- A survey of over 500 parents shows they highly value early years childcare but 82% said the high costs were a downside of the current offer.
- A couple with two children under three, both working full-time for the National Living Wage, would spend 85% of their disposable income after housing costs and childcare. This family could quadruple their weekly disposable income, an increase of £336, if funded childcare places were available to under-twos.
- JRF modelling shows an expansion of funded childcare for the hours that parents want can reduce child poverty by 2.9 percentage points by 2030.
- Nine in 10 parents with an under-five agree that more funded early years childcare should be available
A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) finds there's still a significant amount of work to be done to give children the best chance of growing up free from poverty and reaching the Scottish Parliament’s 2030 child poverty targets.
In order to "poverty-proof" the future of early years childcare, the Scottish Government should follow through on the First Minister's commitment and expand funded places to children under three.
The Scottish Government currently funds up to 1,140 hours of early learning and childcare for children aged three or four-years-old. Though some two-year-olds are eligible for the current offer, concrete plans to expand this further aren't included in the Programme for Government despite the First Minister's ambitions. The need for enhanced childcare is clear but what's confusing is the lack of urgency in that case.
