Hansard

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 dialogue on the best way of achieving that over the longer term.

I note the points that many colleagues have raised about the international evidence on the benefits of play-based early years education; on the benefits of active social play; on the issue of Scotland’s school starting age when compared with other European countries, and the fact that it has not changed since the 19th century; and on how a universal play-based kindergarten stage with a raised formal school starting age could contribute to closing the attainment gap. These are very important considerations that I take seriously and am interested in exploring further.

I absolutely recognise the critical importance of children’s early years experiences to their life outcomes, particularly when those children grow up in disadvantaged circumstances. I am aware that, since the pandemic, there has been an increase in the proportion of children who are not meeting their developmental milestones, and that there are persistent inequalities between children living in the most and the least deprived areas, so the debate is timely and important.

Members might not hear me say this often, but I whole-heartedly agree with some of what Meghan Gallacher says, because we do need to look at what is happening now. However, there have been huge achievements, and I will talk about some of them. Since 2014, we have undertaken one of the most significant reforms to public services in a generation. We have almost doubled the entitlement to high-quality funded early learning and childcare from 600 to 1,140 hours per year for all eligible children. We know that provision of high-quality ELC makes an important contribution to children’s outcomes, particularly, as I said, when they are growing up in disadvantaged circumstances. There has been near-universal uptake of the offer of funded ELC among three and four-year-olds, and independent research has shown that 97 per cent of parents are satisfied with the quality of funded ELC.

We should not underestimate what an achievement that is. However, and as I have said in Parliament, I do not shy away from specific concerns on rates. I have discussed that with many members, and I continue to discuss it with stakeholders such as 2020 Together. The member is aware of the on-going work on the rates review, and I am happy to discuss that further with the member. I do not feel that this debate is necessarily the right place for that discussion, because I have a lot that I would like to get through.

Another important achievement that we need to highlight—which other members have also highlighted—is on deferring school entry. Mr MacGregor rightly mentioned the tireless efforts of the Give Them Time campaign. As a result of those efforts, since 23 August, all children who defer their school entry are automatically entitled to that additional year of funded ELC. I know that members agree that that is a very important step forward in supporting parents to make those critical decisions in the best interests of their child, without the worry of additional costs.

I am a huge advocate of our approach in Scotland of promoting play-based, child-centred and outdoor learning in the early years. That is critical to supporting children to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, including in respect of their early language development, which is an area of children’s development that has been particularly affected.

I always like to bring in my personal experiences of witnessing excellent practice in person. On my recent visit to Little Bugs outdoor nursery in Dunfermline, I saw how outdoor learning and play benefits children in respect of their physical health and mental, social and emotional wellbeing. Children in ELC spend on average 39 per cent of their time outdoors. We are making very good progress on that.

That kind of excellent practice can also be delivered in the early years of primary school, because of the flexibility of Scotland’s curriculum for excellence, including the early level, which deliberately spans from age three until the end of primary 1. Our internationally recognised practice guidance, “Realising the ambition: Being Me”, is driving forward efforts to support child-centred play and ensure continuity and progression in learning as children begin their primary school education.

Martin Whitfield spoke about the UNCRC and the need for a child’s education to be tailored to that child. “Realising the ambition: Being Me” is wholly focused on that. Upstart Scotland has said:

“If this document can be translated into practice in all Scottish early years settings (including P1), Scotland’s ELC provision will be up there with the Nordic countries”.

It is imperative that we continue in our current efforts to ensure that realising the ambition is effectively and consistently implemented in early learning and childcare and in the early years of primary school. As Fulton MacGregor stated, there has been excellent progress in recent years. I saw that at first hand when I visited Roslin primary school last year, a visit that I have spoken of previously in the chamber.

I know that we still have some way to go to ensure that play pedagogy is fully embedded at the early level. To bring some of that together, I am keen that we understand fully the impact of implementing “Realising the ambition” and our transformational investment in ELC and the deferrals policy, which could help to inform any further major reforms. The final report on the evaluation of the expansion of funded ELC to 1,140 hours is due to be published by the end of 2025.

It is important to highlight that an ambitious programme of education and skills reform is under way to improve outcomes for people who experience and deliver education in Scotland. Members have referred to Upstart Scotland’s evidence, which shows that countries with a later school starting age perform better than those where formal education starts earlier. I am therefore open to exploring options for what a kindergarten stage would entail, building on the progress that has been made to date and the evaluation of our early years policies. On the specific points about PISA, I am interested in considering the data in further detail, alongside wider evidence.

We cannot shy away from the fact that introducing a kindergarten stage would be a fundamental change to our education system. All members who contributed touched on the factors that would need to be considered. It would require significant further work to take stock of the evidence, to understand the views of families, which Bob Doris rightly highlighted, and, of course, those of children, and to consider carefully both the costs involved and the implications for our workforce. However, I want to be clear with members that I have listened carefully to the views that have been expressed in the debate. I am open to discussing the best approach with members from across the chamber and examining the matters that would need to be considered.

I again thank members who have contributed to this important discussion. I share their vision for early years education being based on relationship-centred, child-led and play-based environments with a greater focus on outdoor learning. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the chamber and with organisations such as Upstart Scotland to make that a reality for all of Scotland’s children.