Common Weal propose nationalising childcare to meet Scottish Government’s 1140 hours pledge

Early years childcare and education should be nationalised into a national childcare service to meet Scottish Government plans for 30 hours of free universal childcare per week, according to left-leaning think tank Common Weal.

Currently the private and third sector in Scotland makes up 59 per cent of services caring for three and four year olds, while councils tend to only offer the current entitlement of 600 hours of annual funded early learning and childcare through state nursery schools in the education system. Common Weal describe it as "fragmented, haphazard and unequal".

In November the Fair Funding for our Kids campaign said the “most basic sums” showed government could not deliver on its expansion.

RELATED CONTENT

Flexible families- Does childcare expansion tackle inequality or make it worse?

Childcare campaign angry with minister after meeting

In a new report entitled ‘An Equal Start’, Common Weal said capacity, funding and quality are insufficient to meet the planned extension, and argues services should be merged into a national childcare service which would operate standardised opening times to provide flexible provision.

The agency would have a national, regional and community level management structure, with national pay scales for childhood practitioners and managers.

Common Weal argues this would replace “a fundamentally unequal system” with something “fundamentally equal”.

“In societies that have high levels of equality, fairness and prosperity, early years learning and care is treated with the same seriousness as school education. Setting our ambitions any lower than this would be a dereliction of our responsibilities to future generations of Scots.”

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), which represents private and third sector nurseries warned the plan would reduce choice for parents.

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said: “Private and third sector nurseries tend to be more flexible, with increasing numbers offering sessions on Saturdays to support parental demand. Almost half of private and third sector nurseries also work in partnerships with local schools to provide wraparound care and support children’s drop off and pick up arrangements.”