The Scottish Government has published its research mapping for early learning and childcare (ELC) places for one and two-year-olds which shows how vital the private and voluntary sector is for our youngest children.
The mapping showed that the private, voluntary and independent sector (PVI) delivered 61% of one-year-old places and 67% of two-year-old places in total across the country. This compares with local authority provision delivering 5% of places for one-year-olds and 29% of two-year-old places.
Out of 29 local authorities involved, 19 said that they had gaps in their provision for one and two-year-olds and these gaps were more pronounced in rural and island areas. The main reasons for these gaps were given as a lack of staff, capacity and higher demand, facility changes and additions to meet the children’s needs.
Challenges included a need for more staff training for local authority settings and more experienced staff; infrastructure and facility changes. The whole sector including PVI settings said that recruiting and retaining staff was a big issue.
