Natalie Don: The Scottish Government recognises how vital early learning and childcare are in rural and island areas, in relation to giving children the best start in life and supporting families to work. Responsibility for delivering the 1,140 hours of funded ELC that is available to all eligible children in Scotland sits with local authorities, which have a statutory duty to ensure that local provision...
Natalie Don: I absolutely recognise the particular and distinct challenges, barriers and opportunities for rural and island communities. I will continue to listen and look for solutions to the challenges that they face. Our addressing depopulation action plan, which was published in February, sets out the Scottish Government’s approach, which is aimed at supporting local communities. The plan...
Natalie Don: Childminders are a hugely valued part of the early learning and childcare profession in Scotland, and we want more families to be able to access the unique benefits that they can offer. We have been working hard with the Scottish Childminding Association on a new approach for the sector, and I am pleased to confirm that a three-year programme of childminder recruitment and...
Natalie Don: Evelyn Tweed is correct that, often, childminders run a business on their own, so it is important that they feel both supported and connected to others in the profession. The SCMA’s new programme will implement a range of further measures to help childminders with their workload and professional development, building on the diverse range of support that the association already provides....
Natalie Don: The pilot is a really positive start. However, we know that we have more to do. As I previously said, childminders are a hugely valued part of our childcare sector, so we want them to feel valued and safe in their roles. The pilot will have valuable learning; we will see how successful it is—I am very positive about that; then we will take further actions, based on that learning.
Natalie Don: We aim to increase the sector by 1,000 childminders. In the first year of our programme, the SCMA aims to recruit 250 new childminders. As I have said, that is a really positive start, with big aims. Childminders are a hugely valued part of our sector and I am very positive about the campaign and the pilot, and what those will bring for the sector.
Natalie Don: I am thankful to Fulton MacGregor for bringing this debate to the chamber, and I truly welcome the many excellent contributions that we have had from members and which have been informed by research and evidence from Upstart Scotland. I whole-heartedly agree that it is important to give our children the best possible start in life, and I strongly support this opportunity to foster an open...
Natalie Don: The proposed learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill aims to ensure that the rights of neurodivergent people, including autistic people and people with learning disabilities, are respected, protected and championed. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills supports the bill and the Scottish Government’s on-going work in that area. Officials will continue to explore...
Natalie Don: Mr Stewart raises some really important points. A range of policies across Government holistically support neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities. Those include employability actions under our no one left behind delivery plan, Skills Development Scotland’s work with schools to support young people with additional support needs, and our fair work action plan. ...
Natalie Don: Pam Duncan-Glancy will be aware of the most recent update that I have provided on the transitions strategy. I would be happy to update her on the exact points in relation to the LDAN bill in writing.
Natalie Don: Currently, there are no plans to amend the remit of the Scottish child abuse inquiry. Questions about the scope of the inquiry in relation to non-residential settings have been raised previously and ministers have made clear the need for the inquiry to focus on its current and wide-ranging terms of reference, which are centred on the abuse of children within institutions that had legal...
Natalie Don: I want to make it very clear that our sympathies are with all victims of historical abuse. However, as Russell Findlay knows and as I have reiterated, the Scottish child abuse inquiry was set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 to investigate abuse of children in care in Scotland following a call, over many years, from survivors of in-care abuse. Ministers have made clear the need for...
Natalie Don: I thank Ms Adamson for highlighting the important issue of the child safety week campaign, which runs from 3 to 9 June this year. I echo the words and sentiments of Jackie Dunbar, Bob Doris and Martin Whitfield in relation to Ms Adamson’s commitment and dedication. Keeping children and young people safe from accidental harm at home or in their communities is, and will remain, an...
Natalie Don: The local government finance settlement provides local authorities with funding covering different service areas. The settlement for 2024-25 includes around £1 billion of funding for the delivery of ELC. Local authorities are responsible for designing their own ELC delivery models, and national guidance is clear that councils must set hourly rates that reflect the costs of delivery for...
Natalie Don: Mr Rennie raises an important point here, but I do not fully agree with his assessment. We need to set the scene a little. Rates have been steadily increasing since the implementation of the expansion. The average rate that is paid by local authorities to providers who are delivering funded ELC to three to five-year-olds increased by 64.1 per cent between 2007 and 2023. However, while the...
Natalie Don: I understand that that is an issue. As I said, there is a host of on-going work on both supporting providers and ensuring that our offer is good quality, accessible and affordable for parents. Nevertheless, I will certainly take that issue away and look into it for the member.
Natalie Don: Mr MacGregor will be aware that I have met representatives of Upstart Scotland. I was impressed by their level of knowledge and enthusiasm in relation to this policy area. As for what we are currently doing, since 2014 the Scottish Government has almost doubled the entitlement to high-quality funded early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours per year for eligible children,...
Natalie Don: I thank Upstart for its research and continued work in the area. We know that high-quality ELC makes an important contribution to children’s outcomes, particularly for those who grow up in disadvantaged circumstances. It is critical that parents can make the right choice for their child, which is why we legislated to allow access to an additional year of funded ELC to all children who defer...
