Many East Dunbartonshire parents to lose out on funded early learning and childcare hours

The legal requirement for local authorities to deliver 1140 hours of early years learning in August 2020 has been removed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

East Dunbartonshire Council says it will offer 750 hours to two, three and four-year-olds, which will be confirmed to parents/carers early next week.

However, the full 1140 hours will be available for the council’s pilot centres - Auchinairn Early Years Centre, Hillhead Early Years Centre, Twechar Early Years Centre and Lennoxtown Early Years Centre.

The council says there will be an opportunity to purchase wrap around hours or additional days at other centres, but this will be subject to availability.

The 750 hours, according to the council, means it remains committed to deliver its Early Years expansion programme as this is more than the current statutory 600 hours in the new 2020/21 session.

Joint Council Leader, Councillor Andrew Polson said: “Our plans for expansion were well advanced before Covid-19 impacted, and we are delighted that we have been able to exceed the statutory requirement and will be offering 750 hours to eligible children in the new session in August.

“In addition, our existing 1140 hours Pilot Centres (Auchinairn Early Years Centre, Hillhead Early Years Centre, Twechar Early Years Centre and Lennoxtown Early Years Centre) will all continue to deliver 1140 hours.

“Delivering the full 1140 hours was dependent on the completion of our three new-build early years centres in Bearsden, Milngavie and Kirkintilloch and an extension to the centre at Killermont Primary. This has simply not been possible due to the lockdown which has been in place since March.”

Plans for the reopening of Council early years centres are taking account of the guidance from Scottish Government published on 15 June, with health, safety and the well-being of children and staff being paramount, they said.

Joint Council Leader Councillor Vaughan Moody added: “Physical distancing is just not possible or desirable for young children, so consistent small groups will be established with distancing maintained between groups and between adults at the centres. This means that our centres have reduced capacity, so being able to deliver 150 hours over the statutory requirement is a great achievement and is the result of a fantastic effort from our early years teams.”

Councillor Moody added: “Planning continues with allocations now that both capacity in centres and the number of hours to be provided have been established. We will be advising parents and carers of their specific allocations week beginning 15 July, ahead of local authority centres opening on Monday 10 August.”

Councillor Polson also added: “We fully understand how challenging it has been for parents and carers during these unprecedented times and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding as our teams work hard to implement the Government and public health guidance and ensure our early years centres are safe for children and staff when they reopen. It has truly been a fantastic effort by our teams who continue to deliver excellent service as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact all that we do.”

Parents/carers who have applied for funding with a private or voluntary provider or childminder will receive confirmation of funding from the Council in mid-July and should then link with their chosen provider to discuss and confirm the provider’s delivery model and placement for their child.