We were pleased to see it emphasises the importance of early intervention, and how all sectors, including private and voluntary, have a critical role to play in delivering the best for children.
Scotland already has a range of frameworks and initiatives to support children in their earliest years. Nurseries work hard to deliver these agendas, but there is still more to be done to 'join the dots'.
The experiences of NDNA members show that there are still a number who find it hard to gain partnership with their local authority to deliver pre-school places, and when they do, it is common to receive a funding rate that is much lower than the maintained sector.
We understand that many practitioners are working towards the graduate level childhood practice. Yet little or no financial support is available to help, meaning there is a real risk the parents who need the help the most will be priced out of services in future. More needs to be done to simplify the policy landscape - nurseries have a wide and varied range of requirements to meet, such as registration with the Scottish Social Services Council and Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme. Joined-up thinking about how to combine these would help free up nurseries.
We welcome Professor Deacon urging all parties to make a 'clear and unequivocal' commitment to early intervention and resources to support this. Nurseries can play a part in joining the dots for Scotland's politicians by supporting NDNA Scotland's work during the election period. Members can visit www.ndna.org.uk/scotlandmanifesto to download a copy of our manifesto, plus advice, information and resources to help them demonstrate the power of their services to candidates from all parties. By representing the sector we can help join the dots in all the right places.
