It is now more than six years since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon outlined her government’s commitment to expand care for all three and four year-olds, as well as the most vulnerable two year-olds.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the billion-pound rollout has been hailed as one of the flagship achievements of the SNP’s 15 years in power. Only last weekend, Ms Sturgeon described it as a “major milestone” which had doubled provision compared to 2014.
But is it the right kind of provision? Work is ongoing to assess the early learning and childcare (ELC) expansion against the government’s aims, yet it is already clear that it has plenty of challenges.
