Early Years Scotland

Sustainability is a word we hear more and more nowadays. We are becoming more aware of what we can do to support a sustainable economy and environment, because we associate it with ultimately building a better future for our children. It's a funny word though - when used in the context above, it’s a good thing. In early learning and childcare (ELC), however, it doesn’t really have the same connotations. In our sector, particularly for private, voluntary and independent (PVI) colleagues, it’s like the bare minimum – a term used to describe nothing more than what’s needed to survive. It’s just about enough. We hear, time and time again, that our settings, and indeed the sector overall, needs to be sustainable. We have to prove that how we are shaping the lives of our youngest children, in the most positive way, is sustainable. We call for a sustainable funding rate so that our PVI colleagues can attempt to ‘catch up’ with resources, opportunities and above all wages, afforded to thos

  I grew up in a small town in rural Angus in the 1980s, where there was little to no formal childcare, let alone entitlement to access it. So, a couple of times a week, my mum and I would walk up to the building behind the library which housed the wonderful Peter Pan playgroup. I remember vividly what I now recognise as an exceptional early years experience, the likes of which should be afforded to all children in Scotland. I remember the big wooden climbing frame in the middle of the room. I remember Mrs Scrimgeour and Jan, the women who ran the service, supported by parents like my mum. I remember sitting down to have milk out of a carton and a biscuit around a table with people who I still wish a happy birthday to on Facebook or stop to have a chat with if I meet them in the street. My partner-in-crime at playgroup has been my best friend since we started there, a non-biological auntie to my own children and still chief mischief maker. Playgroups have consistently provided im