2 October 2019

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Children’s Minister Maree Todd visited Sauchie Nursery in Alloa to celebrate the positive impact the early learning and childcare expansion is already having.

The visit coincided with the publication of a report that found more than 46,000 children across Scotland are already benefitting from extra hours almost a year before the full roll out of 1,140 funded hours of care for every eligible child.

More than 46,000 children are already benefiting from extra hours of learning & childcare almost 1 year before the full roll out of 1,140 funded hours.

FM @NicolaSturgeon & Children's Minister @MareeToddMSP visited @NurserySauchie to find out more ➡️https://t.co/OUl9VoAwA9 pic.twitter.com/Aok4lfhT6k

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) October 2, 2019

The First Minister said:

From August 2020 all three and four-year-olds across Scotland, and around one-quarter of two-year-olds will benefit from the most generous early learning and childcare offer in the UK.

High quality learning and care in the early years is the foundation from which every child can develop and reach their full potential and it also makes a key contribution to closeing the attainment gap.”

More than 46,000 children across Scotland are already benefiting from extra hours of high quality early learning and childcare almost a year before the full roll out of 1,140 funded hours of care for every eligible child.#TeamELC#ELCExpansion pic.twitter.com/FdcHxZzjP9

— ScotGov Education (@ScotGovEdu) October 2, 2019

All three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds in Scotland are currently entitled to 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare hours. Information about the expansion to 1,140 hours from August 2020 is available.