Big increase in percentage of children attending private nurseries in Scotland
New research published yesterday (7 October) showed that more families in Scotland were choosing to send their children to private and voluntary nurseries.
The Scottish Household Survey 2024 Childcare report revealed that 32% of households with children aged up to five used private nurseries compared with just 24% in private nurseries in 2018.
Numbers of children in local authority run nurseries has remained broadly similar over the years but fewer children are attending voluntary nurseries (6% in 2018 but 2.5% last year).
More two-year-olds attended private nurseries than local authority nurseries.
The survey also reported an increase in the numbers of hours used during school holidays, a likely result of 1140 hours policy. In total 91% were satisfied with their funded ELC.
Tim McLachlan, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Scotland told the press:
“It’s great to see that private and voluntary nurseries have increased their important role in supporting more families across the country. In 2018 fewer than a quarter of families were sending their children to a private nursery compared with more than a third in 2024.
“These nursery providers are delivering more places to give working families the flexibility of provision that they need. The statistics show that 71% of parents need childcare so they can work.
“It’s also heartening that 91% of parents were satisfied with their childcare of choice and 71% were very satisfied.
“A key issue for parents was that they couldn’t get enough hours or flexibility for their family’s needs. This is why it’s crucial that local authorities work fairly with private and voluntary providers and don’t restrict how these nurseries can work and deliver provision for our children.”
Read the full report here https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-2024-childcare/
- Scotland
- childcare
- early years
- Scotland
