A vision for childcare that helps end poverty in Scotland

One in four of Scotland’s children are officially recognized as living in poverty. Lack of appropriate childcare, and the childcare costs families face, continue to lock children in poverty, despite significant improvements in funded childcare in recent years.

The next stage in the development of childcare will be critical to meeting Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets. Our vision sets out how the childcare system can, and must, increase family incomes, reduce the costs families face and improve the life chances of all our children.

This vision was developed with a range of organisations, particularly Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Close the Gap, One Parent Families Scotland, Parenting Across Scotland and Save the Children.

Scotland needs a coherent vision for childcare that is both realistic and achievable, whilst also being ambitious enough to ensure childcare is never a barrier to an adequate income and always meets the needs of children, whatever their family circumstances. In short, Scotland needs a childcare system that plays the fullest possible role in reducing and preventing child poverty.

We welcome the commitments that the Scottish government has already made[i], and the recognition in the Best Start, Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022 to 2026[ii], that tackling child poverty will require further investment in childcare.

We have developed this vision to ensure that this further investment is both sufficient to rise to the challenge and effective in delivering the childcare system that Scotland needs.

Our vision is:

All parents have the choice of up to 50 hours[iii] of accessible[iv], flexible[v] high-quality, child centred childcare that is available to all who need it from the time their child is six months old[vi], free at the point of use.
A childcare service that effectively meets the developmental needs of children as well as the needs of parents. The quality of childcare is key whoever is the provider.
A childcare service delivered by a well-paid, well-trained, and valued work force. Funding settlements, procurement and, if needed, legislation are used to provide parity between employment conditions and qualifications in all childcare settings. Only high-quality childcare will deliver improved outcomes for children.
A greater emphasis on supply side funding of childcare, funded by public investment and employer contributions, whilst still allowing parents to choose suitable childcare for their circumstances.
Childcare policy is accompanied by wider action to value all childcare, promote parent friendly employment practices, increase length of and pay for parental leave, increases the visibility of childcare in society and challenge norms which drive the unequal distribution of unpaid childcare in the home.
Childcare is designated, along with other forms of care, as a key growth sector of the Scottish economy. Spending on childcare is an investment in infrastructure, an investment in our children, an enabler of paid work, and supports the realisation of women’s equality and rights that are critical to ending child poverty.

The provision of childcare can play an important part in reducing child poverty in Scotland:

The quality of childcare that is provided, and the working conditions of those working in the childcare sector, are key to ensuring it achieves its anti-poverty, child development and wider potential.
Childcare enables parents - particularly mothers and lone parents, the overwhelming majority of whom are women – to find paid work, increase their hours of work and stay in employment.
Childcare is not just about providing opportunity for parents to work. It also allows parents to study or attend training, health visits and other appointments.
Childcare is important for the good mental and physical health of parents, which is critical to their capacity to parent well and to their children’s wellbeing.
Addressing the undervaluation of the workforce is key to ensuring childcare improves child development and tackles the poverty-related attainment gap. The primary factor that determines the quality of childcare is the staff who work with children in childcare settings[vii].

For more information contact: Kirsty McKechnie, Early Warning System Project Manager (Scotland)

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0141 611 7091

[i] Further investment in childcare through, for example, the funding 1140 hours of childcare for all pre-school children from the age of three and additional investment in funding childcare provision for some families for two year olds.

[ii] Best Start, Bright Futures: tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022 to 2026, Scottish Government, 2022, available from https://www.gov.scot/publications/best-start-bright-futures-tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2022-26/

[iii] This is equivalent to childcare being available from 8am – 6pm each weekday, however the childcare offer must also be flexible to accommodate different working patterns (see note ^v below).

[iv] Barriers to accessing childcare must be addressed. A major barrier is cost, which can be addressed through making the scheme free at point of use, but there are other barriers, some specific to place such as a lack of childcare facilities, some due to infrastructure, such as lack of transport links and some due to barriers that certain groups face, specifically certain BME communities, children with a disability or additional needs and larger families with children in different age groups. All these barriers must be understood, particularly the way they interact, and a childcare system created that addresses these barriers. This will be the key to creating a system of childcare that achieves its potential.

[v] To be effective the childcare system needs to be available at the times that parents need it and needs to be responsive to parents’ needs. For example, many parents work outwith ‘regular’ working hours, and many parents have variable working hours, the childcare system must be flexible enough to support all parents.

[vi] We have a social security system that expects parents of children from the age of 1 to be preparing for a return to work, and maternity pay provision that only lasts for 9 months. If that is the expectation the social security system places on parents, then the childcare system must support those parents who choose to work.

[vii] Pg 8, Meeting Scotland’s Childcare Challenge: The Report Of The Commission For Childcare Reform, Commission for Childcare Reform, 2015. Available from https://childreninscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FinalChildcareCommissionReportJune2015.pdf