Chamber and committees

We do not hold information on the average number of children in nurseries over the course of a year. We do however have data on the number of registrations for funded Early Learning and Childcare as collected through the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) census in September each year. Given that this data is collected in term one and registrations increase throughout the year as more children become eligible for funded provision, then we would expect the average number to be higher than the figures presented below. Although these figures are based on the number of registrations not the number of children, and children registered at more than one centre may be double counted, the amount of double counting will be less than the number of additional children that register after September.

The Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) census does not separate out nurseries from other settings providing the funded ELC entitlement that are covered by the census. However information is separated into local authority and partnership provider settings, and for 2015 and 2016 partnership settings can be separated into private partnerships and other partnerships. Local authority and partnership providers will include a range of settings such as nurseries, playgroups, and family centres. Data is not currently collected on funded provision with childminders.

For 2015 and 2016 registration data split by local authority and partnership settings are publicly available in the supplementary tables released alongside the ‘Summary statistics for schools in Scotland’ publication which includes data from the ELC census. Registrations data by local authority or partnership centre for 2010 to 2014 is available from the ELC census, but this breakdown was not published for these years. Breakdowns for all years have been collated and are provided in tables (a) and (b). A further breakdown into private and other partnerships is not published, but is available for 2015 and 2016 as outlined in table (c).

Table (a) – Number of registrations for funded ELC in local authority centres

1. In 2011 there were 395 registrations with local authority centres that could not be assigned to a local authority.

2. In 2012 there were 671 registrations that could not be assigned to a centre type so they do not appear in the figures for local authority or for partnership centres.

Table (b) – Number of registrations for funded ELC in partnership provider centres

1. In 2011 there were 209 registrations at partnership centres that could not be assigned to a local authority.

2. In 2012 there were 671 registrations that could not be assigned to a centre type so they do not appear in the figures for local authority or for partnership centres.

Table (c) – Number of registrations for funded ELC in partnership setting, split by private and other partnerships, 2015 and 2016

1. This breakdown is only available for 2015 and 2016.

The Care Inspectorate also publish data on childcare (both funded and non-funded) but not an average.

Private and voluntary sector partner providers are an important part of early learning and childcare (ELC) provision and will continue to make a valuable contribution as the free entitlement is extended to 1,140 hours a year. Delivering greater choice for parents requires effective and sustainable partnerships between public sector providers and partner providers in the private and third sectors.

Partner provider funding is determined by individual local authorities. The Scottish Government consultation "A Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland" considers how we can ensure fair and sustainable funding for all providers offering ELC entitlement.

Scottish Government does not collect information on financial arrangements between local authorities concerning cross-boundary early learning and childcare placements.

The SPFL Trust’s Legacy 2014 Supporting Communities Programme was supported in 2013-14 by £500,000 of Scottish Government funding and demonstrated the power of football to reach out to people and change lives. Whilst funding for the programme ended in March 2014, one of the key developments within the programme has been the establishment of a dedicated SPFL Trust website at http://spfltrust.org.uk from which people across Scotland can find out what is going on at a club in their community and how they can get involved. In addition we continue to work closely with the Trust and member clubs to discuss shared priorities, including mental health, obesity and employability. This has included the development of, and support for, the successful Football Fans in Training programme since 2010.

Through its high performance lifestyle programme, sportscotland, the national agency for sport, provides a tailored coaching and mentoring service that supports performance athletes to manage the changes, challenges and choices that enable them to focus on performance sportand also prepare them for life after sport. Working with clinical specialists, mental health is a key strand of work within the programme.In addition, the athletes benefit from sessions on resilience, including Mental and Physical Health, in conferences and personal development sessions.

The proposed 10% deduction is an individual arrangement discussed between the nursery and parents, which has now been rejected by the nursery in question. Local authorities are legally obliged to provide the mandatory amount of early learning and childcare free of charge. We expect nurseries to pass on the full entitlement of their partnership provider funding to parents. We have identified partner provider funding and parent charges as an area that could usefully be clarified through updating the statutory guidance on early learning and childcare, which will be carried out in 2017. Officials have spoken with Glasgow City Council who have confirmed that the issue with the nursery in question is resolved. My officials have also written to Fair Funding for our Kids to confirm this and to indicate that we will consider this issue when we update the statutory guidance to provide further clarity for all local authorities and partner provider nurseries.

Reducing the attainment gap

On 13 December 2016, the Scottish Government published the 2017 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan for Scottish education, as well as the National Improvement Framework evidence report for 2016. The Framework is central to the Scottish Government’s commitment to raising attainment for all, and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

The Improvement Plan brings together, in one place, all of the improvement activity from both the Delivery Plan and the Curriculum for Excellence Implementation Plan, and also incorporates the national improvement plan on parental and family engagement. From now on, it will serve as the single, definitive plan for securing educational improvement.

A suite of Interventions for Equity has been designed and developed to support schools in the process of selecting interventions and approaches which can contribute to closing the attainment gap between our most and least disadvantaged children. This initial framework to support the introduction of the Scottish Attainment Challenge - Pupil Equity Funding will continue be developed. Operational guidance to support the use of Pupil Equity Funding will be issued to all headteachers in January.

For the Scottish Attainment Challenge Schools Programme guidance was issued to all participating schools and their local authorities in May. This included a template for submitting improvement plans, a template for mid-year and end-year reporting and a Frequently Asked Questions section. Schools are required to submit improvement plans each year, as well as mid-year and end year reports, detailing their spend.

Challenge Authorities are required to submit Improvement Plans each year, as well as quarterly reports detailing spend and more detailed mid-year and end-year reports.

Implementing 1140 hours of early learning and childcare

The Scottish Government has engaged pro-actively with local authorities throughout the last year on the expansion of early learning and childcare (ELC). This engagement has been maintained through various channels - including local authority network meetings, the ELC Strategic Forum, the ELC National Summit held in February 2016, plus more recently through the creation of the ELC Managers Forum and Senior Leaders Forum, both of which met for the first time in November 2016 and will meet again in January 2017.

The Draft Scottish Budget announced on 15 December allocated £30 million of capital investment for new, expanded or enhanced early learning and childcare settings in preparation for delivery of 1140 hours from 2020. We are working closely with the Scottish Futures Trust to ensure that we invest in innovative infrastructure solutions that meet local needs. The Scottish Futures Trust has been engaging with local authorities on our behalf throughout this year to help them develop their infrastructure plans. We are also engaging directly with local authorities through our various networks and forums, including the Senior Leaders Forum which will meet again in early 2017. Scottish Government officials are engaging with local government representative bodies to consider how to deploy this funding and target it to the most appropriate schemes.

At no point does the UCAS 2016 End of Cycle Report state that a cap on Scottish university funded places is affecting Scottish applicants.

The report shows an all-time record high number of Scottish domiciled students gaining a place at our universities through UCAS, as well as recording the highest ever entry rate to our universities for 18 year olds from Scotland’s 20% most deprived areas. Since 2006, the rate has increased by 3.7 percentage points to 10.9%.

The report also underlines that these figures do not include the many students who enter Scotland’s universities direct from college.

This has been achieved while maintaining the Government’s commitment to ensure that access to university is based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay.

The Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) census does not separate out nurseries from other settings providing the funded ELC entitlement that are covered by the census. Although information is not collected on childminders, the collection does include playgroups and childcare centres, and both local authority and partnership provider centres. Teacher access is not defined as full or part time, but by if it is a regular or non-regular support that is received. All information is based on the situation as at census week which, since 2010 has been September, and prior to this it was January.

Table 1 shows the percentage of centres that had regular or non-regular arrangements in place for teacher access from 2008 to 2016, and Table 2 shows the percentage of children who received access to a GTCS registered teacher during census week only, and does not include those who are under a regular arrangement with a GTCS registered teacher but they were not present in their centre at census week. Percentages are calculated based on the total number of children of all ages registered with early learning and childcare providers at census week, although some local authorities only ensure access for 3 and 4 year olds. Information on teacher access was not published prior to 2008.

'Regular arrangement' includes those receiving access from centre-based teachers or centrally employed teachers on a scheduled basis. 'Non-regular' refers to support received only on an occasional or ad hoc basis. Centres had difficulty recording centrally employed staff in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and often recorded them as 'non regular support'. In 2015 data on centrally employed teachers was collected directly from local authorities, leading to an balance between regular and non-regular support that is closer to that seen in 2011.

Table 1: Percentage of early learning and childcare centres with access to a GTCS registered teacher during census week 2008-2016

Table 2: Percentage of all children at early learning and childcare centres with access to a GTCS registered teacher during census week 2008-2016

This information is publicly available within various additional tables released alongside the 'Summary statistics for schools in Scotland' statistical bulletin.