22% using a private nursery. A child may attend one or more type of nursery. Use of a local authority nursery was lower among households with a three year old (44%) or two year old (12%). Use of a private nursery was higher for households with a two or three year old (both 36%) than for those with a four or five year old (22%) (Table 2).

This difference by age is likely to be due to the eligibility criteria for accessing government funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), and is likely to affect all types of childcare that provide funded ELC. The statutory entitlement to funded ELC begins the term after the child’s third birthday, although some local authorities offer funded provision earlier, for example from the child’s third birthday. Funded ELC can be accessed through local authority childcare providers, some private and voluntary providers, and some childminders. Around a fifth of two year olds are also eligible for funded ELC as they meet certain criteria, and retain this eligibility until their three year old eligibility begins. Therefore, it is important to note that not all two and three year olds are eligible for funded ELC.

Use of local authority nurseries generally decreased as area deprivation decreased, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Half (51%) of households in the 20% most deprived areas used a local authority nursery compared with around a fifth (21%) of households in the 20% least deprived areas. Use of private nurseries increased as area deprivation decreased.  Around one sixth (16%) of households in the 20% most deprived areas used a private nursery compared with more than half (57%) of those in the 20% least deprived areas. Use of a childminder increased as area deprivation decreased, with 1% of households in the 20% most deprived areas using this type of childcare compared with 9% of those in the 20% least deprived areas. The proportion of households using no childcare decreased as area deprivation decreased, from 24% in the 20% most deprived areas to 11% in the 20% least deprived areas (Table 3 and Figure 2).

Figure 2 Types of childcare used by area deprivation

Types of childcare used by households with a child aged 2 to 5 years old not yet at school, by area deprivation. Households could select more than one type of childcare. This is a subset of data in Table 3.

The proportion of households not using any form of childcare was similar for both those in rural areas and those in other areas (16% and 18% respectively). The most common type of childcare used in both areas was a local authority nursery, followed by a private nursery (Table 4).

A local authority nursery was the most common type of childcare used by all family types (single parent families, small families and large families), followed by private nurseries, although small families were more likely to use private nurseries than large families (37% and 21% respectively) (Table 5).