Funded and flexible childcare for all
Investing in childcare is an investment in our common future.
And one of the best ways to tackle rising inequality. The delivery of funded childcare to all children over the age of three in Scotland has been transformative, allowing more families – and women in particular – to return to the workforce.
However, at present there is a significant gap between statutory maternity pay ending at 9 months, and funded childcare beginning for most families at 3 years old. This is compounded by the loophole in the current system, which can leave families waiting for months after their child’s third birthday to access funded childcare.
Families in Scotland are spending up to a third of their income on childcare, or having to reduce their working hours, both of which contribute significantly to the cost of living crisis. This has to change.
The Scottish Greens will establish a simple, universal free childcare guarantee, where all children in Scotland have access to funded childcare hours from 6 months until they start school. This will be accompanied by a significant investment in the childcare workforce, which makes early learning and childcare a viable, well paid, long term career option.
With the powers of independence, Scotland could significantly reform both maternity and parental leave, allowing more parents to choose to stay at home for longer if they wish. Until then, we will introduce flexibility in the early years funding, allowing parents of children aged 6 months to 2 to choose between funded childcare hours, or supplementing their income while they stay at home.
- Extend the 1140 hours of funded childcare to all two-year-olds in Scotland as soon as possible, starting from the Monday after their second birthday.
- Expand funded childcare for all children aged 6 months to 2 years, aiming to provide a universal 570 hours of funded childcare for this group by the end of 2031.
- Allow the funding for under-2s to be used to either pay for childcare in an early learning setting, or subsidise the income of a parent who chooses to stay at home or reduce their work hours.
- Ensure the increase in funded hours enables greater flexibility in childcare provision, so that parents can access the childcare they are entitled to. This includes delivering more wraparound care to suit existing work and school patterns; increasing flexibility in council run nurseries, particularly to accommodate shift workers; and reviewing and expanding childminder models.
- Reform the way childcare funding is distributed to local councils, with the allocation following the child regardless of their home address, and ending the practice of councils denying places to children who live in neighbouring areas.
- Provide base funding for childcare provision in remote and rural areas, to ensure nurseries and childminders are viable in areas with low populations.
- Significantly invest in the early learning and childcare workforce, ensuring government funding requires and enables the payment of the real living wage to all staff, and introducing collective bargaining in the early learning and childcare workforce, to deliver better terms and conditions.
- Work with professional bodies, local councils and education providers to increase recruitment and retention of childminders, providing more flexible and wraparound care which is also eligible for funded hours.
- Create a structured pathway for early learning and childcare practitioners to gain skills and expertise, leading to better pay over time.
- Ensure on-site childcare is provided in all colleges, and work with large employers to encourage on-site childcare for employees, which would allow greater flexibility for working parents.
- Support families when siblings arrive by offering additional childcare vouchers through the baby box scheme, to help with the cost of extra childcare in the early weeks and months of their growing family.
- Provide targeted funding and support for out-of-hours and holiday clubs that are inclusive of children with additional support needs.
