Karen Reid: Early learning is benefiting our children

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That is the key finding of a new report by the Care Inspectorate. We also found even more could be done to support younger children, including two-year olds, into early learning and childcare.

Children across Scotland benefit immensely from high-quality early learning and childcare. It enables children to have the best start in life and prepares them for their learning journey throughout school and beyond.

Early learning and childcare can also play a key role in reducing the poverty-related attainment gap, because we know there is a link between the quality of care in the early years and children’s experience at school.

Karen Reid, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate

Our inspectors visit thousands of nurseries, playgroups, out-of-school clubs and childminders every year to observe practice, speak to children parents and staff, and ensure that the quality provided is high. These inspections show that most services perform well and help deliver good outcomes for children, supporting them to grow into confident learners.

The Scottish Government committed to expand and deliver high-quality, flexible early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds in 2014. As a result, the entitlement of free early learning and childcare has increased from 475 to 600 hours, with plans to increase this further by 2020.

Our report provides an overview of the early progress made across the early learning and childcare sector in increasing the entitlement for children to 600 hours. We were pleased to see the positive impact that good quality early learning and childcare can have on children, their families, and their communities.

We found the proportion of daycare of children settings providing funded places has increased. This is welcome because the quality of care and support for children in settings which provide funded early learning and childcare, working in partnership with the local authority, is generally higher than services which do not provide such funded places.

There is potential to support the expansion of early learning and childcare through the increased use of childminders. While some local authorities have been commissioning childminders to provide funded support for some time, there is scope for other local authorities to do this too.

Our evidence suggests there is scope for local authorities to further and better involve the voluntary and private sector in the specialist  provision needed to support eligible two-year-olds, some of whom have very complex social and care needs. Childminders provide small-group, family-based settings which are beneficial for some children, and so there is scope to involve them in supporting expansion further.

As expansion continues, further work will be needed to ensure that new services and new staff working in them are well trained and have access to appropriate experience.

All our inspection reports are available to read at www.careinspectorate.com. Where people have concerns about a care service, we may be able to look to these. You can call us on 0345 6009527 or contact us online.

Karen Reid, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate