First minister Nicola Sturgeon has promised to increase spending on the free places for three and four-year-olds from £439 million this year to £880m in 2019/20, if the SNP wins the Holyrood election.
Speaking at the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon also confirmed that by the end of the next parliament, the number of hours of free childcare will rise from 15 to 30 hours a week.
The first minister unveiled plans to double free childcare provision at the SNP's conference last November.
Making the announcement about the extra funding, Ms Sturgeon said, ‘Early learning and childcare promotes opportunity twice over. It enables parents to enter the workforce now and provide a better standard of living for their children, and it helps all children to make the most of their potential later in life. It’s one of the best investments any Government can possibly make.
'In my view, it is central to any enlightened view of what modern Scotland should look like and that is why it is such a driving priority of my government. That’s why I can confirm today my intention that spending on early learning and care will double over the course of the next parliament.
‘That’s in addition to the extra capital spending we will provide.
‘It will be the investment in care and learning facilities needed to ensure our early years provision matches our primary school provision. These facilities will create a bridge to a better future for children and families across the country.’
However, parent campaign ‘Fair Funding for our Kids’ (FFFOK) called the first minister’s announcement a ‘hollow promise’, as they say that the children missing out on the free places now will not benefit from the extra funding.
According to FFFOK, thousands of three- and four-year-olds across Glasgow, West and East Lothian and South Lanarkshire, are unable to take up the free hours as the majority of places are available at maintained settings.
Jenny Gorevan of FFFOK Glasgow said, ‘We believe the policy is underfunded so more money is certainly welcome – although children missing out now will be going into P6 and starting to think about secondary school by the time it is delivered.’
‘The first minister is making promises of more money without addressing the core problem – she has no way to ensure councils spend the money on what she wants them to. She has made a national promise without keeping national oversight of whether it is being delivered. As a result, her announcement is hollow.’
Kelda Bryson of FFFOK West Lothian added, ‘We wrote two days ago to the first minister to ask her to meet us again. Although we still haven’t heard back from her on the issues we raised in our meeting in January.
‘Without a pledge to find a short-term solution for children nearly or already three, this is an entirely empty promise.
‘This is a complex issue and we are keen to work constructively with her on the changes needed to ensure every three- and four-year-old in Scotland is able to access their legal entitlement.’
