Scottish Private Nursery Association (SPNA) are a grass roots organisation representing the private and 3rd sector for Early Years, across the length and breadth of Scotland.
Our ambition is to engage positively and respectfully with Scottish Government and all stakeholders who have an invested interest in Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) and promoting this from the earliest age pre-birth to 5, and beyond.
We believe the Scottish Government has good intentions to support children, to close the poverty attainment gap, and enable families to work and study.
Yet the flagship policy of 1,140 hours of funding needs an urgent review, and that being the funding is ‘not following the child’ (FFTC) as the policy states, the funding is currently paid first to the council, where they then decide the rate they pay to the private provide and child minder. After a recent enquiry, Edinburgh Council are keeping £1537 of the allocated 1,140 funding budget, per child per year!
This makes the Local Authorities the banker's and the direct competitor's.
The consequences from this, is unaffordable childcare, unfair pay equity within the workforce, and more nurseries, playgroups and childminders closing.
After many years of the sector sharing these concerns with Scottish Government, Cosla and Councils they have fallen on deaf ears, and now recently seven nurseries within West Lothian had to raise legal action, at the cost of almost £90,000, to ensure that children received their entitled 1,140 funding, or make the difficult and emotional choice of moving to another nursery, most options were within Council settings. This was an extremely emotional and stressful time for hundreds of children and families, unnecessary cost to the providers, and seriously jeopardised the nurseries closing, and has escalated the unfairness of the policy.
SPNA believe that ‘Affordable and flexible Childcare' is a great project that will benefit many families, children and the workforce across Scotland.
The money we are hoping to raise through Crowdfunder will enable us to engage with Solicitors, and to ask that Scottish Government must take these concerns seriously, and ask for an urgent review the Statutory Guidance within the policy, along with collaboration and consulation with future ambitious policies that we all welcome, as in the 1,2 year old funding, along with School After Care (SAC).
We believe that we can only do this together, and we need your support to please help finance this by donating, to our Crowdfundng page, and any money left will be donated to a Scottish Childrens Charity.
Thank you
www.scottishpna.org