Current status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 26 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any staffing shortages in the early years sector that may be impacting the delivery of 1,140 hours of funded childcare.
The single most important driver of quality in a child’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) experience and improved outcomes is a dedicated, highly skilled, and well-qualified workforce. The ELC profession is therefore critical to the successful delivery of our 1,140 hours offer. We will continue to support a sustainable, diverse and thriving workforce.
Although staffing of funded ELC services is the responsibility of local authorities and their funded partners, in order to support a sustainable ELC workforce, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with an additional £9.7 million in 2025-26 to increase the pay of ELC workers in the private and third sectors delivering funded hours, so that they are paid at least the Real Living Wage from April. Building on last year’s recurring investment of £16 million, this funding for the further increase to at least £12.60 per hour demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Fair Work agenda.
Joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance, published on 20 February, confirms that the additional funding will be passed to all funded ELC providers (including childminders) in 2025-26 through a minimum 3.75% increase in sustainable rates. This means an average increase of over £1,000 per year in gross salary for the eligible staff who are working full time.
Beyond pay, the Scottish Government is taking forward a range of actions to support the ELC profession. These include investment in continuous professional learning (CPL) resources and a dedicated CPL portal for the childcare profession, providing funding to Skills Development Scotland to support Modern Apprenticeships in childcare, providing funding for 100 childcare professionals to study for Masters qualifications each year and working with Skills Development Scotland to pilot a new programme to improve staff access to paid time off the floor.