A nationwide scheme to help tackle child poverty will see families in Glasgow benefit from funded school-age childcare.
Approximately £1 million is being invested by the Scottish Government to grow services in parts of Glasgow, Dundee, Clackmannanshire and Inverclyde. A similar scheme will be rolled out in other regions starting next April.
Families on a low income in the four areas who qualify for the help will be assisted with the cost of childcare for children in primary school. Those who are most in need will not pay anything, as reported by the Daily Record.
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Six types of families will be prioritised in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. These are:
- Lone parent families
- Minority ethnic families
- Families with a disabled adult or child
- Families with a younger mother (under 25)
- Families with a child under one
- Larger families (three or more children)
Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: "Delivering our vision of a high-quality, affordable and accessible system of childcare is crucial to our national mission to tackle child poverty. It can help parents and carers to access work, training or study, while children benefit from additional opportunities to socialise and take part in a range of activities.
"There is no one-size-fits-all approach to delivering school age childcare - what we learn from the four areas that will see services expanded will help us understand what is needed to support families in different communities.”
Dundee City Council family support worker Doug Millar commented: “The Linlathen project will go a long way to help remove barriers to childcare for people in this area.
“Parents will be able to access employment opportunities while their children are enjoying activities delivered in a safe and nurturing environment.”
In addition, the Scottish Government revealed that the Nursery Rates Relief Scheme will be continued. This provides 100 per cent relief on non-domestic rates to qualifying nurseries beyond the current end date of June 30, 2023.
This information is laid out in the recent Strategic Early Learning and School Age Childcare Plan 2022-26. The document details the building of a national system of school age childcare and a new early learning and childcare (ELC) offer for one and two-year-olds.
It follows the success of the existing 1,140 hours of funded ELC offer for all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. Early Years Scotland Chief Executive Jane Brumpton added: “We welcome the extension of the nursery rates relief scheme which will support the sector during these challenging times ahead.
“We will look forward to working in partnership with the Scottish Government and the ELC sector to implement the priorities within this plan and support innovative solutions that focus on the needs of children and families and support the early years sector to thrive and flourish.”
The investment of £1 million into school-age childcare will be delivered to local authorities in the four targeted regions, and the services will be regulated by childcare services and activity-based providers.
As of August 2021, every three-year-old and four-year-old, as well as eligible two-year-olds, have had access to 1,140 hours per year of funded early learning and childcare.
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