The Scottish Government has pledged to increase the provision of free early learning and childcare provision to 1140 hours (currently 600 hours) per year by 2020.
This is for children who are 3 or 4 years old and eligible 2 year olds.
We are currently in the process of phasing this in across all establishments.
There are a number of flexible delivery models to meet the needs of children and families. These are as follows:
| Delivery model |
Description |
Additional info |
| Model 1a |
In line with school day
(term time only) |
30 hours per week
- either 8:45am, 9:00am or 9:15am start
(check with nursery) |
| Model 1b |
8am - 6pm (term time only) |
flexibility for upto 30 hours per week |
| Model 2 |
8am - 1pm or 1pm - 6pm |
term time PLUS open during school summer break |
| Model 3 |
Flexibility between 8am and 6pm |
open 50 weeks per year |
| Private ELC Provider |
Flexibility between 8am and 6pm |
opening times differ |
| Partner ELC Childminder |
Flexibility between 8am and 6pm |
opening times differ |
There are a variety of options for children to have a 'blended' ELC pattern with a maximum of 2 providers.
Blended care means you have flexibility to share the funded hours across 2 providers. For example: you may wish to attend a nursery class (9-3pm term time) on a Monday and Tuesday, however require more flexible hours due to work commitments for the rest of the week – these could be taken in an Early Learning & Childcare Centre (ELCC), private nursery or with a partner childminder. The list of each establishment and the delivery model is noted in the table below:
Session 2020/2021
For more information, please contact the ELC Admissions Team: