Meeting of the Parliament 28 February 2018
Audit Scotland has looked at the process at a point when there is still some distance between our figures and local authority figures. It is right and proper that both sides take the time to challenge and refine cost estimates, and that is exactly what is happening at the moment. The gap is currently closing. We have said that we will fully fund that provision. We are working in close partnership and we expect to reach agreement in the next few weeks.
Expanding funded early learning and childcare is the right policy. The socioeconomic gap in cognitive development starts before primary school, and it is widely acknowledged, including by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, that universally accessible and high-quality early learning and childcare help to provide children with skills and confidence that they can carry into school education. That is a cornerstone for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
Parents recognise the benefits of high-quality early learning and childcare for their children. In fact, Audit Scotland’s own research found that parents were “overwhelmingly positive” about the quality of the early learning and childcare that we are providing. Quality will absolutely remain at the heart of our expansion plans.
We are offering children new and richer experiences through that expansion. I, too, visit many nurseries, and last week, I visited the City of Edinburgh Council’s forest kindergarten at Lauriston castle. I saw how outdoor learning affects children’s confidence and wellbeing and how it can encourage a lifelong love of the outdoors. We are working with Inspiring Scotland and councils to encourage much greater use of outdoor environments as part of the expansion. It is an opportunity to change the offering that we provide, and we are investing more than £800,000—